Billie Call Christian Institute

4th Marking Period Notes

Grade 11 History
EUROPEAN HISTORY: MIDDLE AGES (500AD—1000AD)

THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES (500 AD -1000 AD)

In A.D 496, Clovis, warrior king of the Franks, was engaged in a ferocious battle. According to the
Chronicle of St. Denis,
"He looked up to heaven humbly, and spoke thus, 'most mighty God, whom my queen Clothilde worships
and adores with heart and soul, I pledge thee perpetual service unto thy faith, if only thou givest me now
victory over mine enemies. Instantly ... his men were filled with burning valor, and a great fear smote his
enemies so that they turned back and fled."

King Clovis won the battle- and many others. The kingdom he established was one of many Germanic
kingdoms that replaced the unifying force of the Roman Empire in Western Europe

WESTERN EUROPE IN DECLINE

At its height, the Roman Empire included much of Western Europe. Romans unified the region by bringing
classical ideas, the Latin language, and Christianity. Those ideas were later built on by the German people
who settled in Europe and conquered Rome.

After Rome collapsed, Western Europe was politically, socially, and economically in decline from about 500
to 1000, it was politically divided and cut off from advanced civilizations in the Middle East, China, and
India. This gave rise to waves of invaders who swept across the region and made a trade to showdown, towns
emptied and classical learning to cease. For this reason, this period in Europe has sometimes been called the
Dark Ages.

Historians have now realized that this period was not dark. During this time, Greco-Roman, Germanic, and
Christian traditions slowly blended and created a new civilization. Much later, this period between ancient
times and modern times roughly from 500 — 1500 would be called the Middle Ages and its culture would be
Called Medieval Civilization, from the Latin words from "middle age".

THE RISE OF THE GERMANIC KINGDOMS

The Goths; Vandals, Saxons, and Franks were the Germanic tribes that conquered parts of the Roman
Empire. Their cultures were very different from that of the Romans. They were farmers and herders and so,
they never built cities or had any written laws. stead; they lived in small communities governed by unwritten
customs. Between 400 and 700 A.D., these Germanic tribes carved Western Europe into small kingdoms.

THE FRANKS EXTEND THEIR POWER

One of these kingdoms was Franks. In 486, Clovis, king of the Franks, conquered Gaul and later became the
kingdom of France. He ruled his new lands according to Frankish customs but preserved much of the Roman
legacy. He gained more support from the Pope, the leader of the Christian church in Rome when he was
converted to Christianity.
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A MUSLIM EMPIRE THREATENS EUROPE
As the Franks and other Germanic people carved up Europe, a new power was emerging across the
Mediterranean. When the Islamic religion started in Arabia in the 600s A.D., Muslims created •a new
civilization that was aimed at building a huge and expanding empire.
Leaders of churches and Christian kingdoms were troubled by the disasters. Muslim armies carried out in
Palestine to North Africa and across present-day Spain. When a Muslim army crossed into France, Charles
Martel rallied Frankish warriors. At the battle of tours in 732, Christian warriors triumphed
and the Muslims never again engaged in such a campaign in that land during his reign.
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGNE (SHAHR luh Mayn)
Charlemagne was the grandson of Charles Martel. He became king of the kingdom in 768. During his reign,
he briefly united Western Europe by building an empire that reached present-day France, Germany, and part
of Italy. Because of his skills and being named Charles, he was referred to as Charles the Great. He ruled for
46 years and much of his reign was devoted to warfare against Muslims in Spain, and Saxons and Lombards
in Italy.
A NEW EMPEROR OF THE ROMANS
In 799, Pope Leo Ill requested Charlemagne's help to deal with rebellious nobles in Rome. The delegation
that Charlemagne sent to Rome arrested Leo's opponents. On Christmas day in 800 A.D., the Pope showed
his gratitude by placing a crown on Charlemagne's head and proclaimed him Emperor of the Romans.
This ceremony had enormous significance. A Christian pope had crowned a Germanic king as his successor
to the Roman emperors. In doing so, Pope Leo III revived the ideal of a United Christian Community, which
came to be called Christendom. At the same time, the pope sowed the seeds for desperate power struggles
betWeen future popes and Germanic emperors.
The Pope's action also outraged the emperor of the eastern Roman empire in Constantinople. When the
Western Roman Empire was collapsing, this was not the same as the eastern empire. It was flourishing and
the eastern emperor saw himself as the sole Roman Ruler. The crowing of Charlemagne deepened the split
between the eastern and western Christian worlds in the long run.
CREATING A UNIFIED CHRISTIAN EMPIRE
When Charlemagne took the thrown, he strove to unite Christian Europe. Working closely with the church,
he helped spread Christianity to the conquered peoples on the fringes of his empire. Charlemagne appointed
powerful nobles to rule the local regions. To keep control of these provincial rulers, he sent out officials
called Missi Dominici to check on roads, listen to agriculture, and see to it that justice was done.
Charlemagne regarded education as another way to unify his kingdom. He could read but not write. Still, he
saw the need for officials to keep accurate records and write clear reports. Charlemagne revived Latin
learning throughout his empire and created local schools.
EUROPE AFTER CHARPJMAGNE
After Charlemagne died in 814 A. D. his son Louis I succeeded him. Later, Louis' sons battled for power.
Finally, in 843 A.D., Charlemagne's grandson drew up the Treaty of Verdun, which split the empire into
three regions.

