Rise of Christianity
A.  Religious Toleration
1.  Romans allowed locals to keep their own religion
a.  Judea - Judaism; exempted from worshipping the emperor because of belief in monotheism
B.  Persecution began when Romans feared religious leaders rebel
1.  Jesus was seen as the Messiah by some Jews (he who would return Judea to its former greatness)
2.  Romans feared he would start a revolt in Judea
3.  Crucified him to end the threat
4.  Began to attack followers to end the religion and the threat (Nero blamed the fire that destroyed Rome on the Christians - scapegoats)
C.  Persecution helped the spread of Christianity
1.  People admired the martyrs (people who suffer or die for a cause)
2.  Disciples held meetings to spread their message
D.  Acceptance
1.  Emperor Constantine converted in 312
2.  Emperor Theodosius banned the worship of any religion except 
Christianity

Medieval Church Organization

A.  Provided the structure that was previous supplied by governments (Rome)
B.  Officials (called clergy) handled many different functions
1.  Parish Priests
a.  Performed sacraments (including marriage)
b.  Oversaw spiritual life of the community
c.  Conducted church services
2.  Monasteries and Convents (divided into orders)
a.  Taught peasants practical skills (carpentry, weaving, agriculture)
b.  Taught nobles' daughters needlework, herb use
c.  Schools
d.  Hospitals
e.  Guest houses
f.  Scribes copied classical and religious writings
g.  Missionaries throughout western Europe
3.  Bishops
a.  Supervised priests in their districts
b.  Settled disputes over religious practices and teachings
c.  Archbishops supervised bishops
4.  Pope
a.  Leader of the Christian Church
b.  Believed they inherited their power from Peter
c.  Had responsibility for the souls of all Christians
d.  Pope Gregory I (590 - 604) expanded Church powers into politics

Germanic Tribes

A.  Took over after the fall of Rome
B.  Politics
1.  Divided into tribes
2.  No loyalty to a country
C.  Cities
1.  Did not try to revive Roman cities
2.  Were generally rural
D.  Law
1.  Did not have codes of law
2.  Did not have any law that applied to everyone
E.  Justice
1.  Less advanced than Roman courts
2.  Used trial by ordeal to determine guilt/innocence
a.  Person would be subjected to a physical test (survive = innocent,  
 die = guilty)
b.  Ex. = tied up and thrown in a lake
F.  Education
1.  Literacy decreased (only church officials could read)
2.  Greek/Latin languages were almost lost
a.  Preserved by a few scholars
i.  Boethius - translated Aristotle and Greek music and math
ii.  Cassiodorus - a monk who translated many Greek and Roman manuscripts
      b.  Latin is still a "dead" language today
3.  No written literature

Frankish Kingdoms

A.  Established by Franks, a Germanic tribe from the area near the Rhine River
B.  Had several strong rulers
1.  Clovis (481 - 511)
a.  United the Franks to conquer the Romans and northern Gaul
b.  Lands divided up after his death and ruled by "mayors of the palace"
2.  Pepin II (687 - 714)
a.  One Mayor of the Palace who conquered all the others 
b.  Son = Charles Martel
3.  Charles Martel (717 - 741)
a.  Means "Charles the Hammer"
b.  Ruled most of Gaul
c.  Halted the Muslim advance into Western Europe at the Battle of Tours
4.  Pepin the Short (751)
a.  Given title "King of the Franks" in 751
b.  Crowned by the Pope
i.  Began the Carolingian dynasty
ii.  Pope wanted protection from the Lombards
iii.  Pepin invaded Rome and gave the territory to the Pope (called the Papal States)
5.  Charlemagne
a.  Known as the "father of Europe"
b.  Spread Christianity along with his conquests
c.  Encouraged learning by bringing scholars to his court even though he could not write
d.  Greatly expanded Frankish territory (Italy, Spain, Germany)
e.  Crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III in 800.
f.  Tried to blend Germanic customs, Christianity, and Greco-Roman culture (came to characterize Europe in the Middle Ages)  

