Introduction

I. Middle Ages or Medieval Period - 1000 years - (500 - 1500 A.D.)

A. Dark Ages - First 500 years (500 - 1000) were marked by the lack of government organization, culture, and education.

B. Renaissance (1000 - 1500) "Rebirth" in learning, culture, art, and the start of many nations.

II. Rome falls in 476 A.D. and creates a "power vacuum".

A. Germanic tribes invade Europe.

B. The Franks were the most important.

C. Many scattered, small settlements.

Section 1: The Rise of the Franks

I. The Main Idea

A. A new European civilization arose based on Roman and Germanic values and traditions.

B. Charlemagne, one of the strong rulers who helped bring order to Europe in the Middle Ages.

C. Clovis and the Merovingians.

1. In 481 a ruler named Clovis became king of one of the Frankish tribes.

2. Clovis and his successors were called Merovingians.

a. Conquered and absorbed other Frankish tribes.

b. Controlled all of northern Gaul. (France)

3. The Franks soon seized southwestern Gaul. (France is from Franks)

4. When Clovis died, his sons divided the kingdom.

D. Pépin II, who ruled from 687 to 714.

1. Pépin and his successors reunited the Frankish kingdoms.

2. After Pépin II died, his son, Charles Martel became mayor of the palace.

E. Charles Martel and Pépin the Short.

1. Charles (The Hammer) Martel

a. defeated the Spanish Moors(Muslims) at Tours in 732.

b. Stopped the spread of Islam - "Religion by the sword."

2. His son, Pépin III (the Short) begins the Carolingians line of Frankish rulers.

3. At the request of the pope, Pépin led a Frankish army into Italy and defeated the Lombards.

4. The Franks won control of the territory around Rome and gave it to the pope. Donation of Pepin

F. Charlemagne (Pepin's son) - The greatest Frankish king.

1. Ruled for 46 years (768 - 814)

2. Worked to build a "new Rome" centered in what is now France and Germany.

a. Spread church teachings and Christian beliefs.

b. Brought civilization, order, and learning to Europe.

3. Charlemagne at war.

a. Defeated the Lombards in Italy

b. Defeated the Saxons in northern Germany

c. Defeated the Avars in central Europe

d. He tried to conquer all of Muslim Spain, but failed.

e. Drove the Moors back across the Pyrenees.

4. Charlemagne's victory over the Moors added a small strip of Spanish land, called the "Spanish March," to his large empire. It also created a "buffer zone"&emdash;a kind of frontier&emdash;between Christian and Muslim Europe.

5. On Christmas Day of the year 800, Pope Leo III placed a crown on Charlemagne's head and declared him "Emperor of the Romans."

6. He had united much of western Europe for the first time in 400 years.

7. Because of this, Europe regarded Charlemagne as the successor to the Roman emperors.

G. Government - capital at Aix-la-Chapelle

1. Charlemagne's empire was divided into regions governed by a count.

2. Oaths of fidelity (loyalty)

3. Missi dominici (the lord's messengers) made sure that the counts were serving the emperor and not themselves.

H. Education and learning.

1. Charlemagne placed great value on education.

2. He started schools at his palace for his own children and other young nobles.

3. Monks were invited from all over western Europe to teach at the school.

4. Charlemagne appointed Alcuin to head the school.

5. Alcuin developed a curriculum based on the Roman model, emphasizing grammar, rhetoric, logic, mathematics, music, and astronomy.

6. Charlemagne also brought together scholars to produce a readable Bible.

8. Charlemagne also ordered bishops to create libraries.

III. The Decline of the Frankish Empire

A. Charlemagne died in 814.

B. Louis the Pious proved to be a weak and shortsighted ruler.

C. When Louis died in 840, his sons agreed to divide the empire among themselves after much dispute - Treaty of Verdun.

1. Lothair - Middle Empire

2. Charles the Bald - Western Empire

3. Louis the German - Eastern Empire

D. Charlemagne's grandsons and their successors fought among themselves.

E. Charlemagne's empire was invaded by Muslims from Africa, Slavs and Magyars from the east.

F. The Vikings.

1. The most feared invaders

2. from Scandinavia in the north.

