5/28/14

Today in class, we took a test. It was very hard. Some of them I know, but others were very hard. I did study last night. I was pretty confident I knew the information but a lot of those questions I fe could have gone either way. In class you threw a eraser at Hanna. It was kind of scary. If she would have stood up you probably would have hit her. That would not have been good. I hope this grade doesn't move my grade down. I have a 90 and it would suck if it went down. I am very happy with it now. If I get lower then 80 I will not be happy. I hope I do fine.

5/27/14

important notes to know: Study this and notes on Charlemagne

• the middle ages were from 476 AD- 1453 AD
• this society has roots in:
• classical heritage of Rome
• Beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church
• customs of various Germanic tribes
• overrun the western half of the Roman Empire:
• causing:
• disruption of trade
• downfall of cities
• population shifts to rural areas
• Effects of Invasion:
• Decline of learning
• tribes had oral tradition, songs, but couldn't read Greek or Latin
• Romance languages evolve (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian)
• few besides priests were literate
• Germanic warriors' loyalty is to the Lord of the manor he provides them with food, weapons, treasure
• Results:
• no orderly government for large areas
• small communities rule
• Clovis rules the Germanic people of Gaul, known as the Franks (which is where "France" comes from)
• in 496 he has a battlefield conversion- he and 3000 of his warriors became Christians
• In 520, Benedict writes rules for monks:
• vows of poverty (live simply in monasteries)
• chastity (no martial relations)
• obedience (listen to church superiors)
• His sister Scholastice writes similar rules for nuns
• they operate schools, maintain libraries, copy books
• Church revenues are used to help the poor, build roads, and raise money
• this is a theocracy- a government ruled by religion
• Gregory's spiritual kingdom (Christendom) extends from Italy to England, from Spain to Germany
• Clovis' descendants include Charles Martel, known as Charles the Hammer
• Hammer defeats a Muslim raiding party from Spain at The BATTLE OF TOURS in 732
• Charles Martel's son is Pepin the Short
• son #2 is Charles, known as Charlemagne, meaning Charles the Great
• six foot four
• built the greatest empire since Roma
• Fought the Muslims in Spain
• Fought Germanic tribes
• Spread Christianity
• Reunited Western Europe
• Became the most 

5/23/14

Today in west civ, we took more notes on  Germanic kingdoms and how they united under Charlemagne. I like when you post power points on your blog. It makes it easier and if you forget something you can always go back and look it up later. We talked about the effects of invasion. It effected the learning. There was a decline in learning. Tribes had oral tradition, songs, but couldn't read Greek or Latin. They had romance languages. They had a few priests that were literate. We learned how they emerged. they emerged from AD 400 to 600. The Germanic warriors loyalty is to the lord of the manor. He provides them with food, weapons, and treasure. There was no orderly government for large areas and had small communities that rule.

• Notes on blog

5/21/14

Today we did not have class so I did not learn anything knew.

5/20/14

• 511 AD- Clovis unites Franks into one kingdom
• 600 AD- Church + Frankish rulers convert many
• fear of the Muslims in southern Europe spur many to become Christians
• Monasteries and convents
• 520 AD- Benedict wrote the rules for monks and monasteries
• Poverty, chastity, obedience, study
• His sister Scholastica did the same for nuns in convents
• 731 AD- the Venerable Bible wrote a killer history of England
• Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books (Bibles, Greek text)

European Empire Evolves

• Franks control largest European Kingdom
• The Roman province formerly known as Gaul
• Ruled by Clovis- the Merovingian Dynasty
• Major domo- mayor of the palace- ruled the kingdom
• Charles Martel- Charles the Hammer
• extended the Franks' reign to the north, south, and east
• Defeated a Muslim army from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732- historic battle
• Charles the Hammer's son- Pepin the Short
• Possibly named for his unusual short haircut
• Working for and with the Pope, Pepin fought the Lombard's
• Pope Stephen II named Pepin "king by the grace of God" beginning the Carolingian Dynasty 751- 987 AD
• Pepin the Short had two sons: Carolman AND Charles
• Carman died, leaving

