The High Middle Ages

(1050-1450)

MC

Growth of Royal Power

- William the Conqueror took the throne of England in 1066, he helped unify England and strengthen the monarchy.

- He made a system of tax collecting that also strengthen finances and the law.

- Other kings broadened the system of royal justice by making a basis of common law-a law that is common or the same of all people- regardless of the rank.

Growth of Royal Power (continued)

- There was a jury- group of men sworn to speak the truth, determined which cases should be brought to trial- established to keep things in order.

- Your level of class didn’t matter when it come laws, whether you’re peasants or workers, or nobility you always have to follow common law.

Evolving Traditions

- As the English kings strengthened the throne, the conflicted with the nobles and the Church.

- Out of those struggles came the traditions of government that would influence the modern world

The Magna Carta

- The Magna Carta had two main ideas that in the long run would shape the government traditions.

- Over time the rights that had been granted to the nobles would be granted to all English citizens.

- It made it clear that the monarch, like all of the other subjects, had to obey the law.

Magna Carta (continued)

- The law includes:- Respecting the rights of other people- Not to raise taxes without consulting the

great council of lords and clergies. - Eventually the Great Council became

the Parliament. - King John was forced to sign the

Magna Carta in Runnymede in 1215.

The Holy Roman Empire and the Church

- All kings after Charlemagne that ruled the center of the Carolingian empire took the title from the pope of Holy Roman Emperor. 

- Eventually through the spread of power and the spread of the Church the pope and even the men he had crowned had disputes

- Some of the first dealt with the naming of Bishops, and the control of papal lands.

The Holy Roman Empire and the Church (continued)

- The pope actually tried to say that they had the power to remove kings and emperors by excommunication- exclusion from the Roman Catholic Church as a penalty for refusing to obey Church laws- not allowing the person to partake in the sacraments-sacred ritual of the Roman Catholic Church- or sacred rituals of the Roman Catholic Church.

- In the 1200’s the church reached it peak and it led to the election of the French Pope and the decline of the papacy.

Europeans Look Outward

- In the 1050, Western Europe we barely emerging from isolation.

- Their land had been threatened by the Muslim Empire, which had grown and thrived during the early middle ages.

The Crusades Begin

-  With the Muslims attacking the Byzantine Empire, which was the Eastern Roman Empire, and Christian, the Pope called for all Christians to rush to the aide of the Byzantines and defeat the Muslim hordes. - Pope Urban II from Clermont called for the Crusades, or Holy War to ensure that Christians controlled the Holy Land.

Effect of the Crusades

- For 200 years the crusaders marched and fought to get control of Palestine, the Holy land.

- The Crusades fail their chief goal, to conquest the Holy Land, and they left a bitter legacy of religion behind them.

- However the Crusades increased European trade, heightened papal power, and increased the power of the feudal monarchs.

- They also introduced the Christians to new land they didn’t know existed.

Learning, Literature, and the Arts

- As the economic and political conditions improved in the High Middle Ages, a revival of learning started to take place.

- Starting in the Church, they wanted more educated clergy; Royals needed educated aides and heirs. 

- Schools began by the Church and eventually became the first colleges.  Classics started to be translated from Latin into the vernacular- everyday language of ordinary people- or everyday speech. 

A Time of Crisis

- In the last middle ages a series of disasters struck. - The Bubonic Plague-a disease spread by fleas

on rats-raged through the world and eventually throughout the world.

- Unsanitary conditions aided in the spread of this, and it was called the black death. 1/3 of the people died.

- Economic ruin followed Famine and war added to the problems and Europe would not recover for another 100 years.  The 1330’s was the start of the plague.

Question and Answers

- Q: What was the English idea that all must follow the same rules in society called?- A: Common Law

- Q: What did William the Conqueror help to establish in England that allowed people to have a group of people instead of one person decide their guilt or innocence?

- A: The Jury

Questions and Answers

- Q:What was King John forced to sign that limited the power of the monarch in England in 1215?

- A: The Magna Carta

- Q: What was it called when a person was kicked out of the Church and could not partake in the sacraments?

- A: Excommunication

Questions and Answers

- Q: What were the Holy Wars called when Europe tried to free the Holy Land?

- A: The Crusades

- Q: What is VERNACULAR?- A: The everyday language of ordinary people

- Q: What was the bubonic plague called in Medieval times?

- A: The Black Death

About 1140, Medieval architects developed the Gothic style of architecture, exemplified by the cathedral in Paris.

King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta in Runnymede in 1215.

Bibliography

- King John- http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/king_john.

htm- World History

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