Medieval Europe

The Byzantine Empire

Following the collapse of Rome in A.D.476 Western Europe slipped into a dark age, however within the Eastern boundaries of the empire the glory and grandeur of Rome lived on. Centered around the city Constantinople on the straits of the Bosphorus classical civilization was maintained and protected. Here emperors still envisioned themselves as the rulers of all Rome and were able to hold together the Roman dream for another thousand years!

The Age of Justinian

In A.D.527 a high-ranking nobleman named Justinian succeeded his uncle as the Byzantine Emperor with the goal of reviving the Empire. His first step was to send his best general Belisarius to North Africa and then Italy itself. This campaign nearly reunited the old empire but was costly and would not last following Justinian's reign. Justinian's second step was to create a modern codified law code that would bear his name; the Justinian code. This law code simplified legal procedings and regulated all areas of Byzantine life from marriage to slavery and inheritance.

Justinian's final goal was to strengthen and beautify the imperial capital of Constantinople. The city quickly became the center of all Byzantine society and the economic hub of the empire as all goods flowing into Europe passed through the great city. The wealth of the Empire was used to create great monuments and enormous churches including the Hagia Sophia. This project made Constantinople the marvel of the world as the greatest city on earth and a prize for marauders seeking instant wealth and glory.

The Iconoclast Controversy

Religion held a central piece to Byzantine culture, and that religion was Christianity. Byzantine Emperors held total authority on all religious matters and his decisions became religious doctrine. One central conflict that arose in early Christianity involved the use of images of Jesus. Christian doctrine asserts that there should be no images of god but doctrine was unclear as whether images of Jesus apply within this doctrine. These images of Jesus called icons were often used in church services and prayers and they became central to what became known as the iconoclast controversy. When one emperor declared images of Jesus sacrilege Christians throughout Europe rebelled, refusing to abandon their use. This conflict particularly tore apart what remained of cohesion with Western Europe. The Pope in Rome asserted himself in the dispute and excommunicated the Emperor who in turn excommunicated the Pope. Ultimately these images became allowed, this rift eventually led to deeper and a permanent division of the Church.

The Great Schism

Differences between East and West continued to grow. The Church officially separated in 1054 when the Pope and Patriarch excommunicated each other. Although there have been several attempts at reunion, the differences in the faith have made reunion impossible. Following the Great Schism the two churches began to compete for converts. Catholics converted much of Poland and the Byzantine Orthodox converted the Slavs who eventually came to found Russia. Two missionaries named Cyril and Methodius worked to develop a written language for the Slavs allowing them to read the bible in their own language. These steps forever linked Russian and Byzantine culture.

Medieval Europe

Resources

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PowerPoint

Crash Course: Fall of Rome

Assignments

Byzantine MAP

Catholic/Orthodox VENN DIAGRAM

Textbook

The Foundations of Russia

The interaction and mixing of Slavic and Greek culture led to the development of a new society in Eastern Europe that eventually would develop in Russia. Legend holds that in this new developing culture a viking leader named Rurik was invited to be their king. In A.D.862 he founded the city of Novgorad and later several other important cities between the Dnieper and the Don rivers, developing into small trading principalities, chief among them was Kiev. Over time the line between viking and Slav disappeared.

The Kievan Rus

With the arrival of the Rus there was a mixing of Slavic and Viking cultures which formed the foundation of Russian culture. This early society was not united politically and used the regions many rivers to create trade networks which became the basis for the economy. Through trade the region became came into contact with the Byzantine Empire which also became an important influence on Russia's early development. These many influences created a blended culture which was neither east nor west and both part of Europe yet outside its political and cultural norms.

During this early period a Russian prince named Vladimir decided that Russia needed to adopt a new religion to modernize the country. He sent out advisors to learn about other religions and report back about them. The reports of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople impressed him so much tht he adopted Orthodox Chrstianity as the national religion which it remains to this day.

The next critical step in the establishment of Russia was the creation of Russia's first written legal code the Pravda Russkaia by Yaroslav the Wise. The Russkaia Pravda was a harsh system that provided formalized systems for revenge, the swearing of oathes, bearing witness, and even ordeal. Although this system was crude and violent, it placed the authority to serve justice into the hands of the state and prince rather than individuals making the state the supreme authority rather than town or religious leaders.

