Last Test

We took the test on the middle ages today in West civ. We only had a thirty min. class but it was pretty easy. It was 30 questions and most of it was easy. We all handed in our test and Mr. Schick graded them imminently. Our class average was 68.5 I think. That is quite terrible but o well. I got a 93 which is pretty good. Also tomorrow is our last class :(. We don' have class Monday and we are off Friday. Fortunately, for everyone, we don't have an early class so it won't be 9:11. We get to end the year in peace, sort of.  

Test on the Middle Ages

Today in West Civ we reviewed for our test tomorrow. Jevan and Matt taught the class today. They just reviewed the powerpoints and Mr. Schick would ring the bell whenever we needed to know a certain piece of information for the test. Our class tomorrow is going to be shorten because of the two-hour late bell for the senior awards. I think we have about a half hour of class. Mr. Schick said there is 30 questions so that shouldn’t be too hard. 

Review Day

Today we were supposed to have a free mod but since we have a shadow we had to actually try to look productive. We just reviewed the Powerpoint from yesterday and then we were done. Currently, Mr. Schick put on Jessica's hairband and then took a selfie. Anyway, Then Mr. Schick told us about his trip to the News Station and we finished the class getting work done.

Mr. Schick is Famous

Exact dates of the middle ages: 476- 1453 A.D.

New society has roots in:

• Classical heritage of Rome
• Beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church
• Customs of various Germanic tribes

The invasions resulted in: distribution of trade, downfall of cities, and population shifts

RUSSIAN IS NOT A ROMANTIC LANGUAGE

Theocracy- government based around a religion
That's all the Notes we took today but we spent the last part of class talking about how Mr. Schick is kind of famous. He met all these famous people. So to summarize that class: I have baically met Morgan Freeman indirectly

Charlemagne Part 2

European Empire Evolves

1. Franks control European kingdom

• Ruled by Clovis- the Merovingian Dynasty
• Formally known as Gaul

Major domo- mayor of the palace

Charles Martel- Charles the Hammer

1. Extended the Frank's reign to the north south and east
2. Defeated a Muslim army from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732- historic battle
3. If the battle would have gone the other way we would all be Muslims (Christians vs Muslims)

Charles the Hammer had a son: Pepin the short

1. Possibly named for his unusual short haircut (short temper, short stance)
2. Working for and with the Pope, Pepin fought the Lombards
3. Pope Stephen II named Pepin king by the grace of God- beginning the Carolingian Dynasty  (751-987 A.D.)
4. Pepin the short had two sons: Carolman and Charles
5. Carolman died so Charles( Charlemagne) takes over

Charlemagne (Charles the Great)

1. Six foot four
2. Built the greatest empire since Rome
3. Fought the Muslims in Spain
4. Fought Germanic tribes
5. Spread Christianity (full bore catholic)
6. Reunited western Europe
7. Became the most powerful king in western Europe
8. Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in 800 AD after he defended him from a mob
9. This is the joining of Germanic power, the Church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire.

Charlemagne's government

1. He limited the authority of the nobles
2. He regularly visited every part of his kingdom
3. Kept close watch on his huge estates
4. Cultural revival

• Encouraged learning
• Ordered monasteries to open schools
• Opened a palace school

5. But his heirs were weenies………

• His son- Louis the Pious- was ineffective
• Louis' three sons- Lothair, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German- split up the kingdom at the Treaty of Verdun in 843 A.D

Germanic kingdoms unite under Charlemagne

Main Idea: many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne

Why it matters now: Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout Northern Europe, which is where many of us came from

Setting the stage: middle Ages (medieval period), 500-1500 AD, medieval Europe is fragmented

Invasions trigger changes in western Europe

• Invasions and constant warfare spark new trends
• Disruption of trade: Europe's cities are no longer economic centers and money is scarce

Downfall of cities: cities are no longer centers of administration

Population shifts: nobles retreat to the rural areas and 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 is lost

Loss of a common language: Latin was the common language

• The languages take different turns
• By the 800's languages such as French, Spanish are evolving from Latin

Germanic Kingdoms EMERGE

• Concept of gov. changes
• -------------roman society(loyal to public gov.)
• -------------Germanic Society (loyal to family and king of manor)
• Germanic chief led warriors
• During peace he provided food and shelter
• During war you fought for him
• "The king, who the heck are you"
• Franks lived in Gaul (France) had a leader named Clovis

Clovis

• Another battlefield conversion
• Becomes a full-fledged Christian
• Church and Clovis begin to work together
• Clovis' military expertise +++++++++++the church's support and MONEY============A strategic alliance

Germanic peoples adopt Christianity

• Pope Gregory I expands papal power
• Papacy: pope's office
• Secular power: worldly power
• SO…under Gregory the Great
• PAPAL POWER IS POLITICAL POWER PRESNETED FROM THE POPE'S PALACE
• The church uses money to: raise armies, repair roads, help the poor
• Gregory the Great acts like mayor of Rome, and as head of an earthly kingdom (Christendom)

Germanic people adopted Christianity

1. Clovis unites franks into one kingdom
2. Church + Frankish rulers convert many
3. Fear of Muslims in southern Europe spur many to convert
4. Monasteries and convents

• 520 AD benedict gave rules for monks
• His sister scholastic  did the same for the nuns
• 731 AD the venerable Bede wrote a killer history of England
• Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books 

Feudalism

Christendom- combination between Christianity and kingdom

Some churches expect (tithes)- giving 10% of what you make to the Church

Eastern empire was referred to as the Byzantine empire

People weren't writing or reading or progressing in this time

Civilization took a step backwards

Feudalism: a political, military and economic system based on land-holding and protective alliances 

 In other words: the system is based on personal loyalty to people who can help you

- Rich Dude (LORD): "I own land; i need people to help me work it and defend it."

- he needs VASSALS: toughest of the tough who end up becoming knights 

- people who have other qualities (farmers, craftsman) SURFS

Pyramid:

King- the most powerful vassals. The only people who answer to him are the nobles and bishops 

Knights- mounted warriors who receive FIEFS for defending their lord's land (land)

Peasants- mostly surfs. Landless, powerless, money less, rights-less and just working the land for "the man" (their lord)

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 

peasants are poor and pay high taxes:

- tax on grain

- tax on marriage

- church tax (tithe= 10% of their income)

They lived in crowded cottages

lived with animals and insects

eat very simply

The Church says this is your lot in life

God determines your place in society