Chapter 4 Powerpoint

Chapter 4:
Medieval Kingdoms
in Europe
Medieval Europe 800-1300
Charlemagne’s Carolingian Empire began to fall apart as a
result of internal divisions and external threats from invaders
such as Muslims, Vikings, and Magyars. The need for security
encouraged the growth of a feudal society dominated by
powerful landowning nobles. Opposing this tendency were
ambitious rulers such as King Henry II of England, who applied
his restless energy, military skill, and cool ruthlessness to
rebuilding royal power. Philip IV created the first French
Parliament.
Lesson 1: Feudalism
The End of the Carolingian Empire
• The Carolingian Empire began to fall apart soon after Charlemagne's death in 814.
• It was divided into 3 majors sections: the west Frankish lands, the eastern Frankish lands, and
the Middle Kingdom.
• In the ninth and tenth centuries, Western Europe was beset by a wave of invasions. The biggest
attacks came from the Norsemen, or Northmen, of Scandinavia, also called the Vikings.
• In the ninth century, the Vikings sacked villages and towns, destroyed churches, and easily
defeated local armies. The Frankish policy of settling the Vikings and converting them to
Christianity made the Vikings a part of European civilization.
• The Vikings posed a large threat to the safety of people in Europe. To survive, it became
important to find a powerful lord who could offer protection in exchange for service.
The Development of Feudalism
• This led to a new political and social order known as feudalism. Feudalism developed in the Middle Ages
when royal governments were no longer able to defend their subjects and nobles offered protection and
land in return for service.
• At the heart of feudalism was the idea of vassalage, which meant warriors swore loyalty to a lord who in
turn took care of their needs.
• A vassal, under feudalism, was a man who served a lord in a military capacity.
• The knights participated in tournaments, which was a contest where knights could show their fighting skills.
• By the ninth century, the grant of land made to a vassal had become known as a fief.
• The most important gift a lord could give a to a vassal was a piece of land.
• Chivalry which was an idea of civilized behavior, gradually evolved among the nobility. Chivalry was a code
of ethics that knights had to uphold.
Lesson 2: Peasants, Trade, and Cities
• In the early Middle Ages, Europe had a relatively small population.
• However, in the High Middle Ages, population increased dramatically. This increase was caused
by being more settled and peaceful after the invasions of the Middle Ages stopped. Food
production also increased because climate changed, resulting in better growing conditions.
• Craft guilds helped improve economic conditions in cities by setting quality standards for
goods being produced.
• Craft guilds were made up of craftsmen and artisans in the same occupation, such as hatters,
carpenters, or bakers.
• The revival of trade in Europe was gradual. The revival of trade led to a revival of cities. Towns
had greatly declined in the Early Middle Ages, especially in Europe north of the Alps.
Lesson 3: The Growth of European
Kingdoms
England in the High Middle Ages
• On October 14, 1066, an army of heavily armed knights under William of Normandy landed
on the coast of England and defeated King Harold and his soldiers at the Battle of Hastings.
• William took a census known as the Domesday Book, it was the first census taken in Europe
since Roman times and included people, manors, and farm animals.
• In 1215, a document of rights called the Magna Carta was created. The Magna Carta gave
written recognition to the fact that the relationship between king and vassals was based on
mutual rights and obligations.
• Phillip II Augustus reigned from 1180 to 1223, this was a turning point in the French
monarchy, expanding its income and power. Philip II August fought wars against the English
to take control of the French territories of Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Aquitaine.
The Holy Roman Empire
• The best known Saxon king of Germany was Otto I. Otto was a patron of German culture and
brought the Church under his control.
• In return for protecting the pope, Otto I was crowned emperor of the Romans in 962.
• The Slavic peoples were originally a single people in central Europe. Gradually the divided into
three major groups- southern, western, and eastern Slavs.
• The Poles, Czechs, and Hungarians, also known as Magyars, all accepted Western Christianity and
became part of the Roman Catholic Church and its Latin culture.
• Eastern Slavic people were converted to Orthodox Christianity by two Byzantine missionaries.
These two Byzantine missionaries were Cyril and Methodius.
• The southern Slavic peoples included the Serbs, and they embraced Orthodox Christianity, it
became their chief religion.
Kievan Rus and Mongol Rule
• Eastern Slavic peoples had also settled in present day Ukraine and Russia.
• Native peoples in Russia were conquered first by the Vikings, and later by the Mongols.
• At the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066, King Harold II of England was defeated
by the invading Norman forces of William the Conqueror. By the end of the bloody, all-
day battle, Harold was dead and his forces were destroyed.
• In the thirteenth century, the Mongols conquered Russia.
• They occupied Russian lands and required Russian princes to pay tribute to them.
• One Viking leader, Oleg, settled in Kiev, at the beginning of the tenth century and
created the Rus state known as the Principality of Kiev, or Kievan Rus.

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• In the early Middle Ages, Europe had a relatively small population.

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