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The rise and fall of feudalism in Europe
The rise and fall of feudalism in Europe
The rise and fall of feudalism in Europe
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DBQ 3: The Middle Ages The Middle Ages of Europe have been given a handful of nicknames. It was a time period when Europe went through many technological advancements, a widespread of chaos, and a time of peace. This era began with the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of feudalism, a “land in exchange for loyalty” government system. This was also when the Roman Catholic Church played a huge role for people psychologically wise. The Middle Ages of Europe is best described as “the Dark Ages.” A lot of bloodsheds, fighting, and hatred took place during this time period, which is why it was named under such darkness. During the ninth and tenth centuries, many foreign invasions took place in Europe, causing distress amongst the people. In Document 1, it states, “... they sacked town and village, and laid waste the fields. They burned down churches and then departed with a crowd of captives [...] Society has no longer any government.” This quote taken directly from the text shows that during this time, there was a lot of chaos spreading. Towns and churches were being invaded by barbarians. The peasants were being held captive in slavery. Because of all these intruders, the Middle Ages were
This ultimately results in more crime. This is where the role of the Roman Catholic Church starts to step in or “the Age of Faith”. Based on Document 5, the church had established the duty of keeping watch of the people on certain days. This was to prevent “murder, arson, robbery, or assault.” If it weren’t for the invasions and corruptness, the church wouldn’t need to keep watch of the people. Arms were permitted, however, were not allowed to be used. This observation of the church was to promote peace and nonviolence. Document 3 also states the slaughter taking place along with the invasions. These acts alone proves how unsafe it was and how the Age of Faith is not the most suitable name for the Middle
The Church was, undoubtedly, the most powerful body in Europe at the beginning of the Middle Ages. In most Western kingdoms the Pope had more power than the king himself, and the Christian religion controlled all aspects of daily life. People were to devote themselves utterly to the Church in prayer and giving, and they would be saved. As seen in Document 6, the lords and nobles committed themselves to the service of God before men, saying, “Nor will I ever with will or action, through word or deed, do anything which is unpleasing to him [God]…” Those who lived during this time trusted the Church’s explanations for the workings of the world. They saw God as all powerful, as the force behind everything. Art and music thus were focused around the Church and giving praise and thanks to God. Most art works of the time featured Jesus or other saints.
The impact of Christianity, the fantastic architecture, and the horrible diseases that spread throughout Europe all contribute to the history of the Middle Ages. They helped shape one of the greatest periods in history. The Middle Ages will always be remembered as a time of great accomplishments and horrible struggles. The great architecture still stands today, while the literary works are continuously studied and reflected upon. The Black Death still remains one of the most devastating epidemics that the world has ever seen. The Middle Ages were truly a great period in Europe’s history.
The Medieval Times for Europe, from the 400 AD till 1400 AD, are often labeled as “The Dark Ages”. This time period has begun after a turning point known as Fall of Rome. It caused Rome to divide into two well-known civilizations: Medieval Europe, Islam, and The Byzantine Empire. Also, Medieval Europe led to a well known utopian period of “rebirth” identified as the Renaissance. The time period between 400 CE and 1400 CE wasn’t a “Dark Age” for Europe because of progress in academic success, blossom in architecture, and religious unity along with government. It wasn’t a cultural decay or decline because of the legendary time period it led to.
In the year 476 A.D., Rome officially fell as the greatest and most thriving empire at the time. The time period following this downfall was called the Middle Ages, more infamously recalled as the Dark Ages; but were these years truly as dark as historians say? These medieval times lasted for approximately one thousand years, could such a long time period have been all that dreadful? The answer will soon become clear. The Middle Ages deserved to have the alias of the Dark Ages because there were several severe illnesses, the monarchs were cruel, and the crusades brought the death of many.
The Dark Ages was a time period in which barbarians raided, diseases spread rapidly, and kingdoms started to emerge. For nearly one thousand years Europe endured the Middle Ages, caused by the fall of the roman empire in 473. The Medieval time period had its ups and downs, however, it was mainly highlighted by the horrible things the people that were born during that time had to endure. Europe needed a break from the dread and needed some time of peace and innovation. Luckily the Renaissance was on its way, and it was Florence, Italy that was the ground zero for the “Rebirth” or “Revival” of European life. The Renaissance changed the way people saw their world by opening everyone’s eyes and showing them the good things. Such is self-evident
The Middle Ages came about as a result of the fusion of what remained from the Roman Empire, the indigenous 'barbaric' peoples of Europe and the rise of Christian society. Each one of these elements played a major role in the development of the medieval society. The Roman Empire had been the authority in Europe for more than 400 years when its collapse in the west finally came about. As a result of this 400+ year span of time that Rome dominated the region, it has lasting effects on the peoples of Western Europe after its collapse. The 'barbaric' peoples of Europe, be it the Goths, the Visigoths, the Franks, or the Huns, or any more in a series of indigenous European peoples from the North of Rome, at some level filled the power void in the west after Rome's collapse. For the years between the collapse of Rome and the rise of Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire, these barbaric peoples controlled Western Europe. The rise of Christian culture is taking place at the same time that Rome is declining. Whereas Rome was the thing that bound the peoples of Western Europe together during its rule, Christianity becomes the unifying element of Europe after Rome's fall. A combination of the aforementioned three elements created what historians today call the Middle Ages.
