The Formation of Western Europe

Ch. 14

The Age of Faith

• Church begins to restructure itself and started building projects

• Monasteries led the spiritual revival• Problems in the church:– Priests married and had families– Bishops practiced simony (selling positions in the

church)– Lay Investiture (kings appointing church officials)

Reform and Church Organization

• Church is restructured to resemble a kingdom, with the pope at its head– Papal Curia – pope’s group of advisors who

developed canon law and held church court– Church collected taxes in the form of tithes

New Religious Orders

• Friars, like monks, take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience but did not live in monasteries.

• Dominicans – one of the earliest orders of friars – emphasized education and study

• Franciscans – founded by Francis of Assisi – order of Friars that treated all creatures as if they were his spiritual brothers and sisters

Church Architecture

• Small churches are replaced by large churches called cathedrals.– Viewed as a representation of the City of God

• Gothic cathedrals are very tall and had stained glass windows meant to inspire worship– Famous cathedral – Cathedral of Notre Dame in

Paris – ceiling more than 100 feet tall

Goals of the Crusades

• Pope Urban II calls for a “holy war” or Crusade to gain control of the Holy Land

• Goals:– Stop Muslim attacks in Byzantine Empire– Reunite Eastern and Western Christians– Get rid of knights who were fighting each other at

home– Opportunity to make money through trade

First and Second Crusades

• Tremendous support for First Crusade– Promise of heaven if you die in Crusade– Most are French– Ill-prepared for war – Capture Jerusalem after a month of fighting

• Second Crusade:– Hoped to recapture Edessa, which was lost to the

Turks, and were defeated– Jerusalem falls to Muslim leader, Saladin

Third Crusade

• Try to recapture Jerusalem• Led by three powerful monarchs:– Richard the Lion- hearted– Philip II– Frederick I

• Richard the Lion-Hearted vs. Saladin– Both brilliant warriors– Agreed to a truce after many battles– Jerusalem remain under Muslim control but Christians

can travel freely there

The Crusading Spirit Dwindles

• 4th Crusade fails – knights loot Constantinople instead of going to Jerusalem

• Less about capturing Jerusalem and more about knights becoming rich

• Do not really conquer much land

The Children’s Crusade

• 12 Year old Stephen of Cloyes leads 30,000 children to try to capture Jerusalem

• Most die of starvation or drown• Nicholas of Cologne took 20,000 toward Rome

to meet the Pope– Many freeze to death– Pope says to go home and wait until they are older

A Spanish Crusade

• Muslims control most of Spain • Reconquista was a long effort by the Spanish

to get the Muslims out of Spain• Isabella and Ferdinand are new Christian

rulers who use the Inquisition to increase power and unify Christians – Heretics brought to court– Many tortured and burned at the stake

Effects of the Crusades

• Expanded trade between Europe and Southwest Asia

• Lessened the power of the pope• Weakened feudal nobility and increased power

of kings• Fall of Constantinople weakens Byzantine

Empire• Hatred between Muslims and Christians

especially in the Holy Land

A Growing Food Supply

• Needed more food because populations were increasing

• Started using horses instead of oxen• Use 3 field system instead of 2 field system– Farm on 2/3 of land instead of ½

• More food = healthier people = longer lives

Guilds

• Guild = organization of people who work in the same type of job– Goal: improve economic and social conditions of

their members– Craft Guilds – glassmakers, winemakers, tailors– Merchant guilds – involved in trade

Fairs and Trade

• Most trade took place in towns• Fairs held several times a year where people

traded their goods • Cloth was the most common trade item• Trade spreads across Europe and foreign

goods become available

Business and Banking

• Necessary because of the increase in trade between different regions:– Different currencies– Merchants had to borrow money to buy goods

• Banking becomes a big business, especially in Italy

• This is the Commercial Revolution

Changes because of Commercial Revolution:

• Towns grow into cities• Lifestyles change:– People paid more– More money for building businesses– King’s power increases

Urban Life

• As trade grows, towns grow, populations grow• Problems in Towns:– Narrow crowded streets– No Sanitation– Housing lacks light, clean water, air = fire hazard

• New Merchant Class– Middle Class– Burghers – merchants and town dwellers– Fight for more rights

