Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I. Economy
A. Agriculture
i. climate warmed, making farming easier
a) farmers could move further north, plant earlier in the year
ii. new technologies
a) developed better plows, harnesses for oxen, horseshoes, wheelbarrow
b) developed the mill for grain powered by water or wind
later adapted for sawmills
made these things cheaper and increased profits
iii. patterns of farming
a) rotated crops using three field system
kept soil fresh
provided more balanced diet, improving health
population increased, and people spread to unused land
B. Manors and Serfdom
i. traditionally, farms were run by individual families
ii. peasants began to gather together to pool resources and act defensively
a) aristocrats charged rent fees to peasants living on their land
b) often, a large piece of land was farmed by many families
iii. aristocrats were granted land and title by king, therefore were legally allowed to rule
their land
a) passed laws to keep peasants working on their land
this is serfdom
similar to slavery, but not quite the same
serfdom passed to children
b) gained wealth by exploiting free labor
iv. by the 1200's, areas with the most advanced systems (England, France, Germany)
changed to charging money rather than goods or services
a) freed peasants from serfdom, but required they pay high rent in cash
no matter what happened (failed crops, fall in prices) they had to pay rent
v. no matter how advanced the kingdom, some areas continued feudal power until nearly
the 1800s
C. Aristocrats and Church hierarchy
i. old families came into the Middle Ages already wealthy
ii. new families gained status by being granted land and title by king
iii. Lords, counts, princes were at the top
a) knights served as the primary warriors of the aristocrats
only the wealthy could be knights, as they had to pay for everything
knighthood followed a strict code and extensive training
b) peasants were the backbone of society
built the castles, worked the land, served knights and lords
c) middle class gets their beginnings
all labor was distasteful to nobility
as a result, any buying, selling, or manufacturing was done by those above
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after he lost the war, the aristocracy forced him to sign the Magna Carta (1215)
this began to limit the power of the king and give the aristocracy rights
d) Edward I, John's grandson, started Parliament
group of aristocrats and some commoners who voted on changes to taxes
B. France
i. Hugh Capet took over weak monarchy from Carolingians
a) had very little power, but his descendants expanded their rule from 1000-1300
established Paris, forged relationships with the Church
b) over time, kings began to institute rule over aristocracy much like England had
c) in the late 1200's, they established the Estates General
much like Parliament, free subjects could vote on new taxes or laws
without a document like the Magna Carta, these votes were just suggestions
C. Germany
i. rulers were crowned Emperor by Pope like Charlemagne
a) all, even the Church, were subservient to Emperor
ii. relationship with Papacy broke down in mid 1000's
iii. by 1125, German nobility began to vote on new emperors, who were then appointed by
the Pope
a) nobles and Church worked together to make sure the ruler stayed weak
iv. Frederick I and II reestablished power
a) Freddy I renamed himself the Holy Roman Emperor, and claimed his rule by God's
blessing
expanded territory east and paid aristocracy with stolen wealth
expanded south into Italy and made cities pay tribute
his son conquered everything surrounding Rome, keeping the Pope quiet
b) Freddy II pushed even further until he was excommunicated by Pope (4 times)
v. After Freddy II, HRE continued, but with significant limits
a) real power lay with princes, counts, dukes, etc
D. Spain
i. controlled by Muslims in various kingdoms
ii. Christian rulers attempted to conquer area, but didn't reunify it until late 1400's
V. Crusades
A. Byzantium
i. after pressure from Islam, they regain territory in 900
a) also expand influence of Orthodox Church to Balkan pagans and Kievian Rus
ii. Seljuk Turks invade in 1071, destroy army in east and take Holy Land
iii. despite split with Roman Catholics in 1054, the Emperor asked the Pope for help
B. Pope Urban II
i. wanted to reestablish relations with East and retake Holy Land
a) at the same time he was fighting for control in Germany with HRE
b) also wanted to turn violent Knights against Turks rather than each other
ii. Knights from all over Europe answered the call
a) had to pay for travel, equipment, and anyone they brought with them (like serfs)
b) some wanted plunder, others believed in Church
Pope offered "plenary indulgence"
forgiveness of sins and freedom from purgatory, go directly to heaven
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i. in 1206 many small tribes existing north of China were united under the leadership of
Genghis Khan
a) he sent invading forces in all directions
the Mongols were able to ride horses and fire arrows with amazing accuracy
b) he also reorganized his forces to be more efficient, awarded positions of power
based on achievements, and passed new laws designed to stabilize the region
ii. quickly Genghis Khan took over huge areas of Central Asia, including most of China,
present day Russia, eastern Persia, invaded Tibet, and conquered nearly to Europe
a) he imposed restrictions on Muslims and Jews, seeing their religions as alien, but
mostly allowed Chinese religious worship to continue
iii. by Genghis Khan's death in 1227, the Mongol Empire ruled from the Pacific Ocean to
the Caspian Sea, an area double the size of the Roman Empire or Muslim Caliphate
a) this was the largest empire in history
B. Expansion
i. Genghis named his son Ogedei to succeed him, and the chieftains voted to approve him
a) he continued to expand Mongol power, continuing the invasion of China, pushing
further east into present day Iraq, conquering the Kievan Rus, and into Europe
in Europe, the eastern kingdoms gathered to stop the Mongols, with some
successes and failures
just before the Mongols finished off Hungary, Ogedei died and the chieftains
had to retreat to elect his successor
b) Ogedei named his son to be his successor, but for 4 years one tribe (the Golden
Horde) made excuses not to return and vote, so Ogedei's widow took power
she expanded building projects and roads, focusing on education, religion, and
new imperial palaces
the youngest brother of Genghis Khan tried to take power, but was fought off by
Ogedei's successor Guyuk
after winning, Guyuk was elected ruler and was recognized by Mongol
chieftains and outsiders, including representatives of the Pope
the French even tried to make an alliance with the Mongols against the
Muslims, but something always stopped them
ii. Guyuk and later successors continued to push their boundaries, eventually taking over
Korea, the Muslim Abbasid Caliphate (including the Order of Assassins), and most of
Turkey
a) continued to fight China, but couldn't take over the south
C. Decline
i. disagreements arose about who would rule the empire each time a ruler died, and
eventually civil war broke out
a) Kublai Khan eventually won and took over the empire
he then finished the invasion of China, making him the only person outside of
China to conquer all of China
ii. Kublai Khan moved his power base to present-day Beijing and named himself emperor
of the new Chinese Yuan dynasty
a) during his rule he expanded trade, education, the arts, and science
he also had multiple military defeats despite his other successes
iii. after Kublai Khan's death the infighting began again, and coupled with the losses in
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wars during Kublai's life, the Mongol Empire divided into independent khanates and the
Yuan dynasty
a) after nearly 100 years of civil war between the Yuan's and the khanates, the Pax
Mongolica began
this marks a period of stable trade and cultural development that stretched from
China to Europe, increasing the wealth of water trade (dominated by Venice) and
expanding international banking (dominated by Florence)
b) while the independent western khanates and the Yuan dynasty continued for
hundreds of years to work together, they would not again combine for coordinated
military strikes against others