WHI.10 The Early Middle Ages

6.01: The Early Middle Ages in

Europe

Multiple Choice

Name this video game

• Minecraft

• Fortnite

• Skylander

• Just Dance

Objectives

WHI.1 The student will demonstrate skills for historical thinking, geographical analysis, economic
decision making, and responsible citizenship by

WHI.1a synthesizing evidence from artifacts and primary and secondary sources to obtain
information about events in world history;

WHI.6 The student will apply social science skills to understand ancient Rome from about 700
b.c. (b.c.e.) to 500 a.d. (c.e.) in terms of its impact on Western civilization by

WHI.6g evaluating the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Germanic invasions.

Open Ended

What year did Rome fall?

Fall of Rome

Historians consider the

beginning of the era known

as the Middle Ages in

Europe with the fall of the
Western Roman Empire in

476 CE.

As you previously learned
invasions were a key factor

in the downfall of the

empire.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Invasions of
the Roman

Empire

The Early
Middle
Ages in
Europe

476 CE: the Germanic leader
Odoacer overthrew the last of the
Roman Empire in Italy, taking the
throne for himself.

Most historians consider the fall of
the Roman Empire in Italy the start
of Europe's Middle Ages, also called
the "medieval" era, ranging from
about 500 to 1500 CE.

The Early
Middle
Ages in
Europe

Medieval Europe experienced three general historical
periods.

500-1000 CE: often nicknamed the "Dark Ages," was
characterized by outside invasions and political and
cultural division.

1000-1300 CE: the High Middle Ages, saw the revival
of Western European political and cultural power.

1300-1500 CE: the Late Middle Ages, was marked by a
series of major wars and crises that caused medieval
culture, politics and society to transform yet again.

Germanic Tribes Dominate Western and Central Europe

•Germanic tribes, such as the Franks, divided and conquered central
and Western Europe during the Early Middle Ages.
•Germanic tribes were usually led by a chieftain, and most often a
chieftain with experience in fighting the tribe's enemies.
•Under the leadership of their warrior-king, Clovis, the Franks
conquered the Roman territory of Gaul, or modern-day France.
• Clovis kept his own Germanic customs, but also adopted aspects of Roman culture, including converting to Christianity.

Multiple Choice

During the middle ages in Europe...

• secular (non religious) authority declined while Church authority grew

• churches became less powerful

• secular governments became more powerful

Multiple Choice

The Frankish kings expanded their territory MOST often through:

• Agreement

• Inheritance

• Marriage

• Conquest

Gaul

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Clovis

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

A clash of cultures

•Islam began in Saudi Arabia in 622 when the prophet Muhammad
first proclaimed he had been spoken to by Allah (God).
•The faith spread rapidly in the Middle East and across North Africa,
and by 700, was pushing into the southern rim of Europe.
•Muslims, or believers in Islam, including ethnic Moors, Berbers, and
Arabs invaded the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) starting in
711 CE.
•By 730, the combined Muslim forces had conquered the Iberian
Peninsula and were threatening the Frankish kingdom.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

A clash of culture

• In 732 a Muslim army of the Umayyad Caliphate (the name of the Muslim

empire originating in Saudi Arabia) crossed into modern-day France.

• They were met by the warrior-king Charles Martel, ruler of the Franks, at

the Battle of Tours and were defeated.

• This victory established the line at which the Muslim-controlled territory in

Western Europe stopped.

• The Umayyads withdrew to the Iberian Peninsula, where Muslim rule

would continue for the next several hundred years.

•

Battle of Tours

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Germanic Tribes Dominate Western and Central Europe

• Charles Martel's grandson, named Charles as well, became the Frankish

king in 768.

• Through military power and the use of trade networks, he created an

empire that included modern France and parts of Germany and Italy.

• His power gained him the title Charlemagne meaning "Charles the Great".
• The "Carolingian Empire", as it was known, was forced to Christianize

under pain of death in many cases.

• He fought another Germanic tribe called the Saxons, and force them to

convert to Christianity, as well as fighting the Moors on what is now the
Spanish-French border

Multiple Select

What effect did the invasions have on the Middle Ages?

• strengthened the Feudal system

• towns declined

• disrupted trade

• castles were used to provide protection

Multiple Choice

What religion did the Frankish kingdom practice?

• Christianity

• Islam

• Hinduism

• Shintoism

Multiple Choice

Who was the Frankish leader during the Battle of Tours?

• Charles Martel

• Clovis

• Charlemagne

• Pepin

Drag and Drop

​

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united the ​

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by converting to ​

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and having a strong relationship with the Pope at ​

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.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Clovis

Franks

Christianity

Rome

Charles Martel

Charlemagne

Islam

Constantinople

The Angles and the Saxons

Angles and
Saxons: Early

Britain

Two Germanic tribes, the Angles and the
Saxons, coming from modern-day Denmark
and northern Germany, settled on the island
of Britain in the 5th century, just near the end
of Roman rule.

They fought with remaining parts of Roman
society, eventually establishing control over
the southern part of the island, known more
commonly as England.

Historically speaking, the "Anglo-Saxon
Period" in England lasted from around
450-1066, when the Normans (from northern
France) conquered them.

Angles and
Saxons: Early

Britain

Originally the Angles and Saxons were
polytheistic, but this changed once
established in England.

They influenced many of the political
divisions and law traditions that exist in
Britain today.

They established the early English
language.

Some of their fortifications, used to
defend against Viking raiders and Celts
from Wales and Scotland, still exist.