Revival of Learning

• Muslim libraries in Spain had many works of Ancient Greece

• Universities started when scholars met together in groups – Oxford, Paris were 2 locations of universities– Brought new ideas and forms of learning to

Europe– Some writers use vernacular, or everyday language

of their homeland

Philosophers

• Thomas Aquinas – argued that religion could be proven by logic

• Combined ancient Greek thought with Christian thought

• Scholastics used their knowledge of Aristotle to debate issues

• These teachings influenced law and government

England Absorbs Waves of Invaders

• Early Invasions:– Vikings– Danish King Canute conquered England and united

Anglo-Saxons and Vikings• The Norman Conquest– William the Conqueror from Normandy claims the

English crown and invades England– Won the Battle of Hastings against Harold, the

Anglo Saxon

Henry II

• Took over after William the Conqueror died• Married Eleanor of Aquitaine who was French

and took over Aquitaine– Mother to2 kings: Richard the Lion-Hearted and

King John• Ruled England from 1154 to 1189• Began using a jury in court• Common Law – a single body of law

Magna Carta

• Henry’s son John ruled England• Was a failure as a military leader – lost

Normandy• Was cruel and raised taxes to pay for wars• His nobles revolted and forced him to sign the

Magna Carta on June 15, 1215– Limited the power of the king– No taxation without representation– Trial by Jury

Edward I and Parliament

• Edward I needed to raise taxes for war $• Had to asked representatives from different

groups to meet– Knights, bishops, lords, and burgesses formed the

group– Group is called Parliament = legislative group– Over time it helped limit royal power, like the

Magna Carta did

France

• France struggled to increase power and get the English kings out

• Capetian family ruled– United France and France became its own

kingdom• Phillip II– Greatly increased French territory – got Normandy

back from England

Estates- General

• France had 3 Estates– 1st Estate = Church leaders– 2nd Estate = great Lords– 3rd Estate = common people

• When representatives from each estate met together it was called the Estates General

• Helped increase royal power against nobility, and never limited the power of the king

Pope and King Collide

• Pope Boniface VIII attempted to enforce papal authority on kings– Wrote an official document stating that kings must

always obey popes• King Phillip IV of France has the pope put in

prison– Popes could never again force monarchs to obey

Avignon and the Great Schism

• The Pope (Clement V) decided to live in Avignon, which is in France, instead of Rome

• This move weakened the Church• The cardinals chose a new Pope, from Italy. He was

not a good leader, so they picked another Pope.• So, there were 2 Popes– 1 from France and 1 from Italy– This split the Catholic Church– This is known as the Great Schism, meaning division

Scholars Challenge Church Authority

• John Wycliffe challenges the weakened church• He preached that Jesus was the true head of

the Church, NOT the Pope• He also believed the Bible alone was the final

authority for Christian life, Not the Pope• Jan Hus taught that the Bible was a higher

authority than the Church– He was excommunicated and burned at the stake

Bubonic Plague

• Began in Asia, traveling in rats on trade ships• First place in Europe to get the Plague = Italy• Known as the Black Death because of the dark

colored boils on the skin• Quickly spread to the rest of Europe• 1/3 of the population of Europe died during

the plague• Ripped apart European society and culture

Plague Cont’d

• Kills 25 million Europeans• Effects of the Plague:– Town populations fall– Tade declines. Prices rise– Jews blamed for bringing on the plague– Church suffers because their prayers did not stop

the plague – Peasants revolt

Hundred Years’ War

• Century of war between England and France• French king dies with no heir• Edward III (English King) claims the throne is

his and this starts the war• Victory bounces between the two for 100

years and finally the French drive the English out of France

Warfare Changes

• The longbow was used in the Hundred Years’ War– Could penetrate armor– Could be fired extremely fast– English invention which helps the English win

battles– Archers replace the knights as war heroes

Results of Hundred Years’ War

• Nationalism – pride in your country• People fought for country, not kings• Power of French monarch increased• English had another war : War of the Roses• End of the Middle Ages

Joan of Arc

• During the Hundred Years’ War, a rumor spread that a young girl would save the French from the English

• At age 13 Joan began hearing voices of saints that told her to rescue France

• Joan led the French army in its first victory at Orleans

• She was captured by English allies and charged as a witch

• She was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431