Medieval Europe and the Renaissance

Medieval Europe and the Renaissance

World History

Bell Work

• Define conquistador.

• Describe what caused the death of so many Native Americans

Feudal System

• Western Roman Empire fell

• ---->Left the Germanic tribes to deal with invaders & conflicts on their own

• ---->Left without economic & political security of the Roman Empire

• Warm Period from 750-1100

• ----->Allowed agriculture & population to increase

• ----->Along with Muslim invaders, Mongols, Huns, & Vikings

Open Ended

What do you think the feudal system is?

Feudal System

• No protection from Rome, Europeans had to develop a system of fealty (declaring loyalty) to nobles and kings called feudalism

• ---->This idea was loosely adopted

• ---->Placed kings at the top of the hierarchy

• ---->Followed by nobles (lord, dukes, etc.)

• ---->Knights, and then peasants

Open Ended

Who do you think these people declared loyalty to?

Each individual swore oaths of fealty (loyalty) to those above them

In exchange for protection, law & order, as well as aid in times of crisis

Europe- 1000 CE

Feudal Unification Attempts

• Middle Ages

• ---->European states attempted to unify under one centralized polity (on several occasions w/ no success)

Open Ended

What does polity mean and why do they want it to be centralized?

Feudal Unification Attempts

• Charlemagne (a Frank)

• ---->In the 800s conquered and unified much of the northern areas of the former Western Roman Empire

• ---->Modern day France, Italy, & Germany

• Local states of Germany & Italy formed the Holy Roman Empire after the Carolingian Kingdom split

• ---->Pope anointed Charlemagne 'emperor' of the old Roman lands

Open Ended

Who else was known for unifying land through conquest?

Bell Work

• Who was anointed Emperor of the old Roman lands?

• What did he do to win the approval of the Pope?

Feudal Unification Attempts

• Germanic & Italian states inconsistently obeyed the whims of the Holy Roman Emperor

• ---->Who was voted by a series of electors- a treacherous process that was riddled with corruption & bribery

• ---->Emperor was often chosen from various German & Italian Princes (often inconsistently)

• This kingdom would remain for almost 1000 years

• Pope & the Catholic Church held a tremendous amount of power, controlling the majority of land, finances, & deemed themselves the only connection to God & Knowledge

• ---->Made it difficult for a political entity to emerge & unify Europe

The Renaissance (1450 CE)

• Old Greek & Roman texts & ideas had been lost following the fall of Rome, a slow return of Greco-Roman ideas took place in the late Middle Ages

• ---->Called the Renaissance or 'rebirth' of Europe from late 14th-mid-16th century

• Greco-Roman & Islamic knowledge would return from the Middle East & North Africa through trade with the Arabs, Mongols, & the Crusades

• ---->Following the Crusades--a series of European invasions from 1095-1291 CE in the Middle East intended to take back the 'Holy land' from Islam--had brought back the old Greek & Roman texts that had been lost to Europe

The Renaissance (1450 CE)

• These writings and books emphasized secular life, skepticism, knowledge, politics

• ---->Challenged the theocratic Catholic Church that had great power in Europe

• ---->As a result, there was a welling of new knowledge, innovations, art, & political reform in Europe

• Skepticism would result in the questioning of traditional knowledge & the development of new scientific approached ways of thinking, named the Scientific Revolution

The Renaissance (1450 CE)

• New educational fields, such as humanism, centered on earthly, normal life rather than the Divine, and people became increasingly interested in non-religious explanations for the world

• ---->This would break the traditions of Christian theological rule & artwork

• ---->As wealth grew in Europe during the Early Modern Era, nobles & gentry alike began to commission artists as a symbol if their wealth and power- as did the Church in some cases, such as the Sistine Chapel's ceiling

• Greco-Roman emphasis on logic & skepticism soon led to a knowledge resurgence in Europe after about 1450 as Europeans began to question the teachings & policies of the Church