Mongol Invasion

Because of internal fighting amongst the Kievan Rus, the region weakened throughout the twelfth century. The thirteenth century brought with in invasions from the Mongol Hordes marking the first and only time in Russia's history that it was conquered.

Under the Mongols Russia became known as the Khanate of the Golden Horde. The Mongols did not make many improvements to Russia other than the creation of roads which were used to extract resources and taxes from the region. This system left Russia cut off and further isolated from Europe as all trade and wealth was sent eastward. As Western Europe experienced the Renaissance and the end of the dark ages, Russian culture stagnated and fell technologically and culturally behind the rest of Europe, forever driving a wedge between Russia and the rest of Europe.

Rise of Moscow

During the fourteenth century a series of Russian princes from Eastern Russia began to assert independence from their Mongol leaders. Early on they were able to work with the Mongols to gain position over other princes in the region. They used land purchases, wars, trickery, and shrewd marriages to expand their territory. Ivan III finally broke with the Mongols to create a Russian Empire, taking the title Czar to demonstrate his power and connect himself to the legacy of Rome itself. Ivan was also able to make Moscow the center of the Orthodox religion following the fall of Constantinople, declaring his city the "Third Rome" and heir to the fallen empire.

Ivan the Terrible

Following the advancements made by Ivan III, Ivan IV or Ivan the Terrible took great steps toward making Russia a powerful Empire. First, Ivan weakened the Boyars who had long blocked Russian leaders from consolidating power by creating a secret police force known as the oprichiniki to watch the nobility and report anything that went against his policies. Ivan was known for his extreme creulty against his enemies and Ivan sent a wave of fear across Russia to ensure loyalty. One particularly violent outburst occured with the Massacre of Novogorod in which Ivan extracted revenge against a reported 60,000 people whom he believed to be disloyal. Ivan's behavior was often cruel and puzzling, however he was very effective in transforming Russia into an Absolute Monarchy with all power concentrated in himself. From this moment forward Russia featured governments largely administered through fear, yet effective in controling the complexities of the Russian state.

Ivan's creulty eventually led to personal tragedy when in a fit of rage Ivan struck and killed his son and heir to the throne. This left Russia without a clear leader when Ivan died three years later. Ultimately the Romanovs created a new dynasty which would rule Russia into the twentieth century.

Resources

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PowerPoint

Crash Course: Russia

Assignments

Russia Guided Reading

Ivan the Terrible Reading & Analysis

Textbook

The Dark Ages & Carolingian Renaissance

Following the fall of Rome in A.D. 476, Western Europe fell into what is commonly referred to as a Dark Age where culture declines and life generally gets worse for its people. The void left by the collapse of the Roman state caused many thoughout Europe to flee cities for safety as new Germanic kingdoms transformed Europe. These conditions resulted in a new social hierarchy and created the conditions which eventually led to the development of the modern nations of Europe

The Dark Ages

As people left European cities the standard of living of the classical period quickly declined as safety replaced luxury for many. Intellectual forums disappeared as schools closed and the quality of art diminished. With the number of people in cities shrinking, trade became less and less common and communites became self sufficient and isolated from one another. This new way of life created an emphasis on religion and the Catholic Church to take a dominant position in the life of all of Europe.

The Frankish Empire

A Germanic tribe known as the Franks settled in what is today France during the last days of the Roman Empire. The Franks were very successful in establishing a secure kingdom which steadily grew throughout the sixth and seventh centuries. Moreover, the Franks under the leadership of Charles Martel were able to repel Muslim invasions from Spain and established a new dynasty which extended the kingdom and began to build an empire in Western Europe.

Charlemagne

The greatest of all the Frankish kings is known today as Charlemagne. Charlemagne built an empire greater than any known since ancient Rome. Each year Charlemagne led his armies against his neighbors, extending his army into Spain, Germany, and even Italy. By 800 his empire was larger than the Byzantine Empire and he was named the "Roman Emperor" by the Pope.