The Dark ages is the time between the 500’s and 1400’s. The Dark ages was a time of civil wars, Death, diseases, invasions and thief. There was a lot of invasions and to protect them self from that communities made a code call The code of Chivalry as (Doc 5) states “Europe in the Middle Ages was a dangerous place. Invasions from Muslims, Mongols, Vikings, and other tribal groups were common. War between lords was also common. The value of protection and warriors created a social code called Chivalry. Knights fought for lords and ladies, and lived by a gentleman- warrior code of Chivalry.” And other big thing in The Dark Ages was Diseases. Diseases in the dark ages was deadly because there was not antidote and even Doctors were scared of
The Dark Ages is a name given to Europe during A.D. 500-1400. According to historian Frantz Funck-Brentano from document one, the conditions in Europe were really bad. There was no trade going on, only unceasing terror. This was happening because the Saracen invasions and the Hungarians were swarming over the Eastern provinces. European churches were burned down and then departed with a crowd of captives. In the years 842-846, Anglo-Saxon tells us there was a great slaughter in London, Quentaxic and Rochester. The Northmen stole goods and burned the town Dordrecht in 846 evidenced in document three.
The Middle Ages are sometimes referred to as the Dark Ages, and rightly so. In a chaotic world after the Roman Empire fell, barbarian tribes in Western Europe struggling to maintain order would become the people of the Middle Ages. Many of the technological feats from Rome were lost, along with its culture. Consequently, medieval people created self-sufficient counties called manors, that were organized in a feudal system in which the monarch was at the top and the peasants formed the lowest class. Despite being difficult, medieval life was not all work; there were a multitude of things they did for pleasure. Although entertainment in the Middle Ages varied greatly between nobles and commoners, both classes enjoyed the holidays and festivals that broke the monotony of everyday life.
In order for the crusades to begin, the Christians needed to gather an army to travel and fight the forces of Muslims. With all the power being held by monarchies at this time, the church needed to be cleaver in order to gain troops to put their lives on the line. To gain the support of these warriors and dedication of men, Pope Urban II (1088-1099) challenged those morals of men by telling them to grab their weapons and join the holy war to recover the land of Jerusalem. It was not the challenge that convinced men to take part in this war. The promise of “immediate remission of sins” attracted the men to stand up for their religion and beliefs while at the same time, promising them a trip to heaven when life comes to an end. With this statement, men instantly prepared for battle which in a very short period of time gave the church power which has been held by the monarchies. Men of rich and poor prepared for battle, some wearing ...
Throughout the ten-century, particularly in France, the world had become an extremely violent place. Feudal Knights were often quarreling over land possession, looting, and looking to lay people to provide them with sustenance . Likewise, the power of these knights and the extent of violence flourished due to the increasingly lacking power and authority of the kings . The Church, in an attempt to halt the violence and anarchy attempted to take control and issued such concepts as “the Peace of God” . Similarly, at this time other movements for peace by the Church were underway, and one of the commonly held ideas was the need to transform the world to more “monkish ideals”. From these ideals also sprouted the concept of the laity having “God-given functions to perform, functions that could include fighting to protect the Church”. Pope Leo IX (1049-1054) is an example of this idea; he often used militia to fight against his opponents. In the early eleventh century, there came a pivotal figure in the ideas of Church sanctioned war, Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085). Pope Gregory was involved in the Investiture Contest, and soon turned to scholars to seek out “justification for his conviction that violence could be used in defense of the Church and could be authorized by it”. The movements generated by Pope Gregory, as well as the results of the Inve...
... in the church so much that they were willing to devote their whole lives to it. Whilst this period did see a rise in the influence of the church, this reflected a need for people to find some comfort against the hardships of disease, wars and the chaos from government collapsing.
People in the Dark Ages were engulfed in the shadow of greatness of their predecessors, which 18th-century English historian Edward Gibbon called “barbarism and religion,” (History). Life in Europe during the Dark Ages were quite simple, as there was no efforts in unifying Europe, and the Catholic church was the only real body of power in Europe at this time. European societies were governed by feudalism, in which the king gives land to the nobles, while peasants worked on the land to live there in return. Little is actually known about this era, in that nothing significant was recorded, announcing it a “dark’ era. There was little to nothing significant about this time period in Europe, other than strong Catholic authority. A shift begins during this time period
The Black Death serves as a convenient divider between the central and the late Middle Ages. The changes between the two periods are numerous, they include the introduction of gunpowder, increased importance of cities, economic and demographic crises, political dislocation and realignment, and powerful new currents in culture and religion. Overall, the later Middle Ages are usually characterized as a period of crisis and trouble. The portrait should not be painted unrelievedly bleak, but the tone is accurate enough and echoes voices from the era itself.
The Roman Catholic Church had complete influence over the lives of everyone in medieval society including their beliefs and values. The Church’s fame in power and wealth had provided them with the ability to make their own laws and follow their own social hierarchy. With strong political strength in hand, the Church could even determine holidays and festivals. It gained significant force in the arts, education, religion, politics as well as their capability to alter the feudal structure through their wealth and power.