Charlemagne's Enfpire
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Assignment 1.
Between 700 and 1000, Western Europe was battered by invaders.
1. Locate on a map invades a. France b. Germany c. Scandinavia d. Hungary e. Muslim-controlled lands
2. Describe the invasion routes of the: a. Magyars b. Vikings c. Muslims
3. Which invaders built settlements?

THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MIDDLE AGES

FEUDALISM AND THE MANOR ECONOMY

In the face of inVasions by Vikings, Muslims, and Magyars, kings and emperors were too weak to maintain
law and order. People needed protection for their lives and properties. In response to this basic need, a
decentralized political and economic structure evolved and became known as Feudalism. Feudalism was a
loosely organized system of rule in which powerful local lords divided their landholdings among lesser lords.
In exchange, these lesser lords-vassals pledge service and loyalty to the greater lord.

MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS
The political and economic relationship between lords and vassals was based on the exchange of land loyalty
and military service. It was established by customs and tradition and by the exchange of pledges called
Feudal Contract, a powerful lord granted his vassal a fief or estate to work and live on. As part of this
agreement, the lord promised to protect his vassal. In return, the vassal pledged loyalty to his lord and agreed
to provide the lord with a 40-day military service each year, certain money payments, and advice.

THE WORLD OF KNIGHTS AND NOBLES

For medieval nobles, warfare was a way of life. Rival lords battled constantly for power. To fit in such a
society, many nobles began training in boyhood for future occupations as a knight, or mounted warriors. At
the age of seven, a boy was sent away to the castle of his father's lord. There he learned to ride and first. He
also learned to keep his armor and weapons in good condition. The training was difficult and discipline was
strict.
With his training completed, in a püblic ceremony, his knight master or lord would say their word: "In the
name of God, Saint Michael, and Saint Georgia, I dub thee knight; be brave and loyal." Then the young
knight took his place beside other warriors. Knights usually fought on horseback using swords, axes, and
lances which were long poles. T&ey wore armor and carried shields for protection. In addition to actual
warfare, knights engaged in mock battles called tournaments.

CASTLES AND DEFENSE

During the Middle Ages, powerful laws fortified their homes to withstand attack. By the 1100s, monarchs
and nobles owned stone castles with high walls, towers, and drawbridges over wide moats. The knights were
used to defend the castle and so did they live there. In times of war, the peasants in the nearby villages would
take refuge within the castle walls. Wars often centered on seizing castles- that commanded strategic river
crossings, harbors, or mountain passes.

