Postclassical Western Europe

Postclassical Period – fall of Rome (5th century) to 15th century

SourceSt. Godric

Fall of Rome and Splitting of Europe

Saint Ambrose and Emperor Theodosius by Rubens

330 Constantine founds capital Constantinople

285 – administration of empire is split (E and W)

395 permanent division of E and W

476 last W Roman Emperor overthrown by Germanic peoples

A Century of Crisis• Pax Romana came to an end with Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180)• The rulers that followed were unable to manage the large empire and its

growing problems.• Result: The Roman Empire began to decline

Read through the next SIX slides and answer the following questions in your notes.

1. What led to the fall of the Roman Empire?

2. Which cause was most responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire?

ProblemsEconomic

• Trade was disrupted by hostile tribes and pirates• No new gold or silver sources = raise taxes• Created more money = inflation (bad)• Soil in Italy and Western Europe became increasingly less fertile

Romans did not foster a strong industrial base in their empire—they farmed, they fought, they traded, they enslaved and organized the world around them—but they did not cultivate industry. The did not have something to sustain their economy outside of subjugating and exploiting conquered peoples.

When their foreign conquests began to slow down and eventually faltered, they had nothing firm to fall back on.

The Fall of the Roman Empire Political• Citizens were losing their patriotism towards Rome• Government began to be controlled by military• Emperors such as Nero, Commodus, & Caligula

murdered, raped, and impoverished their people

Emperor Nero in 64 AD A colossal fire broke out at Rome, and destroyed much of the city. Rumors stated Nero himself was responsible. He took advantage of the situation by building a lavish private palace on the site of the fire.

Perhaps to divert attention from the rumors, Nero ordered that Christians should be rounded up and killed. Some were torn apart by dogs, others burnt alive as human torches.

The Fall of the Roman EmpireSocial• People were slowly losing their confidence in the Empire• Gap between rich and poor was still very wide• Decline in interest in public affairs

The Fall of the Roman Empire Military

• Low funds for defense• Mercenaries (foreign soldiers) hired who accepted lower pay • Soldiers were less disciplined and loyal

Inflation was a persistent and corrosive influence from the third century on—to the point that people began avoiding work altogether, to dodge taxes.

This led to the abandonment of cities, the failure of central government and the inability to pay soldiers defending the empire. The weakened army was not able to protect the frontier borders which kept the barbarians living outside the boundaries of Rome at bay.

The Fall of the Roman EmpireReform Attempted

• Emperor Diocletian • Ruled with iron fist and limited personal freedoms• Doubled size of army• Sought to control inflation• Divided empire in two: Greek Speaking East & Latin Speaking West• Separates the Western Empire from wealthier East (285 C.E.)

1. What led to the fall of the Roman Empire?

2. Which cause was most responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire?

Or…. Did the Roman Empire collapse in 476 C.E.?

The Fall of the Roman EmpireGermanic Invasions

i. Mongol nomads, The Huns, forced Germanic peoples on empire’s borders to push into Roman lands

ii. Last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, ousted by Germanic forces in 476 AD

European Migration

300-700

Post-Classical Europe – 2 Christian Civilizations

Byzantine Empire

Western Europe

Barbarian Kingdoms, ca. 526

Byzantine and Christianity

391 - Theodosius I – Christianity became the state religionPolytheistic religions condemned

313 - Edict of MilanNo more persecuting Christians in East or WestSylvester I - Constantine gives a palace to Bishop in Rome

312 Constantine Embraced Christianity due to vision he had at the battle of Milvian

476 – Fall of Western Empire

395 – Emperor Theodosius I dies – splits empire between two sons.. Permanent split

Constantine's conversion, by Rubens (1622)

Europe after the Fall of Rome

• 6th to 10th centuries– Fragmentation prevails

• Catholic church strong• Iberia

– Arab Muslims• Core: France, Low

Countries, Germany– Later, England

• Scandinavian Vikings– Raids from 8th to 10th

centuries• Literacy declines

– except among churchmen

FALL OF ROMAN EMPIREGERMANIC SUCCESSORS

THE FRANKSEXTERNAL INVASIONS

Quest for Political Order

Emperor Charlemagne

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

Germanic Successor States

Decentralized Society German chieftains

replace Roman rule Germanic tradition

replaced Roman law Peasants turn to local

lords for safetySubsistence

AgriculturePower shifts from

Italy to France

The Franks

Clovis I (466-511) United the Franks Converted to

ChristianityCharles Martel (688-

741) Defeated Muslim at

ToursCharlemagne (742-

814) Centralized authority Temporary revival of

learning Empire fell less than

30 years after his death

Battle of Tours, 732

External Invasions

External invasions by Vikings (purple), Magyars (green), and Muslims (red) completed the destruction of centralized rule in Western Europe.European lords built a system of military and political relationships to protect their land. This system is called feudalism.

FEUDALISMSERFS AND MANORS

THE MEDIEVAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Medieval Society (600-1000)

European Feudalism

Kings and nobles gave land (fief ) to vassals (nobles) in exchange for military service Control of land was

hereditaryVassals gave land to

knights in exchange for military service Knights were bound by

a code of chivalry

European Feudalism

The Knight The Castle

Knights and Castles

Castle Rising in England was built in 1138

Serfs and Manorialism

Agricultural manors were essential for maintaining the feudal system Manors included a mill,

church, workshops, and a village

Serfdom Bound to the land Cultivated land for lords

in exchange for protection and a small plot of land

Also were responsible for weaving, building, etc.