Charlemagne strengthened royal power by sending royal agents throughout his empire to govern the country. These "Counts" were given the authority to manage justice in the regions and maintain an army which the king could call upon in the event of war. These local lords established their own power base and became extremely powerful.

Charlemagne also encouraged a renewal of learning in his empire. Charlemagne opened a palace school and he himself learned how to read which was unheard of at the time. Charlemagne also ordered monasteries to open schools to train monks and priests which began a lasting relationship between the Catholic Church and education.

Decline of Frankish Authority

Unfortunately Charlemagne's heirs were not as effective rulers as Charlemagne had been. Successors fought one another for control of the Empire and eventually divided it amongst themselves causing Carolingian kings to lose power. As power increasingly became decentralized, the local leaders became more and more important and as a result their power grew. Eventually these local lords built castles and raised armies which became powerful enough to resist the king and assert some level of independence.

Medieval Society

Following the decline of the Frankish Empire European culture once again went into a period of decline as much of Western Europe became a battleground as new waves of invaders attacked. The political turmoil and constant warfare led to development of feudalism. The culture which emerged became very rigid, as social order was based on rights and obligations and the elites of society became militarized in an effort to protect Europe and establish security.

Invaders Attack Western Europe

Raiders from the north which have come to be known as vikings began attacking Western Europe in the eighth century with terrifying speed and horrific violence. These Norsemen struck quickly and then moved out to sea before locals could mount a defense. Vikings journeyed down rivers and attacked many of Europe's great cities including Paris, London, and even as far as Constantinople. Vikings even explored west, reaching North America almost 500 years before Columbus. Over time Vikings began to accept Christianity and stopped raiding monestaries while becoming part of European society.

From the east a group known as Magyars swept across western Europe attacking on horseback and retreating afterwards with plunder and slaves. From the South Muslims began to encroach into Italy and Spain. Early on their goal was to settle Europe, but by the 800s they also began to raid settlements for plunder like the Magyars and Vikings before them.

The invasions of the Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims caused widespread disorder and suffering. Most Europeans lived in constant danger. Kings could not effectively defend their lands from invasion. As a result, people no longer looked to him for security and instead turned to local rulers who could defend them more effectively.

Feudalism

To protect Europe, Kings began granting land to allies in exchange for military protection and other services. This system known as feudalism became the basis for European society in the Medieval period. Under a feudal system lords granted land called a fief to a person known as a vassal. Vassals where able to collect taxes to support themselves in exchange for

military service when the kingdom was

threatened. This meant that vassals

needed to raise armies. Knights

were mounted horsemen who

pledged to defend their lord's land.

At the bottom of the feudal pyramid were the peasants who were bound to the land known as serfs. Serfs could not lawfully leave the place they were born and were obligated to work the land in exchange for protection. Though they were bound to the land, serfs were not slaves. Their lords could not buy or sell them, but whatever they produced belonged to the lord.

Manorialism

The manor was the lord's estate. Manorialism was the basic economic arrangement. The manor system rested on a set of rights and obligations between lord and his serfs. The lord provided the serfs with housing, farmland, and protection from bandits. In return, serfs tended the lord's lands, cared for his animals, and performed other tasks to maintain the estate. Peasant women shared the farm work with their husbands. All peasants, whether free or serf, owed the lord certain duties which included at least a few days of labor and a certain portion of their harvest.

The manor was largely a self-sufficient community. The serfs and peasants raised or produced nearly everything that they and their lord needed for daily life. The only outside purchases were salt, iron, and a few unusual objects such as millstones.

For most serfs life was consumed by their work. Life was extremely hard as the average life expectancy was about 35 years old and most peasants never traveled more than 25 miles from their homes. Yet the system fostered cooperation and a sense of community which tied the manor together.

The Role of the Church

As the governments of Europe weakened, the Church emerged as the most powerful institution and single unifying force for all the people in Western Europe. This power enabled the Church leadership, especially the pope, to exert strong political influence by asserting his authority above all the kings of Europe. Throughout the Middle Ages the Church and various European rulers competed for power ultimately creating two overlapping authorities over all people, the secular and the spiritual.