CHIVALRY: ROMANCE AND REALITY

In the later Middle Ages, Imights adopted a code of conduct called Chivalry.
Chivalry required knights to be brave, loyal, and true to their word. In warfare,
they had to fight fairly. For example, a knight agreed not to attack another
knight before the opponent had a chance to put on his armor, Chivalry also
dictated that knights protect the weak, which included peasants and noble-
woman.
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MANOR SUPPORT FEUDALISM
The heart of the feudal economy was the manor or lord's estate that comprised villages and the surrounding
land. Peasants worked these lands for the lords.

LORDS AND PEASANTS: MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS

Peasants and their lords were tied together by mutual rights and obligations peasants had to work several
days a week on farms, roads, bridges, and fences. Peasants had to ask the lord's permission to get married. In
return for their labor, peasants had the right to farm some land for themselves, entitled to their lord's
protection from raids or warfare.

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How did a lord benefit from giving his lands away as fiefs?
2. How did the manor serve the needs of the early Middle Ages?
3. Peasants did not work but derived few benefits from the manor system. Explain.

THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH DOMINATES MEDIEVAL LIFE

During the early Middle Ages, the. church's most important achievement was converting the diverse peoples
of Western Europe to Christianity. In 597, Pope Gregory r sent St. Augustine to convert the Anglo-Saxons in
England. By the late Middle Ages, Western Europe had become a Christian civilization and anyone who did
not belong to the church community was viewed with suspicion.

THE ROLE OF THE PARISH PRIEST

Christian rituals and faith were part of everyday life. In villages, the priest of the parish conducted mass and,
administered Sacraments, the sacred rites of the Catholic Church. Christians believed that participation in the
sacraments would lead them to salvation.

THE RISE OF CATHEDRALS

Bishops, who supervised parish priests, managed larger churches called Cathedrals. By the 1100s,
communities used new technology to build huge cathedrals known as the Gothic style. These magnificent
buildings were a source of pride to the communities that built them.
Church doctrine taught that men and women are equal before God. But on earth, women were viewed as
weak and easily led into sin. Thus, they needed the guidance of men. In this way, the church tried to protect
women. It set a minimum age for marriage. Church courts could fine men who seriously injured their wives.

MONASTERIES AND CONVENTS

During the early Middle Ages, some men and women withdraw from worldly life to monastic life. The men
became monks while the women became nuns. Behind the walls of monasteries and convents, they devoted
their entire lives to spiritual goals.
At about 530, a monk named Benedict organized the monastery of Monte Cassino in central Italy. He created
rules known as the Benediétine Rule that were used to regulate monasteries and convents across Europe.
Under the Benedictine Rule monks and nuns took three vows: obedience to the head of the monastery or
conversion, poverty, and chastity. Each day was divided into periods for worship, work, and study.

In a world without hospitals and schools, monasteries and convents provided health and educational services.
Monks and nuns looked after the poor and sick and set up schools for children.

But in the later Middle Ages, the church withdrew rights that nuns had enjoyed, such as preaching the
Gospels, and placed most independent convents under the control of church officials. It frowned on too much
learning for women, preferring them to accept church authority.
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CHURCH POWER GROWS
In the centuries after the fall of Rome, the church hierarchy carved out a unique position in Western Europe.
It controlled the spiritual life of Christians and also became the most powerful secular force in medieval
Europe.
During the Middle Ages, the Pope was the spiritual leader of the Western Christian church, based in Rome.
Declaring themselves as representatives of God on earth, medieval popes claimed Papal Supremacy or
authority over all secular rulers (kings and emperors): The pope headed an army of churchmen who
supervised church activities. Bishop and Archbishop were usually nobles who had their own territories and
armies. The Pope himself had vast land in central Italy that was called the Papal states.

Church officials were closely linked to secular rulers. Churchmen were often highly educated and were
appointed to government positions. In addition, church officials were often relatives of secular rulers.

RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY AND POLITICAL POWER

The medieval Christian church was dedicated to the worship of God. At the same time, Christians believe
that all people were sinners and that many were doomed to eternal suffering. To avoid hell, one had to do
good, believe that Jesus is the son of God, and participate in the sacrament. Because the church administered
the sacraments and could deny them as punishment, it had absolute power in religious matters.

The church developed its own laws known as Canon Law and its own court called Canon Court. It has
jurisdiction over matters of wills, marriages, and morals. Anyone who disobeyed the church's laws faced a
range of penalties and the most severe was ex-communication. Those who were excommunicated could not
receive the sacraments. A powerful noble who opposed the church clod faced the interdict, an order
excluding entire towns, regions, or kingdoms from receiving the sacrament and Christian burial.

The church tried to use its authority to end warfare. It declared the Truce of God which was a period of
temporary peace during which fighting was forbidden between Friday and Sunday and on religious holidays.

CORRUPTION AND REFORM

The very success of the church led to many problems: pious Christians left their wealth and lands to
monasteries and convents which made monks and nuns concentrate on luxury rather than their vow of
poverty. Some treated priesthood as family inheritance and this bought about a call for reform in the church
throughout the Middle Ages.

In the early 900s, Abbot Berno set out to reform his monastery of Cluny in eastern France. He revived the
Benedictine Rule of obedience, poverty, and chastity. He refused to allow nobles or bishops to interfere in
monastery affairs. This allowed Cluny to be placed under the direct protection of the Pope.

In 1073, Gregory VII, a former monk became Pope and pushed for reform. He wanted to limit the secular
influence on the church. He insisted that the church alone choose church officials such as bishops. Gregory
also outlawed marriage for priests and prohibited simony, the selling of church offices. These reforms gave
rise to new preaching orders. Friars, that means monks who did not live in isolated monasteries, took a
different approach to the reform. They traveled around Europe's growing towns, preaching to the poor. The
first order of friars, the Franciscans, was founded by a healthy Italian and is now known by Christians as St.
Francis of Assisi.

Dominic, a Spanish priest, founded the Dominican order of friars. Dominicans dedicated themselves to
teaching official Christian beliefs in order to combat heresies, religious doctrines that differed from church

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teachings. Women also supported the reform as others became Dominican nuns while others were
Franciscans.

JEWS IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE

In the Middle Ages, Jewish communities existed all across Europe. Jews flourished in present-day Spain,
where Muslim rulers were tolerant of them. In other parts of Western Europe, Christians, and Jews lived in
harmony for centuries. Many rulers in northern Europe valued and protected the Jewish community, and they
taxed them heavily.
By the late 1000s, Western Europe had become more Christianized, and suspicion arose against Jews When
faced with disasters they could not understand, Christians often blamed Jews. As the Christian church yew in
power, it issued orders forbidding Jews to own land or practice most occupations. In response to the growing
persecution, thousands of Jews migrated to eastern Europe-where they established large Jewish communities.

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How did monks and mins contribute to Medieval life?
2. How did the church increase its secular, power?
3. How did riches and power lead to church abuses and then to reform?
4. Why did attitudes toward Jews change in Medieval Europe?

ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPARKS CHANGE

AN AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
Changes in Europe by 1000 set the foundation for economic prosperity. These changes took place in
agriculture where peasants adopted new farming methods that resulted in more productivity.
By the 800s, peasants were using iron plows that were more sophisticated than wooden plows. Again, they
were using horses rather than oxen to pull the plows. Fast-moving horses could plow more land in a day than
oxen once did.