Invaders

I.  Vikings
A.  Ancestors of modern Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes
B.  Seafarers and warriors
C.  Traveled to Iceland and Greenland between 850 and 1000
D.  Raids
1.  Invaded Western Europe in 800's
2.  Looted, killed people, and burned homes
E.  Most eventually converted to Christianity
F.  Settled in Britain, France, and Southern Europe
II.   Effects
A.  Stopped trade
B.  Hurt agriculture
C.  Destroyed villages and monasteries
D.  Caused a loss of faith in central governments
1.  People turned to local rulers (who had their own armies) for protection
2.  Kings lost a lot of their power

Feudalism

I.  Political system that arose due to loss of faith in kings/central government
II. Structure
A.  Monarch - the official ruler of the central government
B.  Lords - rich land owners
C.  Vassals - a lesser noble who received land from a richer noble
1.  Had to pledge loyalty
2.  Help the lord in battle
3.  Had to pay for different occasions (ransoms, dowries, etc.)
4.  Court service - each lord had his own court of law
5.  Could be a vassal to many lords at the same time
6.  Could grant land to someone and become a lord himself 
D.  Peasants - the people who worked/lived on the nobles land   
                     (commoners)

Knights

A.  Nobles who were trained as mounted warriors
B.  Goal = glory and respect of fellow nobles
C.  Held tournaments to practice their skills
  1.  Practice in peace time for the knights
  2.  Entertainment for the audiences
D.  Lived by the code of chivalry
1.  Fight bravely
2.  Be loyal to his lord
3.  Treat other knights with respect and courtesy
4.  Protect women, children, and the weak
5.  Honor the Christian Church and the defend the Church from its enemies (armor and weapons were blessed by a priest)
E.  Could only fight at certain times during the year
1.  Limited by the "Peace of God" and the "Truce of God"
2.  Church realized that wars between feudal lords created disorder

Castles

I.  Started out as wooden structures in the 900's
II.  By 1100's, they were built out of stone and usually surrounded by moats
III.  Defenses
A.  Lookouts
B.  Moats
C.  Thick stone walls
D.  Poured hot oil, boiling water, or melted lead on attackers
IV.  Siege Strategies
A.  Fill moat with logs and earth
B.  Ladders to climb walls
C.  Battering rams
D.  Catapults
E.  Movable towers (draw bridge from the top of tower to top of wall)
F.  Tunnel under the wall
V.  Castle life
A.  Home for lord and lady, servants, knights, and other soldiers
B.  Bedrooms, kitchen, storerooms, chapel, and great hall (for entertaining)
C.  Feasts often included entertainment including jesters, jugglers, acrobats, magicians, animal trainers, minstrels, and musicians
D.  Were cold and uncomfortable (not luxurious)
E.  Separate water supply to withstand sieges (meant water use was limited for sanitation)
F.  Kitchen gardens and animals for food (milk, cheese, eggs) and pulling plows

Manorialism

I.  Economic system based on set of rights and obligations between a lord and his serfs
A.  Lord gives housing, land, and protection from bandits
B.  Serfs tend the lord's land, look after animals, and do other work
II.  Structure
A.  Lords
1.  Owned manors
a.  Small, self-sufficient village
b.  Lord's castle or manor house
c.  Cottages
d.  Church
e.  Workshops
f.  Fields
i.  Winter Field - winter wheat
ii.  Spring Field - oats and vegetables
iii.  Fallow Field - not planted
iv.  Were rotated each year to preserve fertility
g.  Pastures
2.  Could choose when (or if) a serf could ever leave the manor
3.  Could choose who a serf would marry (serf could pay a fine instead)
 B.  Peasants - the commoners (everyone who did not own land)
 C.  Serfs
      1.  People who did not have the freedom to leave the land where they 
           were born (without permission from their lord)
      2.  Lived in a small village on the manor
      3.  Shared oxen and worked together to plow the land
4.   Received the produce from its own strips of land in each field
5.  Gave some of the crops from their land to their lord
6.  Could not be abused unless they did not fulfill their obligations (could refuse to work if mistreated)
7.  Worked from sunrise to sunset
8.  Accepted their position because they believed that God determined a person's place in society
9.  Very little social mobility