High Middle Ages1000 - 1300

Europe1000 AD

Norman Conquest of England Invasion of the Kingdom of England by

William the ConquerorBattle of Hastings - 1066 • Bayeux Tapestry • 3 Claimants to the Crown• Harold Godwineson • King Harald of Norway • William (Duke of Normandy)Watershed in English history• Created one of the most powerful

monarchies in Europe • Linked England with Continental Europe• Set the stage for English-French conflict • Changed the English language and culture • Near total loss for Anglo-Saxon aristocracy • Last successful military conquest of

England

England 1066 - 1307• Establishment of Norman Monarchy

– Great Council replaces Witan• Wars in France• Henry II (r. 1154 – 1189) – expands territory• Eleanor of Aquitaine – vast lands in France• Richard I – Lion-Hearted (r. 1189 – 1199)

– Serious warrior• John (r. 1199 – 1216) – incompetent king• Magna Carta – 1215

– Kings are not above the law– King Could Not Collect Any New Tax Without

the Consent of the Great Council – King could not violate due process of law– An accused Person Was Entitled to a Trial by a Jury of Peers

• Parliament – institution able to restrict power of the king– Knights & burgesses elected– Becomes House of Commons & House of Lords

Population of Europe ExpandsIn the 11th cen., people began to move outward into the wilderness, in what is

known as the "great clearances" • During the High Middle Ages, forests and marshes were cleared and cultivated Settlements moved beyond the traditional boundaries of the Frankish Empire to

new frontiers in eastern Europe, beyond the Elbe River, tripling the size of Germany in the process

Reasons for this expansion and colonization include• An improving climate known as the Medieval warm period allowing longer

& more productive growing seasons• End of raids by Vikings & Magyars resulting in greater political stability• Advancements in medieval technology allowing more land to be farmed• Reforms of the Church in the 11th century further increasing social stability• The rise of Feudalism, which also brought increased social stability and more

mobility

Emergence of Cities

Emergence of Cities• Between 1150 and 1200 the number of

chartered cities in the Holy Roman Empire tripled from 200 to 600

New Cities – vitality and squalor • Serfs flocked to the cities looking for

opportunities • Serfs who lived within a city for a year

and a day were no longer bound to the land

• “Town air makes men free” Tried to maintain independence of local

lords and clergy • Independent charters from king• Developed their own municipal

administration Communes – revolutions to gain

independence of cities

Trade and Commerce Trade drove the urban explosion • Cities grew on the trade routes

– Italy, Flanders, France, Germany• New class of long-distance merchants • Traders began to create their own

communities • Traders formed partnerships to share the

rewards and the risks • Venture capitalistsMerchant Fairs

Champagne region of FranceMarco Polo - Venetian traveled to Silk Road to

China • Led to new trade with East

Medieval Guilds• Chief mechanism for organizing, regulating and

restricting trade • Fixed career path for skilled workers• Lengthy period of apprenticeship – 4 to 12 years• Craftsmen would acquire independent

professional status by producing a masterpiece • Developed into trade associations designed to

supervise business activity and protect the interests of its members – Regulated working day– Ensured that work was done to an acceptable

standard– Laid down rates of pay

• Negative: restricted entry into a profession, forbade price cutting or advertising, and discouraged competition and innovation

Expansion of Education• Merchant class spurred need to create more

secular education system– Need for clerks and government officials who

could read and write and understand accounts • Cathedral and monastic schools restricted

admission to the Church• Most new universities were founded from pre-

existing Catholic schools – University of Salerno (9th century)– University of Bologna (1088)– University of Paris (c. 1100

• Students flocked to study under famed teachers – At first, anyone could teach

• First universities were corporations of students & teachers modeled on guilds – Guild’s duties included hiring faculty– Students could dock faculty wages

UniversitiesThree Types of Universities1. students hired and paid for the teachers - Bologna2. teachers were paid by the church - Paris3. supported by the crown and the state – OxfordUniversities became more organized • Set regulations for dress• Provided living accommodations • By 13th cen. rules introduced for teachers• Six years of study to be a lecturer• Eight years & 35 years old to teach theologyStudents entered the University at fourteen to fifteen

years of age

UniversitiesUniversity studies took six years for a Bachelor

degree and up to twelve additional years for a master's degree and doctorate

Specialties at universities• Bologna for legal studies• Salerno for medicine• Paris known as the “queen of theology”Subjects of higher education• Trivium – grammar, rhetoric and logic• Quadrivium – arithmetic, geometry,