3. They sailed rivers into Germany, France, and the Baltic area.

4. They would raid and loot settlements and bring captives back to work as slaves on their farms in Scandinavia.

5. In time they settled in England, Ireland, and parts of continental Europe.

 

Section 2: Feudalism and the Manorial System

I. The Main Idea

A. Feudalism and manorialism structured and organized European society in the Middle Ages.

B. Society in the Middle Ages was strongly shaped by relationships of loyalty and service between higher and lower nobles.

II. Feudalism - Government during the Middle Ages.

A. Organized, large-scale government disappeared.

B. Small, local, independent leaders, most often by local lords.

C. The system.

1. A powerful noble (Lord) granted land(fief) to a lesser noble (Vassal)

2. Ownership of the land remained with the noble who made the grant.

3. The lesser noble promised loyalty, military assistance, and other services to the lord who granted the land.

4. A vassal could further divide the land he had been granted and grant it to others, such as knights.

5. The fief became hereditary, as legal possession of the land passed from a vassal to his son.

6. This system of inheritance from father to eldest son is called primogeniture

7. Women's rights regarding legal property were limited.

8. Throughout the Middle Ages local lords held many of the powers associated with government.

9. The church was part of the feudal system.

a. Owned vast amounts of land.

b. Many vassals who were granted fiefs in return for military protection and service.

D. Warfare

1. Wars were common during the Middle Ages.

a. Grew out of private fights between feudal lords and were local conflicts that involved only a handful of nobles and their knights.

b. Could be large-scale events that involved whole regions.

2. Knights in the Middle Ages wore armor in battle and were heavily armed.

a. armor was made of chain mail.

b. Iron helmet, sword, a large shield, and a lance.

c. With the introduction of gunpowder during the late Middle Ages, overlapping metal plates replaced chain mail. 3. In medieval times wars had different effects on society.

3. In medieval times wars had different effects on society.

a. For nobles, wars were an opportunity for glory and wealth. b. For most people, war was a cause of suffering and hardship. c. The church tried to limit suffering caused by war.

d. Restrictions on fighting could almost never be enforced strictly.

e. Private wars continued until kings became strong enough to stop them.

E. Feudal justice.

1. Feudal justice differed greatly from Roman justice.

2. A feudal trial was decided in one of three ways:

a. trial by battle - duel between accuser and accused in which the outcome determined innocence or guilt.

b. compurgation, or oath taking - the accuser and the accused were supported by people who swore that the person they represented was telling the truth.

c. trial by ordeal - outcome of a trial by ordeal was determined by how the accused survived a particular ordeal.

III. The Manorial System - Economic system in Medieval Europe

A. Shaped the economy of much of Europe.

1. Took its name from the manors of the Middle Ages.

2. Manors were large farming estates that included manor houses, cultivated lands, woodlands, pastures, fields, and villages.

B. Central authority and organized trade were almost nonexistent during the Middle Ages.

1. People who lived on manors needed to be self-sufficient.

2. Produced everything they needed, including food, clothing, and shelter.

3. Iron, salt, wool, wine, and certain manufactured goods, were purchased.

C. A lord and several peasant families shared the land of the manor.

1. Lord kept about one third of the manor's lands, called the domain, for himself.

2. Peasants farmed the remaining two-thirds of the land for themselves.

3. In return, the peasants gave the lord some of their crops and helped to farm his land.

4. The peasants also provided other services on the manor and paid many kinds of taxes.

D. Ideally a manor village was located along a stream or river, which provided waterpower for the village mill.

1. Houses were clustered near the manor house or castle for safety.

2. The land surrounding the manor house included the village, vegetable plots, cultivated fields, pastures, and forests.

3. Cultivated land was often divided into three large fields for growing grain.

4. Only two of the three fields were planted at one time. The third field could lie fallow, or unplanted, for a season to regain its fertility.

5. The three fields were divided into small strips distributed among the peasants.

E. Peasant life (Serfs)

1. Long hours at backbreaking work in the fields.

2. Most peasants could not leave the land without the lord's permission.

3. Life spans were very short.

F. Nobles' lifestyles

1. Did not live in luxury or even in comfort by today's standards.

2. A castle was a fortified base from which the lord enforced his authority and protected the surrounding countryside.

a. Early Middle Ages, castles made from earth and wood.

b. Later they were made from stone.

3. A building called the "keep" was the main part of the castle.

a. The keep was a strong tower that usually contained storerooms, workshops, barracks, and the lord's living quarters.

b. In the great hall the lord received visitors.