Monasticism in the Middle Ages

To adapt to rural conditions, the Church built religious communities called monasteries. There, Christian men called monks gave up their private possessions and devoted their lives to serving God. Women who followed this way of life were called nuns and lived in convents.

Around A.D.520, an Italian monk named Benedict began writing a book describing a strict set of rules for monasteries. These guidelines became a model for all monasteries as monks spent their days praying and performing good works. Because clergy needed to be literate, monasteries became Europe's best educated communities. Monks spent hours every day copying the bible by hand, creating beautful works.

Knighthood & the Code of Chivalry

During the Middle Ages feudalism created a new class of warriors due to the constant warfare and threats from Vikings, Maygars, and Muslims. These mounted warriors called knights became valuable as new technology such as the saddle allowed soldiers on horseback to become much more effective on the battlefield. Knights could charge full tilt and knock over enemy foot soldiers, breaking apart their formations, turning the tide of a battle. These knights quickly became the most important part of any medieval army and essential to the defense of the country.

As a lord's vassal, a knights's main obligation was to serve in battle. In exchange for military service, lords gave knights their most abundant resource- land. They rewarded knights with fiefs which allowed them to pay for their costly weapons, armor, and horses.

Knights were expected to display courage in battle and loyalty to their lord. By the 1100s, the code of chivalry had developed to set rules for the behavior of knights. Knights were to be loyal, obedient, and devoted to the protection of his lord, the weak, and his chosen lady.

Knights often participated in mock battles called tournaments. Tournaments featured events which were designed to improve a knight's skill and became extremely popular for spectators in towns to attend. Perhaps the most famous event was the joust in which two knights charged at one another attempting to knock their opponent off their horse. These events were extremely dangerous and often left resulted in death or injury.

The Crusades

Around the year 1000 Europe once again began to stabalize as the

raids and attacks from outside slowly subsided. In A.D. 1093, the

Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comneuns sent an appeal to Western

Europe for aid to help against Muslim attacks which had pushed

the Byzantines out of Anatolia, threatening thier sacred

Constantinople. The Pope response initiated the Crusading movement which reinviogorated Europe and began a renewal of culture, spurred by contact and commerce which followed these religious wars.

The Goals of the Crusades

The Crusades had economic, social, and political goals as well as religious motives. Muslims controlled Palestine (the Holy Land) and threatened Constantinople. The pope wanted to reclaim Palestine as well as reunite Christendom, which had split into Eastern and Western branches in 1054. Furthermore, the Church as well as kings saw the Crusades as an opportunity to get rid of quarrelsome knights who fought eachother and give them a common purpose which could unify all Christians. Younger nobles also saw the Crusades as an opportunity for land and position since they did not stand to inherit their father's property. Lastly, the Crusades offered adventure and opportunity for glory to knights who had lost their purpose in peaceful times.

The First Crusade

The First Crusade had carved out a narrow strip of land along the Eastern Mediterranean stretching from Edessa in the north to Jerusalem in the south. In 1144 the city Edessa was reconquered by the Turks and a new call to Crusade was made by the Pope and Bernard of Clairvaux. The Second Crusade was the first to be led by a European kings, namely Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany. The Crusade struggled to maintain focus and organization, returning home defeated following the failure to take Damascus.

The Second Crusade

The Third Crusade

The First Crusade began following the call from Pope Urban II under the battle cry "Deus Vult!"- God wills it. Nearly 60,000 answered the call and marched by foot to the Levant. The Crusaders were not well prepared for the war yet miraculously the Crusaders won victory after victory including the Siege of Antioch against overwhelming odds. Only 12,000 of the Crusader army reached Jerusalem and after a month long siege captrued the city. The Army massacred the inhabitants and declared the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The First Crusade was a stunning success which ultimately encouraged the later Crusades and further holy war.

Following the the Battle of Hattin and the loss of Jerusalem in 1187 there was a call for Crusade once again. This Crusade is often called the "King's Crusade" because it was led by three of Europe's most powerful monarchs- Philip II of France, the German emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and most famously Richard I of England. The leader of the Muslims was a Kurdish warrior Saladin. Richard and Saladin were brilliant warriors and battled throughout the Holy Land for 3 years before they agreed to a truce in 1192 which allowed Christian pilgrims to freely visit Jerusalem but left it under Muslim control. Richard vowed to return and retake the city, but died before having a chance to return.