astronomy and music • everyone had to take the same courses Town and gown relations often stormy• Civil authorities regularly censor students for

riotous behavior• Students were afforded the legal protection of

the clergy

Scholasticism Dominant philosophical, scientific and

theological movement of the Middle Ages• Efforts of European intellectuals to reconcile

reason and faith• Reaction to contact with Muslim and

reintroduction of Classical literature• Depended much on the work of AristotlePeter Abelard – French priest – 1079 –1142• Lectures at cathedral school of Notre Dame

in Paris• Disastrous love affair with Heloise• Sic et Non – Yes and No• collected statements from the Bible and Church

leaders which contradicted each other• Believed that reason could resolve the

contractions• Church under Bernard of Clairvaux charged

Abelard with heresy

ScholasticismSt. Anselm – Benedictine monk – 1079 – 1142• Belief - no conflict separating man’s spiritual

& rational natures • Joined reason and faith in credo – “I believe

in order to understand” Thomas Aquinas, Dominican, 1225 – 1274• Made every effort to prove that faith and reason

could be reconciled • Believed in two orders of truth

– Reason – could demonstrate propositions such as the existence of God

– Faith – things like the nature of the Trinity must be accepted– Universe as a great chain of being– Omnipotent God called everything into being, with everything

had its place– Man occupied a place midway between the material and the

spiritual– Reason gave human beings the power to understand some things

• Two great works – Summa contra Gentiles & Summa Theologica • Canonized after death in 1274

Scholasticism and Science Scientific Method – Europeans started to systematically observe and investigate

the physical universe• Spurred by newly translated Greek and Arabic sourcesRobert Grosseteste - English bishop and scholar• Aristotelian• Developed an early system of experimental methodology with an emphasis on

observation, hypothesis and verification• Tried to demonstrate that the world was round• Experiments on the refraction of lightRoger Bacon – 1214 1294• Looked for practical applications - telescope• Argued that observation should guide reason

Castles

Chivalry Ideals associated with knighthood• French word chevalier which means “knight”Honor is the foundational and guiding principle Three basic areas 1. Relation to countrymen and fellow Christians • mercy, courage, valor, fairness, protection of

the weak and poor, servant-hood to lord• warrior chivalry - chief duty is to his lord 2. Relation to God • being faithful to the church, being the

champion of good against evil, being generous and obeying God above all

3. Relation to women• idea that the knight is to serve a lady• general gentleness and graciousness to all

women • Courtly love

Chivalric Codes • Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches, and

shalt observe all its directions. • Thou shalt defend the Church. • Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt

constitute thyself the defender of them. • Thou shalt love the country in which thou wast

born. • Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy. • Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without

cessation, and without mercy. • Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties,

if they be not contrary to the laws of God. • Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to

thy pledged word. • Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to

everyone. • Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion

of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.

Courtly LoveSystem of attitudes, myths and etiquetteGoverned the real and idealized behavior of

knights and their ladies System of admiration and courtship Idea that a noble man would dedicate his life to the

love of a lady Such a love could not exist within marriageStandards of etiquette and custom varied• Chaste or Platonic admiration• Intention of consummation expressed Non-Christian tradition• Alternative to the love of God and the Church• Condemed by Church as hereticalSpawned Romance literary genreCourtly love most commonly expressed in the

compositions of the troubadours, and poets

Courtly LoveAndreas Capellanus 12th century author • The Art of Courtly Love Stages of Courtly Love• Attraction to the lady, usually via eyes/glance • Worship of the lady from afar • Declaration of passionate devotion • Virtuous rejection by the lady • Renewed wooing with oaths of virtue & eternal

fealty • Moans of approaching death from unsatisfied desire

(and other physical manifestations of lovesickness) • Heroic deeds of valor which win the lady's heart • Consummation of the secret love • Endless adventures and subterfuges avoiding

detection

Arthurian Romance Gained great popularity in the 12th century • Appears as the ideal of kingship both in war and peace• Cultural icon of a idealized British pastArthur gathered the Knights of the Round Table (Lancelot,

Gawain, Galahad) at his court at Camelot• Arthur's knights engaged in fabulous quests ad

advnetures, such as the quest for the Holy Grail Geoffrey of Monmouth - first major popularization of

Arthurian legend in History of the Kings of Britain• Also wrote The Prophecies of Merlin & Life of MerlinChrétien de Troyes, French poet -12th century• love story of Lancelot for GuinevereHistorical Arthur• Romano-British leader fighting against the invading

