Last Class

Today was our last class in West Civ with Mr. Schick. I had a lot of fun with this class this semester. I learned so much from Mesopotamia to Medieval Times. I liked learning about Greece the best. I didn't like learning about the Medieval Time Period. The last test that we took was definitely the hardest one that we took. I liked all of the people  in our class, and I had fun in it. Next year, I am going to be in honors western civilization. I think that we are just going to continue from where we left off last year. I wonder who my teacher is going to be. I had a lot of fun in West Civ class, and will miss it.

Notes for Test

These are the Notes for Tomorrows Quiz

• Germanic warriors' loyalty is to the lord of the manor 
• The new society has roots in customs of various Germanic tribes 
• Only priest and church officials could read and write
• French and Franks 
• Population shifts became rural areas
• By 511 the Franks are united into one kingdom, with Clovis and the Church working as partners
• In 520, Benedict writes rules for monks 
• Vows of poverty (live simply in monasteries)
• Chastity (no marital relations)
• Obedience (listen to church superiors)
• His sister Scholastica writes similar rules for nuns 
• Church revenues are used to help the poor
• Christendom: combination of Christianity and a kingdom 
• Most of the rest of Europe consists of smaller kingdoms (seven in England alone)
• Clovis' descendants include Charles Martel, known as Charles  the Hammer 
• Charles Martel's son is Pepin the Short
• Charlemagne - aka Charles the Great 

* Know "Charlemagne takes center stage & [cont'd] *

• Treaty of Verdun 

More Notes

Even so... Clovis rules the Franks 

• Clovis rules the Germanic people of Gaul known as the Franks
• In 496 he has a battlefield conversion - he and 3000 of his warriors become Christians 
• The Church in Rome likes this 
• By 511 the Franks are united into one kingdom, with Clovis and the Church working as partners 

Spread of Christianity

• Church + Frankish rulers = rise in Christianity
• In 520, Benedict writes rules for monks:
• vows of poverty (live simply in monasteries)
• chastity (no marital relations)
• obedience (listen to church superiors)
• His sister Scholastica writes similar rules for nuns
• They operate schools, maintain libraries, copy books

Notes from Yesterday

I was absent from school yesterday, so I copied Ellie's notes so I can use them to study. 

• Middle ages= medieval period
• 476-1453 AD
• (from the end of the roman empire to the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks)
• medieval Europe is fragmented 

This is a new society 

this new society has roots in:

• classical heritage of Rome
• beliefs of the roman catholic church
• customs of various Germanic tribes

5th century Germanic invaders

overrun the western half of the roman empire

causing:

• disruption of trade
• downfall of cities
• population shits to rural areas 

Effects of invasion

declining of learning 

• romance languages evolve (french, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian)

Germanic kingdoms emerge: AD 400-600

Germanic warriors' loyalty is to the lord of the manor 

he provides them w/ food, weapons, treasure 

result:

• no orderly government for large areas 
• small communities rule 

- pope Gregory I (Gregory the great) goes secular (worldly power)

- Church revenues are used to help to poor, build roads and raise armies

- this is a theocracy

- Gregory's spiritual kingdom (Christendom) extends from Italy to England,from Spain to Germany 

- hammer defeats a Muslim raiding party from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732 (if he hadn't won, western Europe could have become part of the Muslim Empire

More Notes on Germanic Kingdoms

• A European Empire Evolves 
•  Franks control largest European kingdom
•  The Roman province formerly known as Gaul
•  Ruled by Clovis- the Merovingian Dynasty
• Major domo- mayor of the palace - ruled the kingdom
• Charles Martel - Charles the Hammer
•  a. extended the Franks' reign to the north, south, and east
•  Defeated a Muslim army from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732- historoic Battle

• A European Empire Evolves [cont'd]
•  Charles the Hammer's son - Pepin the Short 
• Possibly named for his unusual short haircut
• Working for and with the Pope, Pepin fought the Lombards
• Pope Stephen II named Pepin "king by the grace of God" - beginning the Carolingian Dynasty 
• 751 - 987 AD

{So, a Pope can do that? Name someone "king"? Yup.}

•  Pepin the Short had two sons. Carolman and Charles 
• Carolman died... leaving Charles to take over 
• Charlemagne takes center state
• Charlemagne - aka Charles the Great 
• Six foot four 
• Built the greatest empire since Rome 
• Fought the Muslims in Spain
• Fought Germanic tribes
• Spread Christianity
• Reunited Western Europe
• Became the most powerful king in western Europe
• Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in 800 AD after he defended him from an unruly Roman mob
• This signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church,  and the heritage of the Roman Empire 
• Charlemagne take center stage [cont'd]
• Charlemagne's Government 
• He limited the authority of hte nobles
• He regularly visited every part of his kingdom
• Kept close watch on his huge estates
• Cultural revival
• Encouraged learning 
• Ordered monasteries to open schools 
• Opened a palace school
• But, his heirs were weenies,,,
• His son - Louis the Pious - was ineffective 
• Louis' three sons - 
• Lothair
• Charles the Bald
•  Louis the German
• Split up the kingdom at the Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD 

Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne

MAIN IDEA!