The Fourth Crusade

Later Crusades

The failure of the Third Crusade to take Jerusalem caused many at the time to call it a failure so another call to Crusade was called to recapture the Holy Land. This Crusade was plagued by incompetance from the onset with poor planning and the lack of strong leadership. The Fourth Crusade called on the Republic of Venice to build ships to carry soldiers to the east, but when fewer volunteers appeared than anticipated organizers were forced to find funding for their Crusade. Venetians directed Crusaders to sack Constantinople, a Christian city, to raise funds. Although successful in taking Constantinople the Crusade unwound completely ending in total disaster.

In the 1200s, four more Crusades to free the Holy Land were also unsuccessful. The religious spirit of the First Crusade had faded and the search for personal gain had grown in its place. Two later Crusader armies marched on Egypt in an attempt to weaken Muslim forces before attacking the Holy Land but none had much to show for their efforts. These later Crusades lessened the power of the Pope and helped kings reassert their power at home while the knights of local lords were off on Crusade.

The Effects of the Crusades

The Crusades are a forceful example of the power of the Church during the medieval period. The call to go to the Holy Land encouraged thousands to leave their homes and travel to faraway lands. For Muslims the intolerance and prejudice displayed by Christians in the Holy Land left behind a legacy of bitterness and hatred. This legacy continues to the present. European merchants who lived and traded in the Crusader States expanded trade between Europe and Southwest Asia. The goods imported included spices, fruits, and cloth. Returning Crusaders brought a renewed longing for learning and a demand for the luxuries in the East. This helped lead to the renewal of trade which caused the expansion of towns throughout Italy. The knowledge gained from the Crusades helped spur on the spirit which ultimately brought on the Crusades and rejuvenation of European culture.

The Revival of Trade & Towns

Between 1000 and 1300, agriculture, trade, and finance made significant advances which led to a growth of towns and cities. This was in part due to a growing population as well as the cultural interaction with the Muslim and Byzantine worlds during the Crusades. These larger and richer towns helped lead to a revival of learning and ultimately an end to the dark ages.

A Growing Food Supply

Europe's revival would not have been possible without better ways of farming. A warmer climate which lasted from about 800 to 1200, brought higher crop yields and a surplus of food. Farmers began to cultivate lands in regions once too cold to grow crops as well.

Another shift which aided farming was a shift to horse power. For hundreds of years, peasants had depended on oxen to pull their plows. However, with the invention of improved harnnesses horses were able to replace oxen pulling their plows. By switching to horse drawn plows farmers could plow three times as much land and many of Europe's forests were cleared to open new fields to farming.

Around A.D. 800, villages throughout Western Europe began to organize their lands into three fields instead of two. Two of the fields were planted and the other lay fallow (resting) for a year. Under this new three-field system, farmers could grow cropes on two-thirds of their land each year instead of half. As a result, food production increased. Villagers had more to eat. Well-fed people, especially children, could resist disease and live longer, and as a result the European population grew dramatically.

The Guilds

A second change in Europe's economy was the development of the guild. A guild was an organization of individuals in the same business or occupation working to improve the economic and social conditions of its members. The first guilds were merchant guilds which banded together to control the number of goods being traded to keep prices up. They also provided security in trading and reduced losses.

As time progressed skilled artisans such as wheelwrights, glassmakers, winemakers, tailors, and druggists began to form their own guilds. These guilds set standards for quality of work, wages, and working conditions. For example, bakers were required to sell loaves of bread of a standard size and weight. The guilds also created plans for supervised training for new workers.

Guilds became powerful forces in the medieval economy. More and better products became available to buyers and the wealth they accumulated helped them establish influence over the government and the economy of towns and cities.

The Commercial Revolution

Just as agriculture was expanding and craftsmanship changing, so were trade and finance. Increased availability of goods and new ways of doing business changed life in Europe. Taken together, this expansion of trade and business is called the Commercial Revolution.

Most trade took place in towns. Peasants from nearby manors traveled to towns on fair days, hauling items to trade. Great fairs were held several times a year, usually during religious festivals, when many people would be in town. People visited the stalls set up by merchants from all parts of Europe.