PRODUCTION AND POPULATION GROW

Better farming methods introduced by the peasants brought more land into use. The peasant could rotate
crops. They planted one field with grain; a second with (peas and beans); and the third left unplanted.
GRADE 11 HISTORY 4TH PERIOD EXERCISE
Direction: Answer the below questions correctly and completely.
1. Why did Europe decline? State three causes and disease them.
2. Comment on the contributions of these Icy figures in the rise of Europe: (a) Clovis (b) Charlemagne (c)
Benedict (d) St. Francis
3. Identify three effects of the crowning of Charlemagne as emperor by the Pope and discuss them in detail.
4. During the 1100s, trade, and travel became easier throughout Europe. Write a paragraph on each of these
factors and explain how they contributed toward such change. (a) population growth (b) decrease in
foreign invasions (c) Safety of travel (d) trade routes and bank
5. Explain what you know about the Dominican and Franciscan orders of Christian friars.
6. Why did Charlemagne's empire break up after his death? (b) How did Medieval manor function? (C)
What role did the church play in daily life and how did it gain secular power?
7. What
a. were the effects of improvements in agriculture?
b. led to the growth of towns?
c. was the commercial revolution?
d. social changes caused by the commercial revolution?
8. Compare and contrast the manor economy with the kind of economy that developed in towns during the
commercial revolution.
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9. Why
a. did the collapse of the Western Roman empire lead to a new age in Western Europe?
b. was Charlemagne important even though his empire collapsed after his death?
c. Was the Pope a powerful figure in Medieval Europe?
10. Explain:
a. why the Middle Ages are called the age of faith?
b. why the Middle Ages are also called the dark ages?

The Period of The Formation of The Germanic Nation And The Consolidation of The German Holy Nation
During the 400s and 500s, a group of Germanic tribes known as the Angles and Saxons (Angle-Soxons)
conquered most of the Roman colony of Britain. The country became known as England. Even though there
were Viking invasions in the 800s, these invasions did not stop the emergence of this unified English
kingdom.
In 1066 when king Edward of England died, Harold, his brother-in-law was chosen as his successor by the
council of nobles. This happened because King Edward died an heir. This decision by the nobles was
challenged by William, Duke of Normandy, in France who claimed that the English throne was •s. The
counter-claim posed by William resulted in a battle. This battle is known as the Battle of Hastings, in which
William and his Norman knights were victorious. From there, he was known as William the Conqueror', and
he became king of England on the Christian day of 1066.

EXPANDING ROYAL POWER

When William became king of England, he imposed his control over the
land. He kept a large amount of land for himself and monitored all castles. He
required every vassal to swear first allegiance to him rather than to any other
feudal lord.
To gain accurate knowledge of his kingdom, William had a census taken in 1086 and the result was
published and known as the Domesday Book. Information in the Domesday Book helped William and later
monarchs set up an efficient tax collection system.
In 1154, King Henry Il inherited the throne. He broadened the system of royal justice by expanding
acceptable customs into law which were used to adjudicate cases at his royal courts. The decisions of the
royal courts became the foundation of English Common Law, a legal system based on custom and court
rulings.
Under Henry II, England also developed the jury system in which groups of individuals were chosen to
examine the evidence presented at trial in order to render justice. However, Henry's effort to extend royal
power led to a bitter dispute with the church over the issue of legal authority. Henry claimed the right to try
clergy in the royal court but was seriously challenged by Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury and
this brought him into opposition with Henry for several years.
At last, Henry's fury exploded. "What cowards I have brought up in my court", he cried. "Who will rid me of
this meddlesome priest"? Four hotheaded knights took Henry at his word and in 1170, Archbishop Thomas
Becket was murdered in his own cathedral.

EVOLVING TRADITIONS OF GOVERNMENT

Later English rulers clashed with nobles and the church repeatedly as they tried to raise taxes or impose royal
authority over traditional feudal rights. Out of those struggles evolved traditions of government that have
great influence on the modern world.

King John Makes Power Enemies. King John, the son of Henry II was a clever, but cruel and untrustworthy
ruler. During his reign, he faced three powerful enemies: King Philip II of France, Pope Innocent III, and the
Nobles of England. He lost his struggle with them all.
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In 1205, John suffered a setback when he lost a war with Philip Il and had to give up lands in Anjou and
Normandy. Next, John battled with Innocent Ill over selecting a new archbishop of Canterbury. When John
rejected, the Pope excommunicated him. Innocent III also placed England under the interdict (the papal order
that forbade church services in an entire kingdom).

