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01b _Ch13-European Middle Ages: Charlemagne Unites Germanic Kingdoms (The Dark Age) Timeline: 5th - 9th C FQ: Where in Western Europe did 'l ight' shine during the 'Dark Age'?

Main Idea: Many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited underCharlemagnes empire. Medieval Europe was a transition between Classical and Modern Europe. The

Medieval European Period was marked by changes brought about initially by the collapse of the RomanEmpire in the West (Western Europe). In this lesson, the focus is the kingdom of the Franks. Therelatively brief period of political and social stability established by the Merovingian and Carolingianmonarchs witnessed signicant efforts toward permanent change as well as long-standing achievement.

CCSS

I. The Dark Ages: Urban Lifestyle Changes (Absence of a Central-Unifying Authority) A. City/ Town Infrastructure Collapse

1. Roads in disrepair 2. Sanitation suffers 3. Aqueducts in disrepair 4. Economic Activity Collapses

a. Lack of Security (ex. law enforcement & re)b. Unenforced Standards

B. Population Plummets 1. 2nd Century Rome => ~1,000,000 inhabitants 2. 6th C. Rome => ~30,000 inhabitants. 3. The countryside becomes the destination of many seeking sustenance and security.

C. Institutions Weakened or Disappear (Judicial, Religious, Education) 1. Local loyalties based on kinship replaces loyalty to a central authority. 2. #Laws are not codied, but inuenced greatly by custom & tradition. 3. Houses of worship experience shrinking congregations. Negative impact on ability to

offer services and maintain the facility. 4. Learning becomes decentralized and provincial (based on local history & customs)

II. The Dark Ages: From "Goth" to "Frank" 1 A. 'Provincial [local] authority based on tribal/ kinship bonds. It replaces the duties andresponsibilities of citizenship to a central government. B. The Goths, a Germanic tribal-based ethnic group, contains many different tribes and dominatenorthern and western Europe. C. Christianity spread among the Germanic tribes before the collapse of Rome through contactwith Roman civilization. The brand of Christianity practiced by many Goths was a hybrid ofRoman Catholicism and the native religious beliefs. This heretical hybrid faith is called ArianChristianity.

1. Clovis, the Frank, unies the Franks and converts to Roman Catholicism in the 5th C.(Merovingian Family)

2. Kinship ties and loyalties contribute to the conversion of most Goths to Roman

Catholicism.

3. Mayor Domo: (Mayor of the Palace) Exercised 'true' political power in the FrankishKingdom.

a. Charles Martel- Charles the Hammer: Expanded the kingdom andconcentrated power in the position.

b. Carolingian Family.

III. The Rise of the Frankish Kingdom

http://www.utexas.edu/courses/romanciv/end%2520and%2520legacy/westerneurope.jpg

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A. The Franks unite many of the Gothic tribes under one central political authority. Thus, the tribalbonds diminish in importance.B. The Frank monarch and the Papacy join in an alliance. Pepin the Short (son of Charles Martel)is anointed King by the Pope. This papal coronation subverts the authority and legitimacy of theactual Frank king. Pepin vows that the Franks will subdue and convert non-Roman Catholic tribesthat could threaten the Church (eg. The Lombards).

C. Charlemagne ascends the Carolingian throne and establishes his court at Aachen.1. Succeeds his father (Pepin the Short) as King of the Franks.2. Despite his illiteracy, he paves the way for a brief rebirth in learning ( CarolingianRenaissance ).

a. Carolingian Handwriting A great accomplishment of Carolingian era monasteries was the

preservation of manuscripts. Monks copied the Bible, works of the ChurchFathers, sacred writings and commentaries, and works of classical authors aswell. Many of the works of ancient Rome that we possess exist in their earliestform in a Carolingian manuscript. This copying contributed to a reform ofhandwriting. Merovingian script [was] all but unreadable, and each copying led tonew corruptions in the text. With the Carolingian Renaissance there was a newemphasis on accuracy, and this drew attention to the need for better handwriting.