4. The lord spent most of his day looking after his land and dispensing justice among his vassals and serfs.

5. Marriage was viewed as a way to advance one's fortune.

G. Chivalry.

1. Code of conduct that dictated knights' behavior towards others.

2. To become a knight, a boy had to:

a. Belong to the noble class.

b. Pass through two stages of training.

aa. Page

bb. Squire

3. A knight in full armor, wearing a closed helmet, often could be distinguished from other knights only by his coat of arms.

a. Graphic symbol that identified him and that represented his personal characteristics.

b. The coat of arms was painted or stitched onto the knight's shield or outer coat, his flag, or his horse's trappings.

4. Code of chivalry

a. Courageous in battle

b. Fight fairly

c. Be loyal to his friends and to keep his word.

d. Treat his conquered foes gallantly.

e. Be courteous to women and the less powerful.

5. Chivalry did much to improve the rough and crude manners of early feudal lords.

6. A knight was required to extend courtesy only to people of his own class. Toward others his attitude and actions could be coarse, bullying, and arrogant.

 

Section 3: The Church

I. The Main Idea

A. The Roman Catholic Church was a central part of daily life in Europe during the Middle Ages.

B. The church was one of the few sources of leadership and stability.

C. The church became one of medieval Europe's most powerful and enduring institutions.

II. The Church Hierarchy

A. The medieval church had broad political powers.

1. One of the only institutions whose presence was felt throughout Europe.

2. Power extended across kingdoms and through every social and political level.

3. A great economic force during the Middle Ages.

4. One of Europe's leading landowners, and many of its leaders were powerful feudal overlords.

B. The parish priest

1. Within the church, members of the clergy were organized according to a strict hierarchy of rank.

2. Each rank within the clergy had different responsibilities and powers.

3. The parish priest held the lowest rank, but the most contact with the people.

a.The parish was the smallest division in the church.

b. The priest directly served the people in his parish.

c. He was responsible for their religious instruction and for the moral and spiritual life.

d. He could administer five of the seven sacraments.

C. The bishop

1. Managed a group of parishes called a diocese. (Cathedral)

2. The king or powerful nobles usually controlled the selection of bishops on the basis of family connections and political power.

3. Many bishops were feudal lords or vassals in their own right and had vassals themselves.

D. Church leadership.

1. A group of several dioceses, called an archdiocese, was managed by an archbishop.

2. The pope held supreme authority in the church.

a. Advised by the curia.

b. Cardinals elect the pope.

3. A commoner could advance threw the church.

III. Monasticism

A. The medieval church was made up of two types of clergy.

1. Secular clergy - Priests, bishops, and the pope

2. Regular clergy - monks, nuns.

B. Monastic lifestyles.

1. Monks and nuns believed that they had to withdraw from the world and its temptations to live a Christian life.

2. Monks lived alone and chose to serve God through fasting, prayer, and self-denial.

3. Monks lived in communities called monasteries.

4. Nuns lived in convents.

5. Monasticism refers to the way of life in convents and monasteries.

C. The Benedictine Rule.

1. A young Roman named Benedict became disgusted with the worldly corruption he witnessed.

2. He left Rome to worship God as a hermit.

3. Benedict's reputation for holiness spread and he attracted many followers.

4. Benedict established a monastery at Monte Casino, in the mountains of central Italy.

5. Benedict&emdash;later Saint Benedict&emdash;created rules to govern monks' lives.

6. The Benedictine Rule was strict.

a.. Everything a monk or nun used or wore belonged to their community.

b. Even the monk's time and labor belonged to his monastery.

7. Monks and nuns spent many hours of each day in prayer.

8. The rest of their days were taken up with tasks assigned to them.

D. The spread of monastic influence.

1. Monks and nuns often took care of the needy in medieval society.

2. In time many monasteries became rich as nobles gave money or land to monasteries in return for spiritual favor.

3. Some monks left their monasteries to become missionaries.

a. Saint Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland in 432.

b. Saint Augustine led a group of monks to England.

c. Augustine became the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Canterbury became the center of the Christian church in England.