Finally, John angered his nobles with oppressive taxes and other abuses of power. In 1215, a group of
rebellious barons cornered John and forced him to sign the Magna Carte or Great Charter. This document
contained two main cleanses: that the nobles had certain rights and that the monarch must obey the law.

Besides these, there were two additional clauses that were aimed at protecting the church and townspeople
which were: protecting freemen from arbitrary arrest, improvement, and legal actions except "by the legal
judgment of the land". This clause formed the basis of the right called today's due process of law. Secondly,
the basis for the right of habeas corpus is the principle that no person can be held in person without first
being charged with a specific crime. Prior to Magna Carta, these rights were not exercised in England.

The Development of Parliament. In keeping with the Magna Carta, English rulers were required to call on
the Great Council for advice. During the 1200s, this council evolved into Parliament, the law-making body
of the English government. The Parliament comprises two Houses —the House of Lords and the House of
Commons. Over the centuries, Parliament gained the crucial "power of the purse" (the right to approve any
new taxes). With that power, Parliament could insist that the monarch meet its demands before voting for
taxes. In this way, it could limit the power of the monarch.

SUCCESSFUL MONARCHS IN FRANCE

Unlike William the Conqueror in England, monarchs in France did not rule over a unified kingdom. This
made the successors to Charlemagne have little power over the territories ruled by powerful nobles

THE CAPETIAN KINGS

In 987, these nobles elected Hugh Capet to fill the vacant French throne. Their decision was based on the
notion that since he was weak, he could create no threat to their land interests.
Nevertheless, Hugh and his heirs slowly increased their royal power. By making the throne hereditary, by
adding more lands to their lands, and by playing rival nobles against each other, they and their heirs quickly
won the support of the church.

PHILIP AUGUSTUS EXTENDS FRENCH POWER

Philip Augustus (Philip Il) became king of France in 1179. He was a shrewd and able ruler. Instead of
appointing nobles to government positions, Philip Augustus paid middle-class officials who could owe their
loyalty to him. He granted charter towns and introduced a new national tax.
Philip Augustus used trickery, diplomacy, and wars to gain control of English — ruled lands in Normandy,
Anjou, and elsewhere. Before his death in 1223, Philip became the most powerful ruler in Europe.

LOIUS IX, KING, AND SAINT

Louis IX became king of France in 1226. As a religious man, Louis IX persecuted heretics, those who held
contrary beliefs to church teaching. He also persecuted Jews and led French knights in two crusades against
Muslims. Within 30 years of his death, the church declared him a saint.
Louis imitated Charlemagne reign. He expanded the royal courts, outlawed private wars, and ended serfdom
in his personal domain. To ensure justice, he heard cases himself. By the time of this death in 1270, France
was emerging as an efficient centralized monarch.

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CLASHING WITH THE POPE
Louis's grandson, Philip IV, succeeded him and ruthlessly extended royal power. To raise cash, he taxed the
clergy. This effort led to a clash with pope Boniface VIII who declared that "God has set popes over kings
and kingdoms, the Pope forbade Philip to tax the clergy without papal consent. Philip threatened to arrest any
clergy who did not pay ta)f. As the quarrel escalated, Philip sent troops to seize Boniface but Boniface
escaped and died soon afterward.
Shortly after, in 1305, a Frenchman was elected Pope. Four years later, he moved the papal court to Avignon,
outside the southern border of France where French rulers could exercise more control over it. This move led
to a crisis in the church when another Pope was elected in Rome. The rival popes each claimed to be a true
leader of the church.

FORMING THE ESTATES GENERAL

During the struggle with the Pope, Philip rallied French support by setting up the Estates General in 1302.
The Estate General had representatives from all three estates (classes) of French society namely: clergy,
nobles, and townspeople. Although later French kings consulted the Estates General, it never gained true
authority as that of the English Parliament
ASSIGNMENT 2.
1. On a map, locate: (a) Paris (b) Normandy (q) Avignon
2. What territories were held by the English in 1328?
3. What overall trend in French royal power does the map show? (b) Where and by whom might the power
be challenged after 1328? Explain your answer.
4. How were nobles and church obstacles for a monarch who wanted more power?
5. How did William increase royal power in England? (b) How did the nobles react to King John's abuse of
power?
6. Explain the importance of (a) the Magna Carta. (b) the Parliament.
7. Describe in detail the power struggle between French kings and the Pope.