b. The invention of Carolingian Miniscule, 2 was signicant. This script has clear,neat letters, with each word separated from one another, rather than all runtogether as Merovingian script often was. Alcuin 3 formed a scriptorium (writingofce) that produced many books in the new script and inuenced writers far andwide. One of Charlemagne's capitularies is entitled "On Scribes - That TheyShould Not Write Corruptly". Carolingian miniscule was revived during theRenaissance and has survived as our lower case letters (the capital letters comefrom ancient Rome). 4

3. Political, Economic and Social Initiatives a. In his government, Charlemagne systematized the administrative machinery ofhis predecessors. He permitted conquered peoples to retain their own laws,which he codied when possible, and he issued many capitularies. A noteworthyachievement was the creation of a system by which he could supervise hisadministrators in even the most distant lands; his missi dominici were personalrepresentatives with wide powers who regularly inspected their assigned districts.He strove to educate the clergy and exercised more direct control over theappointment of bishops and he acted as arbiter in theological disputes. [5] Hestimulated foreign trade and entertained friendly relations with Christian allies(e.g. England) as well as Muslims (e.g. Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid). 6

b. Charlemagne's court at Aachen was the center of an intellectual renaissance.The palace school, under the leadership of Alcuin, became famous; numerousschools for children of all classes were also established throughout the empireduring Charlemagne's reign. The preservation of classical literature was aided byhis initiatives. 6

IV. The Dark Ages: Collapse Of The Frankish Kingdom A. Rivalry among the sons and grandchildren of Charlemagne fractures the kingdom. Among theFranks, there had been a long tradition of land division among male heirs. B. Treaty of Verdun (c. 843) 7, 8

Charlemagne had several sons, but only one survived him. This son, Louis the Pious, followed hisfather as the ruler of a united Empire. The dispute between the sons of Louis the Pious (son ofCharlemagne) results in the permanent division of the kingdom, determined by the Treaty of Verdun. Over

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the next two centuries, these divisions become divided further, combine with others, and change theirborders. Feudal lords become increasingly powerful as the central authority weakens.

The origins of familiar states appear as a result of the fragmentation of the Frankish Kingdom. TheHoly Roman Empire emerges from the property of Louis the German, which further down the timelinegives rise to the nation-state of Germany. The property awarded to Charles the Bald, over time, becomesthe center of the nation-state of France.

C. Viking Invasions: Save us, O [GOD], from the fury of the Northmen

D. Expansion of Islamic Civilization

V. Summary Activity: Why it matters now. Charlemagne spread Christian civilization through Northern Europe, where it had a permanent impact.

1 Borrowed and edited by Mr. V for classroomuse (Jan. 2008). Also < http://www.bartleby.com/67/407.html > last accessed on 12 Dec.08.

2 Borrowed and edited by Mr. V for classroomuse (Jan. 2008).3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcuin

4 Borrowed and edited by Mr. V for classroom use (Jan. 2008).

5#787, 7th ecumenical council, convened by Byzantine Empress Irene. Called to refute iconoclasm, the council declared that imagesought to be venerated (but not worshiped) and ordered them restored in churches. Practically the only Western delegates were thepapal legates, but popes have conrmed the conciliar canons. It is the last council accepted by both the Roman Catholic Churchand the Orthodox Eastern Church as ecumenical .

6#http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/Charlema_AchievementsofHisReign.asp Also, a source of denitions for certain termsappearing in this lesson. Borrowed and edited by Mr. V for classroom use (Feb. 2004).7 In the stipulations of the Treaty of Verdun

Louis' eldest surviving son Lothair became Emperor and ruler of the Central Franks. This kingdom was in turn dividedamong his three sons, into Lotharingia, Burgundy and (Northern) Italy. These areas would later vanish as separatekingdoms.

#Louis' second son, Louis the German, became King of the East Franks. This area is the kernel of the later Holy RomanEmpire, which eventually evolved into modern Germany.

His third son, Charles the Bald, became King of the West Franks; this area is the foundation for the later France. 8On the map, the area outlined in green is controlled by Louis II [eldest son of Lothair], the area in yellow is controlled by Louis theGerman, and the portion in purple is controlled by Charles the Bald. # Borrowed and edited by Mr. V for classroom use- Feb. 2004

Materials/Sources: #Refer to the course calendar for additional materials, assignments and pertinent due dates. World History: Patterns of Interaction Slide Presentation