IV. The Church and Medieval Life

A. Throughout the Middle Ages the church enjoyed great political, economic, and social influence across most of Europe.

B. Political role.

1. In the Papal States the pope was both political and religious leader.

2. Many popes claimed that the church held political as well as spiritual power over all monarchs.

3. The church had its own code of law, called canon law, and its own courts.

4. An excommunicated person was cut off from the church and could not receive the sacraments or be buried in sacred ground.

5. Excommunication was greatly feared by Christians because it effectively removed an individual from society.

6. The court could also issue an interdict against an entire region.

a. All churches in that region would be closed.

b. Clergy is forbidden to perform marriages, burials, or other sacraments.

7. The church used its power of interdiction to turn a region's people against rulers who opposed church powers and policies.

8. The church did not allow anyone to question the basic principles of the Christian religion. - Heretics

9. The medieval church also had the power to tax.

a. Tithe, or one-tenth of a Christian person's income.

b. The church also received a large income from its own lands. 10. By the early 1200s, the church was the wealthiest single institution in Europe.

C. Economic and social role.

1. The spiritual teachings of the church did much to shape the European economy of the Middle Ages.

a. The church generally did not approve of people gaining wealth at the expense of others.

b. Taught that people who labored should be regarded with the dignity of free people.

c. Monasteries were involved in large-scale trade.

2. The church considered the family a sacred institution.

a. It did not allow divorce

b. Said special prayers for family members.

3. The clergy was involved with social work and took care of the poor and needy.

4. Some religious orders even established hospitals.

D. Problems of the church.

1. The church's great wealth and influence led to many problems.

a. A noble, such as a king, appointing a friend or relative.

b. Simony - People could buy positions within the church.

2. Many attempted to bring about church reform.

a. Saint Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscans in 1209.

b. Saint Dominic founded the Dominicans in 1216.

c. Members of these orders, called friars, lived and preached among the people.

3. 1200s the church attempted to reform itself with the help of the Dominicans.

a. Seek out heretics and to stamp out teachings that opposed church doctrines.

b. This search for heretics is known as the Inquisition.

c. Heretics who confessed were forced to perform penance.

d. Those who did not confess were turned over to the government for punishment or execution.

 

Section 4: The Struggle for Power in England and France

I. The Main Idea

A. Royal power gained supremacy over the power of the nobles.

B. Kings, nobles, and church leaders struggled for power.

C. King Philip II of France sought to control the election of bishops in the French church.

II. Anglo-Saxon and Norman England

A. Anglo-Saxon England.

1. By about 450 Roman rule in Britain ended.

2. Germanic tribes moved into the island.

a. Anglo-Saxon - (Angles and Saxons)

3. England, the "land of the Angles." refers to the eastern island of the British Isles, except for Scotland and Wales.

4. The Anglo-Saxons formed several independent kingdoms in England.

a. Northumbria, in northern England and southern Scotland.

b. Mercia, in central England.

c. Wessex, in southern England.

5. Kingdoms were divided into governmental districts called shires.

B. Alfred the Great (871 - 899)

1. By the early 800s the kings of Wessex controlled almost all of England.

2. Viking raiders overran much of England.

3. In 871 Alfred the Great came to the throne of Wessex determined to drive the Danes from the island.

a. Built a powerful army and a fleet of fighting ships.

b. 876 - Alfred attacked the Danes.

c. 886 - the Danes sued for peace.

d. The treaty that resulted allowed the Danes to live in parts of Mercia and Northumbria, where they were allowed to govern themselves. (Peace of Wedmore)

C. Danish rule.

1. During the 900s Alfred's successors were able to win more land back from the Danes.

2. Unified England, strengthened its government, and spread Christianity.

3. 1013 the Danes once again controlled the entire country.

4. In 1016 King Canute of Denmark took the throne of England and most of Scandinavia in a combined kingdom.

a. Canute was a wise ruler and lived in England.

b. His sons were weak rulers.

5. 1042 - Danish line died out and the Anglo-Saxon nobles chose Edward the Confessor as their new king.

D. The Norman Conquest.

1. The Duchy of Normandy was located in northwestern France.

2. Edward, who was part Norman, died without an heir in 1066.

3. Duke William of Normandy&emdash;claimed the English throne.

4. The Anglo-Saxons chose Harold of Wessex to be king.

5. William crossed the English Channel with a powerful force of Norman knights.

6. William defeated Harold's Anglo-Saxon army at Hastings in October 1066. Harold was killed.

7. In December 1066 he was crowned King William I of England.

8. William overcame Anglo-Saxon resistance to his rule.

9. Norman laws, customs, and language were introduced in England.

a. Norman-English nobility spoke French

b. Most people in England spoke Anglo-Saxon.

