Western+Europe


 * 1. Worldology - []**
 * 1) **Impact of Christianity (490-600)**
 * Christianity, both divisions, control the flow of information. The educated clergy only desired to maintain an educated clergy so non-religious doctrines and worldly knowledge was greatly ignored and suppressed.
 * As a common belief, increasingly distant kingdoms were able to maintain connections.
 * The church became the most powerful entity in the west.
 * Regional kingdoms consolidate themselves by allying themselves with the church
 * Visigoths consolidated their power in Hispania
 * The Franks pacified the Celts and expanded their Territories in Francia
 * The Lombards consolidated power in Italia
 * Supported the Mandate of Heaven idea
 * 1) **Reign of Charles Martel & Viking Raids (600 - 755)**
 * Viking raids attacked monasteries throughout the North Sea
 * Influenced by warmer weather, barbaric culture, and overpopulation
 * Foundation of the Carolingian Dynasty
 * Consolidated Frankish power and made it the most powerful state
 * Pioneered new technology (stirrup) to make calvary more deadly, heavy infantry, and the permanent army
 * Expanded eastward, absorbing the Germanic tribes
 * Tribes maintain their identities resulting in future schisms
 * 1) **The Rise of the Franks (755-850)**
 * Familiar with the Roman military tactics and weaponry
 * Look above under Martel for the reason
 * Franks were able to launch military campaigns from their homeland
 * Protected from the threats of Islam and Vikings (the Pyrenees Range and the North Sea)
 * Conversion to Catholicism in 493, liberal taxes, localized autonomy
 * Adopted primogeniture from the Germanic tribes
 * Three very charismatic and apt leaders: **Martel, Clovis, Charlemagne**
 * Conquered Germania 772-814, dissolved the bordering (to Germania) Avar kingdom
 * Conquered North Italy and drove the Lombards south (744), expelled the Lombards from Rome in 756, created the papal state under its protection
 * Resisted Muslim encroachment across the Pyrenees
 * 1) **Feudalism (840 - 967)**
 * In 843, according to the primogeniture practice, the Frankish empire was divided into West and East Germania and the Italian (Central) Kingdom
 * Centralized rule of Western and Central Europe dissolved to weak regional kingdoms
 * Power shifted from a centralized entity to the landlords
 * Feudal lords were granted land by the king who then granted land to vassals for military participation and taxes
 * Lords exercised kingly powers within their estates
 * Serfdom equaled slavery in a sense
 * Lessened the inclinations towards urbanization and unification
 * 1) **Christianity and the High Middle Ages & Expansion of Holy Roman Empire (967 - 1060)**
 * Regional kingdoms consolidated to nation-states
 * Most nations were dominions of the papacy
 * Virtually all barbarians were Christianized and nation-states' security was increased
 * Crusades revive trans-Asian trade, spike learning as Dar al-Islam knowledge and Christian knowledge meld together during the reign of Saladin
 * Holy Roman Empire is a combination of the Central Kingdom and Germany, formalized in 953
 * Beginning with Otto I the Great, German Emperors could appoint clergy and the pope
 * Gained support for expansion
 * Low Countries, Burgundy, and Bohemia, Italy, and Austria
 * Being able to appoint clergy and ecclesiastic authorities allowed the HR Emperor to consolidate power and extend its power in all directions
 * Pope couldn't hinder process since Italy was under civil strife as people tried to be Italy's king
 * Created the Papal States that existed under the emperor's whim
 * HRE was localized; the dukes still had power over their own duchies
 * 1) **Effects of the Crusades, Norman conquest of England and Magna Carta (1060-1240)**
 * Norman conquest (1066)
 * Anglo-Saxon driven out as rulers by Normans
 * Anjou and Aquitaine allies themselves wtih England
 * Beginning of Anglo-French rivalry
 * Strong rule by the Normans and Anjou court consolidates nationalism
 * Magna Carta (1215)
 * First form of democracy since the Romans
 * Promising basic rights to the dukes, barons, and eventually citizens of England
 * Crusades
 * Prosecution of Jews throughout Europe
 * Formed the basis of depravity claims (of Roman Catholic Church) by protestants
 * Captured, and irrevocably damaged, Byzantine during the 4th crusade
 * Led to the establishment of the Ottoman empire
 * Increased exposure to Asiatic cultures
 * Cosmopolitan aspects provided a learning community that could of invoked the Renaissance
 * Constant fighting between Muslims and Europeans
 * 1) **Why the Golden Horde was able to dominate Europe and the Black Death Plague (1240 - 1350)**
 * **Great Famine** (1315-1317)
 * Massive crop failures throughout Europe
 * Millions died
 * Crime, disease, and depravity skyrocketed
 * War was on a hiatus
 * **Black Death** (1347)
 * Killed roughly half the European population in four years
 * Trading with Asia brought a disease carried by lice and rats
 * Mongols used it as a biological weapon
 * The cities, famines, and conditions made the plague especially devastating
 * Anti-Semitism increases as people try to explain the plague
 * Inept governments caused peasant revolts
 * Unfulfilled prayers weakened piety in a compassionate god
 * Golden Horde Advantages
 * Superior horsemanship and bows
 * Calvary archer was devastating
 * Drafted the conquered into their ranks and slaughtered the dissidents
 * Heavily taxes conquered areas and controlled Northern European-Asian trade routes
 * Weakened European population


