Ms. Soles

Social Studies

Lesson 50

Middle Ages: People & Places

Lesson Topics

1) Powerful Monarchs2) Involvement and Effect of

Catholic Church3) Conflicts and Changes

Timeline of the Middle Ages

Map of Territorial Boundaries ca. 450 AD

The Early Middle Ages saw the continuation of trends set in Late Antiquity, depopulation, deurbanization, and increased barbarian invasion. North Africa and the Middle East, once part of the Eastern Roman Empire, became Islamic.

Early and High Middle Ages Overview

Later in the period, the establishment of the feudal system allowed a return to systemic agriculture. There was sustained urbanization in northern and western Europe. During the High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1300), Christian-oriented art and architecture flourished and Crusades were mounted to recapture the Holy Land from Muslim control.

Early Middle Ages

Between the 5th and 8th centuries, new peoples and powerful individuals filled the political void left by Roman centralized government. Germanic tribes established regional authority within the former boundaries of the Empire.

Germanic Kingdoms in Europe c. 500 A.D

The various Germanic tribal cultures begin their transformation into the larger nations of later history, English, Norse and German, and in the case of Burgundy, Lombardy and Normandy blending into a Romano-Germanic culture.

The Book of Kells is one of the most famous artworks of the Early Middle Ages

They created divided, decentralized kingdoms like those of the Ostrogoths in Italy, the Suevi in Gallaecia, the Visigoths in Hispania, the Franks and Burgundians in Gaul and western Germany, the Angles and the Saxons in Britain, and the Vandals in North Africa.

The Influence of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, which means "universal church", was the major unifying cultural influence. It preserved selections from Latin learning, maintained the art of writing, and provided centralized administration through its network of bishops.

Bishops were central to Middle Age society due to the literacy they possessed. As a result, they often played a significant role in governance. However, beyond the core areas of Western Europe, there remained many peoples with little or no contact with Christianity or with classical Roman culture.

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight.

Johann Otto von Gemmingen, Prince-Bishop of Augsburg

The Imperial Coronation of Charlemagne on Christmas Day of 800 is frequently regarded as a turning-point in medieval history, because it filled a power vacancy that had existed since 476.

9th-century Depiction of Charlemagne with Popes

Gelasius I and Gregory the Great

Charlemagne's cathedral at Aachen

It also marks a change in Charlemagne's leadership, which assumed a more imperial character and tackled difficult aspects of controlling an empire. He sought to reform the Church in his domains, pushing for uniformity in liturgy and material culture.

Charlemagne and Pope Adrian I

“Charlemagne and the Pope". The Frankish king Charlemagne was a devout Catholic who maintained a close relationship with the papacy throughout his life. In 772, when Pope Adrian I was threatened by invaders, the king rushed to Rome to provide assistance. Shown here, the pope asks Charlemagne for help at a meeting near Rome.

• Charlemagne was succeeded by his only legitimate son of adult age at his death, Louis the Pious.

• Louis's long reign of 26 years was marked by numerous divisions of the empire among his sons and, after 829, numerous civil wars between various alliances of father and sons against other sons to determine division by battle.

The Carolingian Empire at its greatest extent, with the three main divisions of 843

The breakup of the Carolingian Empire was accompanied by the invasions, migrations, and raids of external foes as not seen since the Migration Period. Raids from those. Such as Vikings and pirates..

Vikings and Pirates

High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages were characterized by the urbanization of Europe, military expansion, and intellectual revival that historians identify between the 11th century and the end of the 13th century.

High Middle Ages Borders

The High Middle Ages saw an explosion in population. This population flowed into towns, sought conquests abroad, or cleared land for cultivation. The cities of antiquity had been clustered around the Mediterranean.

Montepulciano, ItalyOriginal Medieval Town

By 1200, the growing urban centres were in the centre of the continent, connected by roads or rivers. By the end of this period, Paris might have had as many as 200,000 inhabitants.

The Fortress of Carcassonne, France

The High Middle Ages was a period of great religious movements. The Crusades, have an undeniable religious aspect. Monastic reform was similarly a religious movement effected by monks and elites. Other groups sought to participate in new forms of religious life.

The highly prosperous financed the construction of new parish churches in the European countryside, which increased the Church's impact upon the daily lives of peasants.

Lincoln Cathedral. Lincoln in England is an example of a

cathedral city

This period marks a formative one in the history of the western state as we know it, for kings in France, England, and Spain consolidated their power during this period, setting up lasting institutions to help them govern.

Let’s learn more about those amazing castles the

prosperous kings of the Middle Ages had built:

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/35286-castle-walls-video.htm

http://www.ask.com/videos/watch-video/skyworks-german-castles-showreel/H88LmcsBfi-n-MstPr87qA?o=15147&l=sem&ver=11&domain=ask.com

We must leave The Middle Ages for now! We can look forward to one more visit in

our next lesson, as we discover more about the struggles of

this period with wars and disease!

Good-bye!

Resources

http://www.wikipedia.comhttp://www.ask.comhttp://

www.howstuffworks.com