10. Slowly, the lifestyles, laws, and customs of England grew to combine elements of both Anglo-Saxon and Norman cultures.

III. The Conqueror and His Successors

A. William ruled England from 1066 to 1087.

1. He brought feudalism from France to England.

2. The king, not the nobles, held supreme authority.

3. He required each feudal lord to swear loyalty directly to him.

4. William also stopped the lords from uniting against him by scattering their fiefs throughout England.

5. William's actions laid a strong foundation for centralized government and a strong monarchy in England.

B. William surveyed the population, wealth, and ways that land was divided and used in his new kingdom.

1. This survey helped to set up an accurate, central tax system.

2. The records are known as the Domesday, or Doomsday, Book.

C. Reforms under William's successors.

1. Henry I, one of William's sons, ruled from 1100 to 1135.

a. New department, the exchequer, to handle the finances.

b. Improved England's legal system.

aa. Traveling judges throughout the country to try cases.

bb. Weakened the lords because the royal court dispensed justice.

2. Henry II (1154 to 1189) increased royal authority.

a. Instead of performing military service his vassals could pay him a fee.

b. He would use the money to hire mercenaries.

c. He would have an army loyal to him - he was paying them.

d. An army made up of nobles might not have been as loyal.

3. England's legal system grew under Henry II's direction.

a. Traveling judges established circuits, and strengthened royal law throughout England.

b. 12-member jury developed in the court system.

c. Juries decided civil as well as criminal cases.

4. Henry aimed to increase the authority of his royal courts at the expense of the church.

a. Try members of the clergy who had in royal courts.

b. Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to allow his clergy to be tried in royal courts.

c. Four of the king's knights murdered the archbishop in his cathedral.

d. Even though Henry II denied any part in the murder, he did penance to appease the church.

e. Becket was named a saint, and his shrine in Canterbury became a popular destination for pilgrims.

5. The last years of Henry II's reign were troubled.

a. His sons plotted against him

b. His marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine was stormy.

c. The French lands that Eleanor had brought to Henry when they married involved England in new conflicts with the French.

6. The years of Henry's rule had strengthened the English monarchy at the feudal lords' expense.

D. King John and Magna Carta.

1. King John's actions led to a revolt among England's nobles.

a. John demanded that the nobles pay more taxes to support his wars in France.

b. In 1215 a powerful group of barons joined together against the king and his demands.

2. Threats of an armed uprising against the throne forced John to accept a document known as Magna Carta

a. Magna Carta protected the liberties of the nobles.

b. Limited outline of rights for England's ordinary people.

c. John agreed not to collect any new or special taxes without the consent of the Great Council, a body of important nobles and church leaders who advised the king.

d. He promised not to take property without paying for it.

e. He promised not to sell, refuse, or delay justice.

f. He agreed to let any accused person be judged by a jury of his or her peers.

3. John's acceptance of Magna Carta meant that the king, like his subjects, had to obey the law or face revolt and overthrow.

4. Magna Carta made the law the supreme power in England.

IV. Parliament and Common Law

A. Two other major developments took place in England in the years following Magna Carta.

1. Growth of Parliament and the beginnings of representative government.

2. Growth of common law, law based upon customs and judges' decisions, rather than upon written codes.

B. Parliament

1. Revolt of nobles against King Henry III in the 1260s threatened the monarchy.

2. Simon de Montfort aimed to build middle-class support for the nobles' cause.

3. The middle class and the nobility could combine forces against the king.

4. In 1265 de Montfort asked representatives of the middle class to meet with the nobles and clergy who made up the Great Council.

5. The middle-class representatives included four knights from each shire and two burgesses from each of several major towns.

6. The practice of having members of the middle class meet with the clergy and the nobles in the Great Council remained.

7. This representative body eventually became the English Parliament.

8. Over time Parliament was divided into two parts, called "houses."

a. Nobles and the clergy made up the House of Lords

b. Knights and burgesses made up the House of Commons

9. The early Parliament mainly served to advise the king

a. had the right to refuse new taxes

b. Parliament's power to accept or reject new taxes became more and more important.