Anglo-Saxons - 5th century and early 6th century• Celtic sagas and poetry tell of a warrior named ArthurIn 1191, monks of Glastonbury Abbey announced that

they had found the burial site of Arthur and Guinevere

The Holy GrailDish, plate or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to

possess miraculous powers• May combine Christian lore with Celtic myth• Important segment of the Arthurian cycle Grail literature divides into two classes • King Arthur’s knights visiting the Grail castle or questing

after the object – Must be pure of heart

• Grail’s history in the time of Joseph of ArimatheaGrail romances started in France• Appeared first in works by Chrétien de Troyes• Related to crusading spirit of time• Early Grail romances centered on Percival & Galahad• Hero must prove himself worthy to be in its presence Robert de Boron (1191 - 1202)• Story of Joseph of Arimathea acquiring the chalice of the

Last Supper Two schools of thought concerning Grail's origin • Derived from early Celtic myth and folklore • Began as a purely Christian symbol Other interpretation• Jesus’ Bloodline in modern Europe – Mary Magdalene

Reform in the Church The Church’s spiritual and secular authority influenced every

facet of life• Beginning of the 11th cen.- the Church largest landowner in

Europe – Up to a third of all land• Controlled kings and emperorsChurch reformers scrutinized Church’s involvement in temporal

affairs• Called for ending simony – accepting bribes in order to

receive Church offices• Establishment of celibacy for the clergyPower of the papacy continued to grow• Leo X proclaimed the absolute primacy of St. Peter in 1050Great Schism - Leo X broke with the Eastern Orthodox Church

in 1054• Pope supreme over the patriarchs

Reform in the ChurchPax Dei (Peace of God)• In 1040 pope tried to curtail continuous state of warfare by declaring a placed

women, children travelers and priests under papal protection• Banned fighting between Wednesday night and Monday morning and on holy

days• Left only 90 days a year for warfare• Did not stop warfareCult of the Virgin Mary – eclipsed the veneration of individual saints • Given mediator role between sinful humanity and Jesus• Many cathedrals dedicated to “Notre Dame” or “Our Lady”

Gothic Architecture Style originated at the abbey church

of Saint-Denis in Saint-Denis, near Paris

Theological message: • Great glory of God versus the

smallness and insignificance of the mortal being

Elements• Flying buttresses• Pointed arch • Larges stained-glass windows• Inventive sculpture – saints &

gargoyles

Gothic Architecture

New Monastic Orders Dedicated to living simple, austere existences • Obedient to Pope• Rejected life in the monasteries• Work directly with people• Fought against hereticsMendicant orders - 13th century• Dedicated to life of poverty• Sought to assist the poorCistercians – c. 1100 – Founded by St. Bernard of Clairaux• By 1153 at least 343 chapter housesFranciscans • Founded by St. Francis of Assisi• known as the Grey Friars founded 1209 Carmelites - Hermits of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Carmel • known as the White Friars, founded 1206–1214 Dominicans - Order of Preachers, founded 1217

– Emphasized preaching rather than poverty– Trained in rhetoric to combat heretics with

argumentsAugustinians- Hermits of St. Augustine, founded 1256

Jews in Western Europe Jews very persecuted during Middle AgesThe Church prohibited Christians from lending money at interest –

usury• Jews became the Empire’s financial agentsUrban II’s call for crusade in 1095 opened a period of persecutionThe first pogrom against the Jews took place during this period1096 – 1215 – numerous persecutions of Jews1103 – Henry IV denied Jews the right to bear arms• Only freemen could bear arms co Jews were considered as

“unfree”1215 – Fourth Lateran Council prohibited Jews from holding office• Designated certain clothes to wear as well as areas in which Jews

were allowed to live – ghettos1306 – Jews were expelled from France

Heretical Movements Mass movements that questioned church doctrines• Beginning in the 11th century• Originated in the newly urbanized areas such as

southern France and northern Italy • Church reaction was to eliminate some and

integrate othersCatharism - movement with Gnostic elements• Also called Albigensians • Dualists believed that historical events were the

result of struggle between a good & evil• The Albigensian Crusade launched by Pope

Innocent III in 1209 • Brutal massacres – “Kill them all; God will

know his own”Waldensians • Valdes of Lyons• Opposed to corruption of the ChurchInquisition established in 13th century• Persecution and torture to identify heresy