Serfs were required to work their lords land three days a week. The rest of the time they could work the small plots of land provided to them by their lord.

Manorialism

The Christian Church

Created moral standardsOwned extensive land

throughout Western Europe

Struggled with secular rulers to be the dominant authority in Europe

Supported monasticism Monks preserved literacy

and learning Nuns provided an

additional opportunity for women

The Pope

Papal authority grew during early medieval period Canon law Excommunication Investiture

Frequent power struggles between monarchs and the papacy Henry IV and Gregory

VII

A symbol of papal authority, Pope Gregory VII declared the church infallible and capable of removing emperors

VIKINGSSPANISH RECONQUISTA

THE CRUSADES

Expansion of Europe

Viking Expansion

Spanish Reconquista

Began in small Christian states in northern Spain

By 1150 Christians had recaptured over half of Muslim Spain Aided by organization

and wealth of Catholic Church

Ended in 1492 with conquest of Granada Drove Jews and

Muslims from SpainThe Spanish

Inquisition

The Crusades

Impact of the Crusades1091-1204

• Creation of Slavic Kingdoms• Seljuk Turks seize territories• Venetians gain trading advantages• Crusaders turn on Byzantines 4th

1202

ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL STATESEUROPEAN ECONOMIC REVIVAL

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSCHRISTIANITY DURING THE HIGH MIDDLE

AGES

High Middle Ages (1000-1500)

Rise of Regional States

Holy Roman Empire (Germany) “neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire” Conflicts with church prevented creation of a powerful

stateFrance

Capetian dynasty consolidated feudal estates into a centralized government Feudal monarchy

Italy Dominated by powerful city-states: Rome (papal

state), Florence, Genoa, Milan, Venice, etc.

Europe in the High Middle Ages

Rise of Monarchy in England

William of Normandy conquered England in 1066 Feudalism with

centralized approachMagna Carta signed by

King John in 1215 Created parliamentary

system Parliament must approve

changes in taxation Does NOT create a

democratic system

King John, enemy of Robin Hood, was forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215

European Economic Revival

Changing Agricultural Economy Technology: improved plows, watermills, the horse

collar, and the horseshoe Crop rotation and the three-field system Population growth

800 CE—29 Million 1100 CE—44 Million 1300 CE—79 Million

Population growth led to urbanization London, Paris, Toledo, etc. Some towns challenged the authority of their feudal

lord

European Economic Revival

Urbanization increased specialization of labor Guilds created regulations between craftsmen

Protect prices, regulate production, etc.Specialized labor increased manufacturing

Manufacturing focused on wool textiles Woolen textiles dominated by Italy and Flanders

(Belgium)Increased manufacturing led to increased

trade Italian merchants dominated trade in the

Mediterranean Increased involvement in the Afro-Eurasian trade

network Silk Roads, Trans-Saharan, etc.

Hanseatic League promotes trade in northern Europe

Trade in the High Middle Ages

Venetian and Genoese merchants established colonies in major trade ports

of Alexandria, Constantinople,

Cairo, Damascus, etc.

Social Developments

Status of women improved Chivalry promoted respect

for women Urbanization created more

job opportunities for women All-female guilds

Worked same jobs as their husbands

Increased veneration of the Virgin Mary Mary symbolized ideals of

womanhood, love, & sympathy Cathedral of

Notre Dame or “Our Lady”

Christianity in the High Middle Ages

Cathedral schools become universities University of Paris, Oxford University, etc.

Rediscovery of works of Aristotle Increased commerce with Muslims provided the West

with access to Greek worksNew intellectual movements

Thomas Aquinas and scholasticism Combining Aristotle’s logic with Christianity to create the

most truthful system of thought possibleSome reformers within in the church were

worried about the materialism of the church

BUBONIC PLAGUEHUNDRED YEARS WAR

THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

End of the Middle Ages

Bubonic Plague

Silk Roads spread bubonic plague across Eurasia in the 14th century

In October 1347 a ship from the Crimea sailed into Messina. The crew had a "sickness clinging to their very bones.“

Rats carrying fleas got on shore spreading disease Increased trade helped spread the plague Close proximity, unsanitary conditions facilitated the spread

into cities25 million people died in the next several years, 1/4

to 1/3 of the population of Europe Population rebounded within 200 years

Spread of Bubonic Plague

The Black Death

Victims “ate lunch with their friends and dinner with their ancestors in paradise”

-Geovanni Boccaccio

Impact of the Bubonic Plague

Profound impact on manorial economy Labor became scarce in some places Tenants, rent payers, made gains as feudal obligations

were lowered Some serfs were freed to keep them from running

away to better opportunities Wages rose in towns to keep workers happy

“The path to the Industrial Revolution began with the Black Death. The population fall increased labor mobility by creating many vacant farms, and that mobility undermined serfdom.” - Robert Allen

Hundred Years War (1337-1453)

A series of periodic military campaigns between England and France

New technology Crossbows, longbows,

pikes, firearms, and cannons Castles & knights

outdatedMonarchs maintain

permanent militariesBurning of Joan of Arc, 1431

Italian Renaissance

Started in Italy during the 13th century Why Italy?

Urban Growth & Wealth

Merchant Class Values Classical Heritage

Main Idea: humanism Study of human beings

and human potential Celebration of human

life Many different

approaches to humanism

It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.