C. Common law.

1. Edward I ruled England from 1272 to 1307.

2. Divided the king's court into three branches.

a. The Court of the Exchequer kept track of the kingdom's financial accounts and tried tax cases.

b. The Court of Common Pleas heard cases between ordinary citizens.

c. The Court of the King's Bench conducted trials that concerned the king or the government.

3. The decisions made by the new royal courts were collected and used as the basis for future court verdicts.

4. This collection of decisions became known as common law because it was applied equally and in common to all English people.

5. Common law differed greatly from law that was based on statutes, such as Roman law. It was a "living law" that changed to meet changing conditions.

V. Rise of the Capetian Kings in France

A. The last Carolingian king died in 987.

1. A group of nobles chose Hugh Capet to be King of France.

2. Capet and his descendants, the Capetians, ruled for more than 300 years.

3. Hugh Capet ruled only a small area called the Île-de-France.

4. Feudal lords ruled the rest of France, known as duchies.

5. The Capetians aimed to develop a strong central government and to unite the duchies of France under the rule of the monarchy.

B. The growth of royal territory.

1. Increase the lands under their control in several ways.

a. Some married noblewomen whose dowries included fiefs.

b. Took control of the lands of families that had died out.

c. Conquer French lands held by the English kings.

2. King Philip (1180 to 1223) took Normandy and Maine from the English.

C. Strengthening the central government.

1. The Capetians appointed well-trained officials to run the government.

2. The Parliament of Paris became a kind of supreme court, hearing appeals from all parts of the kingdom.

3. The struggle for power continued under Philip IV (1285 to 1314) Philip was able to increase royal power over the French church by taxing the clergy.

4. When Pope Boniface VII opposed Philip, the king had him arrested.

5. Following Boniface's death in 1303, Philip influenced the election of the next pope, Clement V.

6. Philip also moved to build his popularity among the French people.

a. Convened the Estates General, a representative body made up of the three major social classes in France.

b. The Estates General included commoners as well as nobles and members of the clergy.

c. By involving the Estates General in his government, Philip secured widespread support in his struggle against the church.

7. Royal power in France was strengthened under Philip IV and the earlier Capetian rulers.

8. The Capetian kings had a vision of France as a united country.

a. Unification under the monarchy had little appeal at the local level.

b. The Capetians failed to achieve their great aim.

9. By the 1300s the dynasty itself had reached an end.

10. In 1328 the last of the Capetian rulers, Charles IV, died.

11. A new line of French kings&emdash;the Valois&emdash;came into power.

 

Section 5: The Clash Over Germany and Italy

I. The Main Idea

A. Political conflict between the medieval popes and the German emperors weakened both sides.

1. The struggle between church and state was particularly bitter in the Holy Roman Empire.

2. Both the emperor and the pope held that their authority came from God.

3. Innocent III claimed divine supremacy over all worldly rulers.

II. The Holy Roman Empire

A. While Charlemagne was still alive, Italy was part of his empire.

B. His death in 814 caused Italy to fall into a state of disorder.

1. Several descendants inherited the title of Holy Roman Emperor.

a. 900 - the Byzantine Empire held parts of Italy.

b. The pope ruled the Papal States

2. Arab Muslims ruled Sicily and attacked the Italian mainland.

C. In Germany the great feudal lords elected Otto I their king in 936.

1. Otto was a powerful and forceful ruler

2. Otto worked to develop a strong kingdom in Germany like that of the Capetians in France.

3. He was also interested in Italy.

a. In 951 Otto moved to seize territory in northern Italy.

b. When Pope John XII struggled with Roman nobles, he begged Otto for help.

c. The pope rewarded Otto's support by crowning him Emperor of the Romans in 962.

4. Otto's title was the same as that granted to Charlemagne 162 years earlier.

5. Otto ruled Germany and northern Italy.

6. The empire stood as a major power in Europe for hundreds of years after Otto's crowning.

7. It endured&emdash;in name, at least&emdash;until the early 1800s.

8. The Holy Roman Empire was weakened by internal divisions, the rise of other European powers, and the ambitions of local nobles who sought to break from imperial control.