Europe on the Eve of the Crusades

The CrusadesSeries of military campaigns conducted

in the name of Christendom• Primary goal to recapture Jerusalem &

the Holy Land from Muslims• Combined pilgrimage with holy war• Franks vs. Saracens • 9 primary crusades - 1095 to 1291 • Usually sanctioned by the Pope• Unleashed wave of impassioned,

personally felt pious Christian fury • Mostly unsuccessful expeditionsDifferent cultural interpretations• Western - heroism, faith and honour • Islamic – invasion, barbarian

savagery and brutality Living memory in Muslim world of today

Causes of the Crusades• In 1009, the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr

Allah sacked the pilgrimage hospice in Jerusalem and destroyed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

• Reports began to circulate in the West about cruelty of Muslims toward Christian pilgrims

• Pleas from the Byzantine Emperors threatened under by the Seljuk Turks– Emperor wants to resore land to empire

• Outlet for intense religious piety of the late 11th century among public – Dying for the cause led to salvation.

• Investiture Controversy awakened public interest in religious affairs

• Opportunity to increase power of papacy by reuniting Christian world and bringing East under control

Palestine before the CrusadesMuslim presence in the Holy Land • Arab conquest of Palestine in the 7th

century • Many independent city-statesMany Christians in Syria, Lebanon,

Palestine, and Egypt• Pilgrimages allowed to travel to Christian

holy sites Previous territory ruled by Byzantine Empire• Want to recapture the lost lands Seljuq Turks• Recent converts to Islam from Central

Asia

First CrusadeByzantine emperor Alexius I calls for help1095 - Council of ClermontPope Urban II • Call for Christians to join a war against the

Turks – Just war• Return the Holy Lands to Christian control “The frenzy of the barbarians has devastated the

churches in the east, and has even – shame to say – seized into slavery the holy city of Christ, Jerusalem.”

• Unite European Christians in a common cause– Crusaders guaranteed ticket to heaven– Remission of sins

• Subject the Eastern orthodox churches to Rome 1096 – Armies from France, Germany & Italy set

out – led by Norman nobles1099 - take Jerusalem by assault and massacred

population Four small Crusader states created • Edessa, Tripoli, Antioch and Jerusalem

Sacking of Jerusalem

Knights Templar“Poor Knights of Jesus Christ”• Took vows of poverty, chastity & obedience• Devoted to war – guarded pilgrim routes• Camped on Temple MountGained support of Bernard of ClairvauxBy 1196 string of Templar castles in Holy LandFearless warriors – 20,000 died during crusadesMistrusted by other crusaders• Many rumors about secret religious ritesBecame enormously wealthy and powerful• 900 Templar castles across medieval world• Answered to no one except the pope• Became prominent bankers of age• Ambitions to create their own nation in Europe?King Phillip IV of France • Destroys all power on Friday April 13, 1307

Second Crusade,1145–1149 • Muslims conquered the town of Edessa• New crusade was called for by pope and

various preachers – Bernard of Clairvaux

• French and German armies, under the Kings Louis VII and Conrad III – Wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine

• Returned home without major successes• Strategically foolish attack on Damascus • Encouraged resolve of Muslims

Saladin• Known as greatest Muslim warrior

– Reputation for nobility– Greatly respected in West – Chivalrous

• Kurdish from Tikrit, in present day Iraq• Founded the Ayyubid dynasty• Powerbase in Egypt and Syria• Eliminates all rivals through war &

intrigue• Unites Muslim forces to confront

Crusader kingdoms– Portays himself as champion of Islam against

Western invaders• 1187 – defeats crusaders at Battle of Hattin• Captures Jerusalem without fight

– Spares inhabitants

Third Crusade Known as the Kings' Crusade • Pope Gregory VIII called for a crusade • Philip II of France, Richard I of England and

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor - Barbarosa • 1189 – 100,00 soldiers depart• Frederick drowned in Cilicia in 1190• Philip left in 1191 capture of AcreRichard the Lion-Hearted• Courageous soldier• Defeated the Muslims near Arsuf • In sight of Jerusalem • 1192 - Established a truce with Saladin Jerusalem left in Muslim hands

Fourth Crusade• Initiated in 1202 by Pope Innocent

III• Intention of invading the Holy Land

through Egypt • The Venetians gained control of this

crusade and to Constantinople• Attempted to place a Byzantine

exile on the throne • Crusaders sacked the city in 1204• Short-lived Latin emperor

Legacy of the Crusades• The need to raise, transport and supply large

armies led to a flourishing of trade throughout Europe

• Opened Europe to Islamic culture, learning, ideas and products

• Helped bring on the Renaissance • Islamic world has cultural memory of cruel and

savage onslaughts by European Christians• Strengthened Kings or Central Powers• Instituted anti-Semitism toward Jews and

persecution of heretics