PERIOD OF THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS

The Crusades And The Wider World
Fulchér of Chartres was just one of the thousands of Europeans who took part in a series of wars known as
the Crusades. In these wars which began in 1096, Christians battled Muslims for control of lands in the
Middles East.

THE CRUSADES
The Byzantine emperor, Alexius I urgently asked Pope Urban II for Christian knights to help him fight the
Muslim Turks. Although Roman Popes and Byzantine emperors were age-old rivals, Urban agreed.

A CALL TO WAR
At the Council of Clermont in 1095, Urban incited Bishop and nobles to action. "From Jerusalem and the
city for Constantinople comes a grievous report, " he began," An accursed race .... Has violently invaded
the lands of those Christians and has depopulated them by pillage and fire ' 'e Urban then called for a crusade
to free the Holy land:
"Both knight and footmen, both rich and poor... must strive to help expel the Seljuks from our Christian
lands before it is too late ... Christ commands it. Remission of sins will be granted to those going there.
Pulcher of charters"
"God wills it!" roared the assembly. By 1096, thousands of knights were on their way to the Holy Land. As
the crusading spirit swept through Western Europe, armies of ordinary men and women inspired by fiery
preachers left for the Holy Land, and too few returned. The crusade was not only motivated by

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religious zeal but was also sped by the knight's desire to gain wealth, escape troubles at home and engage in
adventure.
The Pope, too, had mixed motives. Urban hoped to increase his power in Europe and heal the schism (split)
between the Rompi and Byzantine churches that had been divided in 1054, and on the other hand, set
Christian Knights against Muslims in the Holy land.

FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE

Of all the crusades, only the first came closer to victory. After a long and bloody campaign, Christian
Knights captured Jerusalem in 1099 and massacred Muslims and Jews that were there.
The crusades continued, off and on, for over 200 years. The crusaders divided their captured lands into four
small states, called the Crusades States. The Muslims repeatedly launch attacks on these states and prompted
Europeans to launch new crusades, but in 1187, Jerusalem fell to the Muslims under the command of Salah
al-Din, a Muslim leader who is known to the Europeans as Saladin.

THE IMPACT OF THE CRUSADES

The crusade left a bitter legacy of religious hatred. In the Middle East, Christians and Muslims committed
atrocities in the name of religion. In Europe, crusaders turned their religious fury against Jews and massacred
their entire communities.
When the crusaders arrived in the Middle East, various Muslim regimes were in power struggl+among
themselves for control of the region. When they encountered the crusaders, they forgot their internal
differences and rallied together to fight the invaders, and under Saladin, they reunified the region from
Egypt to Syria.

THE EFFECTS OF THE CRUSADES

The crusade expanded Europe economies. Before then, Europeans had developed the taste for luxuries from
the Byzantine Empire. Returning crusaders brought these goals in large quantities from the Middle East back
to Europe.
The crusaders also encouraged the money economy. To finance a journey to the Holy Land. To do this,
nobles needed money and so they requested peasants to pay rent in money rather than labor or grain.
The effects on monarchs and the church were also immense. The crusade increased the power of monarchs
who collected taxes to support the crusaders. Some rulers like King Louis X of France and King Richard I of
England were called the Loin-Heart doing this era.
Enthusiasm for the crusades brought papal power to its greatest height. However, this period of prestige
was short-lived as popes were involved in bitter struggles with monarchs. Also, the crusades did not end the
split between the Roman and Byzantine churches as Pope Urban had hoped. Instead, Byzantine resentment
against the West hardened as the result of the fourth crusade, during which crusaders conquered and looted
Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
The crusade enables Europeans to have contact with the wider world. Prior to the crusades, Europeans did
not know that millions of people lived in the regions where the crusades were fought. Because the crusades
explored these territories, Marco Polo was able to set out in 1271 on a journey to China.
The experience of the crusades and the traveling of Marco Polo expanded European horizons.