• Many Germanic kingdoms that succeed the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne's empire 

WHY IT MATTERS NOW!

• Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout northern Europe, which is where many of us came from 

Setting the Stage!

• Middle Ages: Medieval period
• 500-15000 AD
• Medieval Europe is Fragmented

• Invasions trigger changes in Western Europe
• Invasions and constant warfare spark new trends 
• Disruption of trade
• Europe's cities are no longer economic centers
• Money is scarce
• Downfall of Cities
• Cities are no longer centers of administration 
• Population Shifts
• Nobles retreat to the rural areas
• Cities don't have strong leadership
• Invasions trigger changes in western Europe [cont'd]
• Decline of learning 
• Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition 
• Only priest and church officials could read and write
• Knowledge of Greek [and literature, science, philosophy] is almost lost 
• Loss of a common  language
• Dialects develop in different religions 
• By the 800s, French, Spanish, other Roman-bases languages are evolving from Latin 

TEST QUESTION: what was the most common language? LATIN 

• Germanic kingdoms emerge 
• The concept of government changes
• Roman society: loyal to public gov't 
• Germanic society: loyal to family 
• Germanic chief led warriors 
• During peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to live [the lord's hall]
• During wartime, warriors fought for the lord 
• "The king?" Who's that? You want to collect taxes from me? Who the heck are you?
• Franks live in the Roman province of Gaul- their leaders is Clovis 
• Germanic kingdoms emerge
• The Franks under Clovis 
• Another battlefield conversion [Just like Constantine]
• Clovis and 3000 of his warriors are baptized by the bishop
•  The Church in Rome approves of this "alliance"
• Clovis and the Church begin to work together 

A simple mathematical equation: 

Clovis' military expertise

 +                                       

The Church's support and money

_____________________________________

A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BETWEEN TWO POWERFUL FORCES 

• Germanic peoples adopt Christianity [cont'd] 
• [Pope] Gregory 1 expands papal power
• Papacy: pope's office
• Secular power: worldy power 
• So... under Gregory the Great

Papal Power [Power of the Pope] is Political Power, Presented from the Pope's Palace

• The church can use church money to 
• Raise armies
• Repair roads
• Help the poor
• Gregory the Great began to act as a mayor of Rome, and as head of an earthly kingdom [Christendom]
• Germanic peoples adopt Christianity 
• 511 AD - Clovis unites Franks into one kingdom
• 600 AD - Church + Frankish rulers convert many 
• Fear of Muslims in southern Europe spur many to become Christians 
• Monasteries and convents
• 520 AD - Benedict wrote the rules for monks and monasteries
• Poverty, chastity, obedience, study
• His sister Scholastica did the same for nuns in convents
• 731 AD - the Venerable Bede wrote a killer history of England 
• Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books [Bibles, Greek texts]

Go Over Notes

Today in Western Civ, we went over our notes. Since a couple of days ago we took notes, we talked about what notes we had in our blog. I copy my notes word for word because it helps me remember things better. I think that it helps me understand the point to what we are learning more clearly. I copy vocab words, quotes, and important texts from each paragraph We are supposed to put it in our own words, but I don't like doing that. Here are some additional notes that we took today:

• Christendom: a combination of Christianity and a kingdom 
• Tithe/tithing: give 10% of what you make in a year to the Church 
• Eastern Empire was called, "Byzantine Empire" 
• They were doing okay
• Became more Greek than Roman 
• Greek intellects  
• Socrates
• Plato
• Aristotle 
• Education was considered less important 
• Mostly only priests were reading
• Common people only learn trade, not education 
• Romans were no longer the center of everything 

POWERPOINT NOTES 

• Feudalism: a political, military and economic system based on land-holding and protective alliances 
• In other words: a system is based of personal loyalty to people who can help you 
• RICH DUDE (LORD): "I own land; I need people to help me work it and defend it"
• TOUGH DUDES (VASSALS): "There are a lot of us, we can help the rich dudes hold on to their land" 
• The Feudal Pyramid:
• KING
• The most powerful vassals 
• Nobles and Bishops 
• Knights: mounted warriors who recieved fiefs for defending their lord's land 
• Peasants: (mostly serfs) Landless, powerless, moneyless, rights-less. Just working the land for "the man" (their lord) 

Mind Your Manors

• Manor: the lord's estate
• The lord's manor house 
• A chuch 
• Some workshops
• 15-30 families
• All on a few square miles
• Good news: It's a self-sufficient community
• Bad news: It's harsh if you're a peasant 

How Harsh is it?

• Peasants are poor AND pay high taxes 
• Tax on grain
• Tax on marriage 
• Church tax (tithe= 10% of their income)
• The live in crowded cottages
• Live with animals and insects 
• Eat VERY simply 
• But don't worry - the Church says this is your lot in life
• God determines your place in society - so chill