 * 7.Mindomo on Manorialism and Feudalism**

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 * 8.Notes on the Dark Ages movie**
 * Alaric conquered Rome
 * For food, then plunder
 * Blockaded and wore away the city
 * Warring barbarian tribes
 * Regression of culture
 * Dark Ages - coined by Italian historian Petrarch who compared the time to the Roman epoch
 * Clovis converted to Christianity
 * Ruled the Franks in Francia
 * Killed his kins
 * Founder of the Carolingians
 * Used ordeals to administer justice
 * Boiling water and water
 * Died in 515
 * Violence and anarchy was common
 * 313 A.D. - Constantine legalized Christianity
 * Justinian was wildly unpopular due to his trickery, depravity and avarice
 * Theodora saved Justinian's rule during the Nika Riots
 * Bubonic plague killed at least half of the population
 * Pagan beliefs resurfaced as life became worse and people became more despondent
 * Nearly half of the children died before adolescence
 * Benedictine monasteries kept learning alive

media type="custom" key="7542889" The Magna Carta is an outline of rights that protects the rights of the government, to prevent anarchy, and the rights of the people, to prevent despotism. Since a nation-state exists under the rule of one person, a charter of rights that cripples a centralized government to nothing more than a paltry position supports anarchic decentralization as observed by the Germanic tribes or loose feudalism. However, if a king did not have limits, as was the case, despotism becomes an outrage and there has to be measures to prevent such a dangerous centralization. Thusly, the Magna Carta outlines the rights to prevent such cases so that the nation-state could thrive in a balance of federal and regional powers. The English government, and other western governments, developed off this balance. It in the parliaments and congress(es) throughout the world.
 * 9. Magna Carta Mark Up**