Charlemagne takes center stage

• Charlemagne- aka Charles the Great
• six foot four
• Built the greatest empire since Rome
• fought the Muslims in Spain
• Fought Germanics tribes
• Spread Christianity
• Reunited Western Europe
• Became the most powerful king in western Europe
• Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in 800 AD after he defended him from an unruly Roman mob
• This signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire
• Charlemagne's Government
• He limited the authority of the nobles
• He regularly visited every part of his kingdom
• Kept close watch on his huge kingdom
• Culture revival
• Encouraged learning
• Ordered monasteries to open schools
• Opened a palace school
• But his heirs were weenies...
• His son- Louis the Pious- was ineffective
• Louis' three sons; Lathair, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German- split up the kingdom at the Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD

5/19/14

Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne

Main Idea

• Many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne's empire.

Why it matters?

• Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout northern Europe, which is where many of us came from.

Middle Ages= medieval period (same thing)
500-1500 AD
medieval Europe is fragmented (many different tribes that have settled in different parts)

Invasions trigger changes in western Europe

• Invasions constant warfare spark new trends
• Disruption of trade
• Europe's cities are no longer economic centers
• Money is scare
• Downfall of cities
• Cities are no longer centers of administration
• Population shifts
• nobles retreat to the rural areas
• Cities don't have strong leadership
• Decline of learning
• Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition
• Only priests and church officials could read and write
• Knowledge of Greek (and literature, science, philosophy) is almost lost
• Loss of a common language
• Dialects develop in different regions
• By the 800's, French, Spanish, other Roman-based languages are evolving from Latin

Germanic Kingdoms emerge

• The concept of government changes
• Roman society: loyal to public government
• Germanic society: loyal to family
• Germanic chief led warriors
• During peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to live (the lord's hall)
• During wartime, warriors fought for the lord
• "The king? Who's that? You want to collect taxes from me? Who the heck are you?"
• Franks live in the Roman province of Gaul- their leader is Clovis
• The Franks under Clovis
• Another battlefield conversion (Just like Constantine)
• Clovis and 3000 of his warriors are baptized by the bishops
• The Church in Rome approves of this "alliance"
• Clovis and the Church begin to work together

Clovis' military expertise + the Church's support and money = a strategic alliance between two powerful forces!

Germanic peoples adopt Christianity

• Gregory I (Pope) expands papal power
• Papacy= pope's office
• Secular power = worldly power
• So.. under Gregory the Great...

Papal power (power of the pope) is Political Power; Presented from the Pope's Palace

• The church can use church money to
• raise armies
• repair roads
• help the poor
• Gregory the Great began to act as mayor of Rome, and as head of an earthy Kingdom

5/16/14

Today in class, we went over the answers to our test. I was very happy with my grade. A 96 was probably one of the best grades I have gotten in my class. It moved my grade up to an 90! Which is an A. I am pretty happy with my grades right now. I have five A's and 2 B's. My goal is to get second honors. I have had second honors all year long and I would like to keep it up.

Feudalism: a political, military and economic system based on land-holding and protective alliances.
Rich dude (Lord)- "I own land; I need people to help me work it and defend it."
Tough dudes (Vassals)- "There are a lot of us, we can help the rich dudes hold on tot here land."

The Feudal Pyramid:

1. King
2. Vassals- (nobles and bishops)
3. Knights- mounted warriors who received fiefs for defending their lords land
4. Peasants- (mostly serfs)
• landless, powerless, moneyless, rights-less, just working the land for "the man" (their lord)  

Mind your Manors

• Manor: the lord's estate
• the lord's manor house
• a church
• some workshops
• 15-30 families
• all on a few square miles
• Good news: it's a self- sufficient community
• Bad news- it's harsh if you're a peasant

How harsh is it?

• Peasants are poor and pay high taxes
• tax on grain
• tax on marriage
• Church tax (tithe= 10% of their income)
• They live in crowed cottages
• Live with animals and insects
• Eat VERY simply
• the church says this is your lot in life
• God determines your place in society