9. Power declined until the emperor became a figurehead.

10. A close and lasting tie between Germany and Italy.

D. The reign of Emperor Henry III (1046 and 1056)

1. Viewed the church as a branch of the imperial government.

2. He expected the church to support the empire and its ruler.

3. During Henry's reign, three different men claimed the papacy.

4. Henry removed these men from office and elected a German as pope. He also chose the next three popes.

II. Struggles between the Papacy and European Rulers

A. Henry III's death in 1056 brought his five-year-old son, Henry IV, to the imperial throne.

1. Powerful German nobles saw Henry's youth as an opportunity to regain their independence and feudal powers.

2. The church, too, moved to restore the power it had lost during Henry III's reign.

3. At the age of 15, Henry moved to strengthen his imperial rule.

4. Henry's actions brought him into conflict with one of the great leaders of the medieval church, Pope Gregory VII.

B. Gregory and Henry IV.

1. Gregory was a devout and able leader.

a. Gregory believed that the church was the supreme spiritual and temporal power on the earth.

b. He felt that rulers and ordinary people alike were subject to the will of the church and its pope.

c. Gregory did not hesitate to use excommunication as a way to resolve conflicts of church and state.

2. The conflict between Henry IV and Gregory VII concerned the old issue of lay investiture&emdash;the appointment of bishops by temporal rulers.

a. Henry believed that he had the right to appoint bishops of the German church.

b. Gregory disagreed and responded by excommunicating Henry.

c. Gregory urged the nobles to elect another emperor.

C. Imperial submission.

1. Fearing rebellion, Henry sought the pope's mercy.

a. Henry pleaded for the pope's mercy.

b. The pope revoked Henry's excommunication.

2. The struggle over lay investiture continued.

a. In 1122, both sides met in the German city of Worms to settle the conflict.

b. The Concordat of Worms, limited imperial power over the German church.

c. The emperor could appoint bishops to fiefs.

d. Only the pope had the power to name bishops, whose spiritual authority came directly from the church.

3. The Concordat of Worms recognized the spiritual leadership of the popes.

a. Conflict between popes and emperors did not end in 1122.

b. The German emperors continued to interfere in Italian politics and to threaten the popes' rule in the Papal States.

c. The popes opposed all attempts by the emperors to gain control in Italy.

D. Frederick Barbarossa.

1. Frederick I, also known as Frederick Barbarossa, ruled Germany from 1152 to 1190.

2. Frederick sought to gain control of Italy.

3. In Lombardy, the great trading centers of Bologna, Padua, Verona, and Milan had grown increasingly independent of imperial control.

a. Frederick sent imperial representatives to take control of the cities' governments.

b. When Milan resisted, Frederick captured and destroyed the city and drove out the people.

4. The other city-states refused Frederick's demands.

5. With the help of the pope, they formed the Lombard League.

5. They raised an army that defeated Frederick in 1176.

6. In the peace settlement that followed, the cities of the League recognized Frederick as overlord.

7. In return, Frederick let the cities govern themselves.

8. The Lombard League's success showed the growing political power of cities in medieval Europe.

IV. Innocent III.

A. Between 1198 and 1216 Innocent III, greatly strengthened the church.

1. Innocent believed in the supreme earthly power of the papacy.

2. Emperors and kings were no more than servants of the church.

3. Hefelt that he had the authority to settle political problems.

4. Kings could advise the pope, but they could not control him.

B. Innocent III involved himself in disputes all over Europe.

1. He used excommunication and interdiction to settle conflicts.

2. Innocent placed the entire realm of England under interdict.

3. To have the interdict lifted, King John was forced to become the pope's vassal and to pay an annual tithe to Rome.

4. Innocent also used the interdict against the king of France.

5. Innocent also dominated nearly all of Italy.

6. In Germany he overthrew two kings and put rulers of his choice on the throne.

C. Innocent increased papal authority and prestige in medieval Europe.

1. Conditions in Europe helped him to build church power.

2. Papal power slowly declined after Innocent's death in 1216.

D. The great goal of uniting Germany and Italy was never achieved.

1. Emperor Frederick II tried to bring the two regions together.

2. Like earlier emperors, however, Frederick failed.

E. Attempts to unify Italy and Germany failed.

1. They remained small, independent cities and feudal states.

2. Italy remained divided into three regions.

a. Northern Italy was controlled by the Lombard cities.

b. The Papal States held power in Italy's center.

c. The kingdom of Sicily controlled the south.

3. Neither Italy nor Germany were unified until the 1800s.

 

 

 

The End !!