 * 10. Western Europe ESPIRIT**


 * E || * Rise of the merchant class and loan sharks
 * **Hanseatic League**
 * **Guilds**
 * Loaned to governments and lords, barely opposed by the government
 * Usually allies of the government and enemies of the aristocracy whom they indebted
 * Brought elements of capitalism
 * Manorialism
 * Once feudalism started to expand, manors got intertwined with the market economy
 * **Moldboard**, iron plow
 * **Three-field** rotation system
 * New horse harnesses that didn't choke horses
 * Traded and flourished under Saladin's Truce of Heaven
 * Mass production began to develop as artisans were provided goods and payment to produce a certain good ||
 * S || * Feudal society
 * Except for the monarch, nearly everyone was a **vassal**
 * Few cities originally
 * Became flourishing cosmopolitans after the development of nation-states
 * Primarily, if not exclusively, Catholic
 * Most of the peasantry were serfs that lived under oppressive conditions until the later Middle Ages
 * Population increase and ambitious expansion helped this development
 * No single language or common belief except for faith
 * Dozens of **vernacular** languages
 * Popular literature conflicted with preordained religious beliefs, such as the **epic of Raoul de Cambrai**
 * Troubadours traveled the country singing at courts and in public about love, an emotion gaining foothold in medieval times
 * The merchants had a presence in government, economy, and society
 * Women had higher status in religion, the household, even politics until the settling of a patriarchal society ||
 * P || * Loose centralized system of Feudalism and Manorialism
 * Religious monarchs and royal families
 * **Clovis, the Carolingians (Martel, Charlemagne, etc) of Germania, the** **Holy Roman Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire (Germania and parts of North Italy)**
 * The Papal States
 * Divine kingships
 * Developed nation-states from feudalism
 * The **Capetian** royal family of France
 * **William the Conqueror** of Norman then England
 * Developed fledgling bureaucracies staffed with professionalized men and nobles
 * Developed democratic principles with **parliaments**
 * First English parliament in 1265, first parliament can be drawn to Catalonia in 1000
 * **Magna Carta** in England outlines a decrease against the power of the monarchs
 * Divided into **three estates:** church, nobles, and urban leaders
 * Kings practiced **investiture**, appointing bishops ||
 * I || * **Scholasticism**
 * **Peter Abelard** and **//Yes and No//**
 * Adopted Hellenistic, Roman, and Muslim knowledge
 * **Bernard of Calirvaux -** monk that is the equivalent of the Muslim **ulama**
 * **Thomas Aquinas** - brilliant Italian monk who tried to collect all the information in the **//Summas//**
 * Theological debates revived curiosity in learning
 * Universities and theological debate did not achieve a common goal as was it in Asia
 * Did not develop as much memorize and revive
 * Little experimentation
 * Notable exceptions: Robert Bacon and the eyeglasses
 * Adopted iconic painting styles by the 14th and 15th centuries
 * Revived **Romanesque** architecture then turned to **Gothic** post 11th century
 * Gothic expressed reaching for the skies and the peoples dedication to skill and wealth
 * Latin dealt with scholarly texts while vernacular languages expressed wonderful epics like **//Beowulf, The Song of Roland//** and //**The Canterbury Tales**// and other secular stories like **//The Romance of the Rose//** ||
 * R || * Catholicism
 * Extremely syncretic with the local pagan beliefs
 * Extreme influence in the world, nigh theocratic
 * Most kings were subjected to the whims of the Pope for fear of excommunication
 * Barbaric tribes settled down because of conversions, namely the Normans of Francia
 * Extensive missionary activity
 * Monastic movements
 * **Benedict of Nursia and the Benedictine Monastery system**
 * **Franciscans**
 * Preservers of learning
 * Constantly educated clergy
 * First schools of the region began in cathedrals (9th~10th century)
 * Lead to occupational universities (law, medicine, theology, etc.) (11~12th centuries)
 * **Crusades**
 * Development of the veneration new saints - beginning ca. 12th century - especially the worship of women saints like **The Virgin Mary and Saint Clare of Assisi** ||
 * I || * Viking and Scandinavians to the North
 * Byzantine and the Sasanid Empire to the East
 * Russia and China to the Far East
 * Dar al-Islam in the Iberian peninsula and surrounding coasts
 * **Battle of Tours** in 726 repelled the Muslim forces back to the Pyrenees and they remained there
 * **Reconquista** beginning in the 10th century and ending in 1492
 * Gunpowder
 * **Crusades** ||
 * T || * New horseback tools, the collar and stirrup, made the calvary an effective and deadly army unit ||


 * 11. The Decline of the Medieval Synthesis**
 * The **Hundred Years War** undermined the power of feudal lords as mercenary archers were hired by the French monarchy and proved deadly against the calvary
 * Joan of Arc helped the French prevail
 * Severe famines (Great Famine) due to population increase and stagnant production
 * Black Death severly damaged European social structure, but economy increased
 * Social class dissent and interclass dispute


 * 1) Signs of Strain
 * Gunpowder, pernament armies, and cannons made traditional feudal powers (the calvary and fortified castles) weaker
 * Rise of chilvary and tournaments
 * French influence on the papacy weakened the church and its overall influence in religious life
 * Scholasticism faded as the church became more intolerant
 * Caused individuals to stray to new arts and literatures
 * 1) The Postclassical West and Its Heritage
 * Synergism and dynamism can be attributed to exposure and imitation


 * Summary:**

After the fall of Rome, the Germanic tribes divided the provinces amongst themselves creating distinct areas like the Kingdom of Visigoths and the Kingdom of Burgundians. During this period, roughly from the fall of Rome to 10th century, the sophisticated cultures of the Romans were whithered to the nothing. Learning and cultural enlightenment were reserved to the monastic clergy. Known as the Dark Ages, the majority of the public existed as serfs under Manorialism and Feudalism. Though most centralized powers has dissipated, the church consolidated their power. Eventually, ambitious lords like the Carpetian lineage and Clovis converted to Christianity to consolidate their rule. From the 10th century on, learning and widespread commerce was revived as cities began proliferating and kingdoms began to expand. Eventually, the kingdoms gained enough power to form nation-states while others, like William the Conqueror, gained enough power to spread feudalism. The revival of learning and culture was a product of imitation: exposure to the highly sophisticated Muslims. Western culture became defined by Scholasticism and theology, Gothic architecture, and iconic art styles. Alongside learning, one of the most important aspects of Western European society was the rise of the merchant class. Merchants funded the budding nation-states and expansionist ambitions like the Crusades, which heightened the contact between Christians and Muslims. However, the success of Western Europe was limited to 400 years. The population increase could not be supported by antiquated agricultural techniques thus famine devastated the populations. Along with the Great Famine, the Black Death hit Western Europe and the conditions of the cities helped massacre at least half the population. The disasters led to significant social changes in which feudalism dissipated, economy lagged, and religious dissent was fostered.