Cloth was the most common trade item. Other items included bacon, salt, honey, cheese, wine, leather, dyes, knives, and ropes. Such local markets met all the needs of daily life for a small community. No longer was everything produced on a self-sufficient manor.

More goods from foreign lands also became available. Trade routes reopened across Europe. Italian merchant ships traveled the Mediterranean to ports in Byzantium such as Constantinople. They also traveled to Muslim ports along the North African coast. Trade routes were opened to Asia in part by the Crusades.

Increased business at markets and fairs made merchants willing to take chances on buying merchandise that they could sell for a profit. Merchants then reinvested the profits in more goods.

Business & Banking

As traders moved from fair to fair, they needed large amounts of cash or credit and ways to exchange many types of currencies. Enterprising merchants found ways to solve these problems. For example, bills of exchange established exchange rates between different coinage systems. Leters of credit between merchants eliminated the need to carry large amounts of cash and made trading easier. Trading firms and associations formed to offer these services to their groups.

Merchants looked for new markets and opportunities to make a profit. Merchants first had to purchase goods from distant places. To do so they had to borrow money, but the Church forbade Christians from lending money at interest, a sin called usury. Over time, the Church relaxed its rule on usury and Christians entered the banking business. Banking became an important business, especially in Italy. There powerful bankers began to assert their wealth and power, taking control of the governments of the smaller city-states of the Italian peninsula.

Urban Life & The Plague

By the later Middle Ages towns grew and flourished. The population of Western Europe rose from around 30 million to about 42 million. As trade grew, towns all over Europe swelled with people. These towns were unsophisticated and poorly planned. The streets were narrow, filled with animals and their waste. With no sewers, most people dumped household and human waste into the street in front of the house. Most people never bathed, and their houses lacked fresh air, light, and clean water. Because houses were built of wood with thatched roofs, they were a constant fire hazard.

From these unsanitary conditions came one of history's greatest calamities: the bubonic plague. The plague began in Asia. It traveled along trade routes eventually arriving in Italy in merchant shipping. From there it followed trade routes to Spain, France, Germany, England, and other parts of Europe.

The bubonic plague took about four years to consume all of Europe. The infected developed purplish or blackish spots on their skin and would die within a matter of days. The disease wiped out entire towns, ultimately killing between 1/3 and 1/2 of all people in Europe. It was later discovered that the virus was spread by fleas carried on rats which had thrived in the unsanitary environment created in medieval towns.

The economic and social effects of the plague were enormous. The old manorial system began to crumble as town populations fell and serfs left their manors in search of better wages. Nobles fiercely resisted change but with fewer people to perform labor and even fewer skilled workers their value increased leading to the decline of the feudal order and rise of the wage system.

The bubonic plague disrupted medieval society and its institutions. Even the powerful Catholic Church suffered a loss of prestige when its prayers failed to stop the onslaught of the bubonic plague. The development of trade and towns brought Europe out of the dark ages but left it shaken as it ended its relative isolation from the world.

The Revival of Learning

During the Crusades contact with Byzantines and Muslims expanded. This contact brought with it a renewed interest in learning, especially in the works of Greek and Roman philosophers and authors.

In the 1100s, Christian scholars from Europe began to rediscover lost Greek texts which were translated into Latin by Jewish scholars living in Muslim Spain. All at once, Europeans acquired a huge new body of knowledge. This included science, philosophy, law, mathematics, and other fields. In addition, Crusaders brought back to Europe superior Muslim technology in ships, navigation, and weapons.

At the center of the growth of learning was the development of the University. Universities such as the Sorbonne in Paris or Oxford in England arose, offering education to nobles or burghers who could afford to attend. For most students, the goal was a job in government or the Church. Earning a bachelor's degree in theology might take five to seven years in school; becoming a master of theology took at least twelve years of study.

New authors also began to write works which in vernacular languages rather than traditional Latin as scholars had. Some of these writers wrote masterpieces which are still read today including Date Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, and Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Since most people could not read or understand Latin, these works written in the vernacular brought literature to many people.

