Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne

Many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the roman empire were reunited under Charlemagne's empire.

Middle ages = medieval period

476-1453 AD

(from the end of roman empire to the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks)

Medieval Europe is fragmented.

A. Invasions trigger changes in western Europe

        a. Invasions and constant warfare spark new trends

               i. Disruption of trade

                      1) Europe's cities are no longer economic centers

                      2) Money is scarce

               ii. Downfall of cities

                      1) Cities are no longer centers of administration

               iii. Population shifts

                      1) Nobles retreat to the rural areas

                      2) Cities don’t have strong leadership.

       b. Decline of learning

                i. Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition

               ii. Only priest and church officials could read and write.

              iii. Knowledge of Greek ( and literature, science, philosophy) is almost lost.

       c. Loss of a common language

               i. Dialects develop in different regions

              ii. By the 800s, there were French, Spanish, Latin, ETC.

B. Germanic Kingdom emerge

       a. The concept of government changes

               i. Roman society: loyal to public gov't

              ii. Germanic society: loyal to family

                     1) Germanic chief led warriors

                     2) During peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to live (the lord's hall)

                     3) During wartime warriors fought for the lord

       b. The franks under Clovis

               i. Another battlefield conversion

               ii. Clovis and 3000 of his worriers are baptized by the bishop

               iii. The church and Clovis begin to work together.

C. Germanic people adopt Christianity

      a. 511 AD- Clovis unties Franks into one kingdom

      b. 600 AD - church + Frankish rulers convert many

      c. Fear of Muslims in southern Europe spur many to become Christian

      d. Monasteries and convents

                i. 520 AD - Benedict wrote the rules for monks and monasteries

                       1) Poverty, chastity, obedience, study

               ii. His sister scholastic did the same for nuns in convents

              iii. 731 Ad - the venerable Bede wrote a killer history of England

              iv. Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books (bibles, Greek text)

      e. Pope Gregory 1 expands papal power

                i. Papacy = pope's office

               ii. Secular power = worly power

               iii. So…. Under Gregory the great….. PaPal Power (Power of the PoPe ) is Political Power, 

                    Presented from the Pope's Palace

               iv. The church used church money to:

                       1) Raise armies

                       2) Repair roads

                       3) Help the poor

                          Gregory the great began to act as a mayor of Rome, and as head of an earthly kingdom (Christendom)