Angles and Saxons: Early Britain

◦ The history of Anglo-Saxon origins in England is contained in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, most likely compiled in

the 9th century.

◦ Although openly biased in glorifying the feats of early Angles and Saxons, this series of manuscripts, or original

writings, is the most important window historians have into the lives of Anglo-Saxon people, particularly monarchs
and nobles.

◦ It was written by scribes, and provides the clearest look at some of the earliest forms of the English language.

Multiple Choice

Which two groups of invaders migrated form mainland Europe and influenced England?

• Magyars and Angles

• Vikings and Magyars

• Angles and Saxons

• Saxons and Magyars

Multiple Choice

Which European group migrated from Europe and settled in England?

• Angles and Saxons

• Magyars

• Vikings

• Ostrogoths

Charlemagne

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Charlemagne
: the First
Holy Roman
Emperor

Charlemagne made himself into a legend through his
larger-than-life physical stature and military abilities.

His exploits have caused many historians to consider him the
"Father of Europe."

He not only fought the Saxons, but also fought to protect his
territories from the Norsemen (Vikings) in the north and the
Moors in the south.

He expanded his empire by defeating the Lombards to the
southeast, the Muslims occupying the Iberian Peninsula to the
southwest, the Avars (Hungarians) to the east, and the Slavs to
the northeast.

Charlemagne
: the First
Holy Roman
Emperor

Charlemagne was not only a great conqueror, but also worked to
unify his empire in cultural ways.

He believed in Roman Catholicism and blended Germanic and
Roman traditions.

He created an organized government, appointing nobles to rule the
different parts of his empire locally.

His emphasis on Latin learning and building schools served to unify
his domain. By teaching literacy and the values and rules of the
empire, people would be more easily swayed not to challenge it.

He insisted that the peoples he conquered adopt Christianity.

Holy
Roman
Emperor

Italy was in turmoil.

In 799, Pope Leo III fled Rome to escape punishment at the
hands of anti-papal groups in Italy.

He found refuge with Charlemagne, and as a reward, crowned
Charlemagne "Holy Roman Emperor" in 800.

The Holy Roman Empire would last until the modern era (after
1500), and would struggle to be stable after the High Middle
Ages, and engaged in a rivalry with the richer half of the remains
of the Roman Empire found in Constantinople.

The
Byzantine
Empire

In 330 CE, the Roman Emperor Constantine, looking to preserve
the most valuable part of Rome's possessions and wealth,
moved the capital of the Roman Empire to the city of Byzantium,
in modern-day Turkey.

The city was renamed Constantinople after its first sitting
emperor, and its subjects practiced what became Eastern
Orthodox Christianity, which differs in some of its basic beliefs
with Roman Catholicism.

The naming of Charlemagne, a Germanic king, as Holy Roman
Emperor only stoked the flames of that rivalry even more over
the next two centuries.

Charlemagne died in 814, leaving his sons to battle for control
over his territories.

Multiple Choice

What year was Charlemagne crowned Emperor?

• 700

• 800

• 850

• 750

Multiple Choice

What people was Charlemagne not the king of?

• Lombards

• Franks

• Romans

• Arabs

Multiple Choice

What was Charlemagne's capital?

• Rome

• Paris

• Aachen

• Poitier

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was Charlemagne most concerned with for his people?

• Education

• Trade

• Agriculture

• Technology

Multiple Choice

Charlemagne is referred by some as The Father of Europe.

• Ture

• False

Multiple Choice

When did Charlemagne become KIng?

• December 22, 771

• April 12, 7422

• January 28, 770

• none

The Making of Europe

Europe

• **Image: By Levan Ramishvili.

via Wikimedia Commons.
https://commons.wikimedia.org
/wiki/File:Charles_Martel_at_Ba
ttle_of_Tours,_Great_Chronicles
_of_France_(27686528435).jpg

Europe

• The region referred to in modern terms as "Europe" began

to take shape as the Carolingian Empire fractured.

• This was caused by

• a series of invasions
• the unifying role taken by Christianity
• and the development of the intertwining of society,

economics, and politics in the "feudal" system (to be
discussed in the next section.)

The Magyars

• Around 900 the Magyars, a nomadic tribe

originating in modern-day Russia, settled in
what is now Hungary.

• This group overran the eastern half of Europe,

and pushed as far westward as France.

• The effect they had was to cause other

cultures to fight back and unify in self-defense.

• The Magyars were pushed back to their

original settlement.

• Their people grew into the Kingdom of

Hungary, adopting Christianity and becoming
part of the fabric of Europe.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Constant attacks

• Meanwhile, the Muslim armies attacked

the southeastern and southwestern parts
of Europe, including the Muslim conquest
of the Iberian Peninsula.

• Finally, the Vikings raided villages and

settlements along the coastlines of
northern and western Europe and
Britain.

• This constant state of attack on the

outside rim of the continent caused
people living there to identify with each
other more clearly for self-preservation.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Christianity

• Christianity served a vital role on the outskirts of the

continent.

• Many of the oldest local churches are found very near

where the Magyars (and later the Mongols), the
Muslim armies, and the Vikings attacked most.

• Christianity gave people of different cultures a point

to rally around when defending against their
non-Christian invaders.

• Europe became a continent that was largely Christian.

• Although the invasions caused a decline in towns and

greatly interrupted trade patterns, it provided a
unifying effect in the end.

Open Ended

What is one thing that you have learned today?