Christian scholars also began to use Aristotle's logical approach to truth to analyze Christianity and religion. The scholar Thomas Aquinas argued that the most basic religious truths could be proved by logical argument. Between 1267 and 1273, Aquinas wrote the Summa Theologicae which combined Greek thought with Christian doctrine of his time. Aquinas and his fellow scholars who met at the great universities were known as schoolmen, or scholastics. Scholastics used their knowledge of Aristotle to debate many issues of their time. Their teachings on law and government influenced the thinking of western Europeans, particularly the English and French.

The Growth of Nations

During the latter stages of the Middle Ages the patchwork of feudal states which had dominated the period began to break down, leading to more centralized government and the development of nations. The most successful of these were France and England which fought for dominance within their own kingdoms and against one another. Their clash resulted in one of the longest and brutal wars in European history; the Hundred Years' War.

Germany

German Kings looked to revive Charlemagne's Empire by forming a close alliance with the Church. Leaders such as Otto I were able to build their power by gaining support of the bishops and abbots. Otto even invaded Italy on the Pope's behalf earning him the title Emperor and his empire became known as the Holy Roman Empire.

The German-Italian Empire created by Otto was for a period the strongest state in Europe, however conflicts between the Church and Emperor over naming of Church officials created a rift. Over time German kings continued their attempts to revive Charlemagne's empire and his alliance with the Church. This policy led to wars with Italian cities and to further clashes with the Pope. Furthermore, the system of German princes electing the king weakened royal authority and local lords remained largely independent. The Holy Roman Emperor became a title for prestige rather than a position of power, preventing a true union of Germany until the nineteenth century.

England

England was one of the first regions lost by the Western Roman Empire which abandoned the province around A.D.400. Without a strong military presence the area became victim to frequent raids and attacks. Two Germanic-barbarian tribes known as the Angles and the Saxons stayed, bringing their own ways and creating what has become known as Anglo-Saxon Culture.

In the 800s Britain was battered by fierce raids of Vikings. In A.D.865 the Great Heathen Army decimated much of England further weakening the small kingdoms of the island. Only Alfred the Great was able to turn back the invaders for a time. In 1016 another Danish king named Canute invaded England, this time conquering England, molding Anglo-Saxons and Vikings into one people.

When Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor died without an heir a struggle for the throne erupted leading to an invasion from France by William, duke of Normandy. At the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror won a decisive victory to become King of England. After this victory, William declared all of England his personal property and stripped the lands and titles from lords who supported his rival, allowing him to unify control of the lands and laying the foundation for centralized government in England.

Over the next centuries, English kings tried to achieve two goals. First they wanted to hold and add to their French lands. The English king Henry II added to the his holdings by marrying Elenor of Aquitaine, which gave him more land than even the King of France. Because he held lands in France he was a vassal of the King of France yet a king in his own right. This led to increasing conflict between the kingdoms as English kings asserted their power in France and French kings were powerless to stop them.

The second goal of English kings was to strenthen their power over the nobles and the Church. One way Henry was able to strengthen his hold was through the establishment of royal courts of justice and royal judges appointed by the king. They collected taxes, settled lawsuits, and punished criminals. These judges were loyal to the king and became his eyes and ears throughout the country, allowing Henry to assert royal authority throughout his kingdom. Henry also introduced the use of juries in English courts. Over the centuries, case by case, the rulings of England's royal judges formed a unified body of law that became known as common law. Today the principles of English common law are the basis for law in most English-speaking countries including the United States.

Henry was succeeded first by his son Richard the Lion-Hearted, hero of the Third Crusade. When Richard died, his younger brother John took the throne. During John's reign the English were defeated in France and lost much of their territory including Normandy to Philip Augustus. John also raised taxes to pay for the wars of his predecessors and rising inflation. In 1215 the nobles revolted and forced John to agree to the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta guaranteed certain basic political rights for nobles including no taxation without representation, the right to a jury trial, and the protection of the law. This document had made the king, like his subjects, subject to the law, introducing the principle of rule of law in England.