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ASSIGNMENT 3.
1. Locate on a large map: (a) Holy Roman Empire (b) Rome (c) Jerusalem (d) Acre (e) Constantinople
2. What route did the English crusaders take to the Holy Land? (b) Why do you think they took that route?
3. How did the crusade change life in Europe and beyond?
4. Explain three reasons why Europeans joined the érusades.

THE RISE OF UNIVERSITIES

Medieval Universities Emerge
By the 1100s, Europe was experiencing dynamic changes. As there was a more reliable supply of food and
growth of towns and trading, these increased prosperities created the need for educated people who could
guide prosperities to greater nobility. Hence, it was the beginning of Medieval Universities which occurred
during the High Middle Ages.
By the 1100s, Schools have sprung up around the great cathedrals to train the clergy. These schools were
providing training to clergy and royal rulers whose services were really needed to occupy positions that were
created in the expanding bureaucracies. Some of these cathedral schools evolved into the first universities.

The universities were granted a charter to protect the rights of members who established them and to
standardize training.
As early as the 900s, the Italian city of Salerno was highly respected for its medical school. Bologna's
University founded in 1158 became famous for its legal studies: Paris and Oxford founded their universities
in the later 1100s.
The university offered few comforts for students. Students were only men as women were not allowed in
university. Students began to study at 5 A.M. for prayers until 10 AM. Afternoon classes continued until 5
P.M. Because there were no permanent buildings, classes were held in rented rooms or in the choir loft of a
church. Students sat for hours on hard benches as the teacher dictated and explained Latin. Students were
expected to memorize what they heard.
A program of study covered arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, grammar, rhetoric, and logic. There
were separate programs for the further study of law, medicine, and theology. Students took oral exams as
evaluations and earning a bachelor of arts degree took three and six years. Only after several more years of
study could a man quality to become a laster of Arts and a teacher. Theology was the longest course of study.

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 SCHOLASTICISM
Europeans Acquire "New" Learning
Universities received a further boast from an explosion of knowledge that reached Europe in the High
Middles Ages. Muslim scholars translated the works of Aristotle and other Greek thinkers into Arabic.
Muslim Spain and Jewish Christian schools translated these works into Latin, the language of Christian
Éuropean schools. In the 1100s when these translations reached Western Europe, they initiated a revolution
in the world of learning.

CHRISTIAN SCHOLARS STRUGGLE WITH THE NEW IDEAS

The writings of Aristotle and others posed a challenge to Christian scholars. Aristotle taught that people
should use reason to discover basic truths. Christians believed and accepted many ideas on faith. They
believed that the church was the final authority on all questions. How could they use the logic of Aristotle
without undermining their Christian faith?

The solution to this problem lay in scholasticism. This was the method's reason. They used reason to support
Christian beliefs. Scholastics studied the works of Averr6es (uh VEER uh wee3) a Muslim philosopher and
(my Mahn uh dee), a Jewish rabbi! who both used logic to resolve the conflict between
faith and reason.

The writings of these philosophers influenced the famous scholastic, Thomas Aquinas. In a monumental
work, Summa theological, Aquinas concluded that faith Gid reason exists in harmony. Both lead to the same
truth that God rules over an orderly universe. It was Aquinas who brought together the Christian faith and
classical Greek philosophy.

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Discuss how universities arose during the High Middle Ages in Europe.
2. What do we call scholasticism?
3. Could we conclude that the writings of Averr6ses and Rabbi
4. Maimonides posed problems for some Christian scholars. Explain.
5. Explain why Thomas Aquinas could be considered the 'savior' of Christian belief.
6. Aristotle and some Greek thinkers' writings created problems for Christians in Europe. Explain.

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