The Magna Carta

France

The kings of France, like those of England, looked for ways to increase their power. Following the breakup of Charlemagne's Empire, real power in France was held by local nobles under the feudal system. In A.D.987 Hugh Capet, an undistinguished duke became the first King of France. Hugh Capet was king in name only because France was divided into about 47 feudal territories, most richer and more powerful than the king's fief. Over the course of several generations French kings worked to consolidate their power and establish their own unquestioned authority.

One of the most important kings in medieval French History was Philip II, called Philip Augustus, who ruled from 1180 to 1223. Philip set out to weaken the power of the English kings in France by whatever means were necessary. Philip had little success against the English kings Henry II or Richard I, however, when Richard's brother John took the throne in 1204 Philip was able to defeat the English and triple the lands under royal control. For the first time, a French king had become more powerful than any of his vassals.

In France Church leaders were known as the First Estate, the great lords as the Second Estate, and any commoner without a title became the Third Estate. In time of crisis the king would call a meeting of all three estates called the Estates-General to meet and make decisions. Like the English Parliament in its early years, the Estates-General helped to increase royal power against the nobility. Unlike Parliament, the Estates-General never became an independent force that could limit power, instead it was called upon only when useful for the king.

As French royal authority grew the king sought to exert power over the Church by taking control of the papacy. In 1305, Philip IV persuaded the College of Cardinals to elect a Frech archbishop as the new pope. Clement V, the newly elected pope, moved from Rome to the city of Avignon. Popes would live there for the next 69 years where he was overseen by the king and at his mercy.

The Hundred Years' War

When the French King died without an heir, England's Edward III, the grandson of France's Philip IV, claimed the French throne. This war continued off and on for more than a century, from 1337 to 1453. The war greatly changed Europe as English bowmen were able to beat back French knights and in the process change warfare.

The war went through several phases with much of the early battles won by the English. Although often outnumbered the English longbowmen cut down the French knights from afar with spectacular victories at Crecy (1346), Poitiers (1356), and Agincourt (1415) turning the war in England's favor all the while undermining the myth of invincible knight and chivalry itself.

The war was turned in France's favor by one of history's most unlikely sources, a French peasant girl named Joan of Arc. Joan felt moved by God to save France from the English after she began hearing voices around the age 13. After cutting off her hair and wearing the armor of a knight, Joan led the French army into battle and defeated the English.

Joan continued to fight for the French king for several years until she was captured by Burgundians- English allies- who turned her over to the English and later the Church to stand trial for witchcraft. The English argued that the voices she heard were those of demons and the devil himself. Condemned as a witch Joan was burned at the stake in 1431.

The long exhausting war finally ended in 1453 with a French victory and an end to English power in France.

Some historians see the end of the Hundred Years' War as the end of the middle ages because its lasting effects on England and France. The power of both the French and English kings became solidified over local lords and each country was firmly united behind their king. More importantly, a feeling of nationalism emerged in each country as people began to identify themselves with their country and the king became a symbolic figure. From this point on Europeans thought of their king as a national leader, and soldiers viewed their fighting as fighting for the glory and honor of the country, not simply thieir fuedal lord.

Spain

For much of the middle ages Spain was ruled by Berbers from North Africa. This meant that while the rest of Western Europe was experiencing the dark ages and a general decline in culture, Spain was not. Spain enjoyed a period of prosperity and wealth which few other Europeans could imagine. Muslims built grand mosques in Cordoba and Granada and could read from classical texts including Aristotle and Homer.

Beginning in the 1000s Europeans under Church guidance began what became known as the Reconquista in an effort to remove non-Christians from Europe. These wars lasted centuries as slowly over time Muslim power weakened in Spain until the last Islamic state Granada fell in 1492, the same year Columbus discovered America.

The Reconquista transformed Spanish culture by linking Spanish nationalism with the Catholic religion. In the process the Spanish government instigated a series of inquisitions to remove all remnants of Muslim culture and society by forcing those Muslims and Jews who were left behind to convert to Christianity, leave Spain, or face torture. Those who converted were left under constant suspicion and were perpetually viewed as threats to this new Christian Spain. Ultimately, 1492 saw Spain transform into Europe's dominant power with no further threat from the Africa, a large experienced military, and ultimately a sudden influx of wealth from its new colonies in the Americas.