Matt and Phil Review Class

Today in West Civ we reviewed for the test we are having tomorrow. Matt and Phil reviewed the power point that we’ve gone over a good thousand plus times. Mr. Schick would ring the bell once we needed to know things for the test tomorrow.

·        In 496 Clovis had a battlefield conversion- he and his 3000 warriors became Christians

·        The church in Rome likes this

·        By 511 the franks are united into one kingdom, with Clovis and the Church working as partners.

·        Church + Frankish rulers= rise in Christianity

·        In 520, benedict writes rules for monks,

·        Vows of poverty

·        Chastity

·        Obedience

·        His sister Scholastica writes similar rules for nuns

·        They operate schools, maintain libraries, copy books.

·        Pope Gregory 1 goes secular

·        Church revenues are used to help the poor, build roads, and raise armies

·        This is a theocracy

·        Gregory’s spiritual kingdom extends from Italy to England, from Spain to Germany 

Friday's Class

Today in west civ we had a shadow. We went back over the power point to review for the test next Wednesday. Mr. Schick also explained to us stuff about the exam. Our test is next Wednesday and our exam is not this next week, but next week. I think this test won’t be too hard but it is our last test of the year except for the exam. We spent the rest of class doing our blog and homework.

Revised Notes

Setting the stage!

Middle ages= medieval period

476-1453 AD
(from the end of the Roman Empire to the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks)

Medieval Europe is fragmented

This is a new society:

This new society has roots in:

·        Classical heritage of Rome

·        Beliefs of the roman catholic church

·        Customs of various Germanic tribes

5^th century Germanic invaders:

Overrun the western half of the Roman Empire:

Causing:

·        Disruption of trade

·        Downfall of cities

·        Population shifts to rural areas

·        Romance languages evolve (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian)

Germanic Kingdoms emerge: AD 400-600

·        Germanic warriors’ loyalty is to the lord of the manor he provides them w/food, weapons, treasure

·        Result:

·        No orderly government for large areas

·        Small communities rule

Pope Gregory 1 goes secular

Church revenues are used to help the poor, build roads, and raise armies

This is a theocracy

Charles Martel’s son is Pepin the Short

·        He works with the church and is named “king by the grace of God” by the Pope

·        Pepin the Shorts dies in 768, leaving two sons

·        Son #1- Carloman- dies in 771

·        Son #2 is Charles, known as Charlemagne, meaning Charles the Great

·        Six feet four inches of rocking ruling warrior greatness   

New notes

Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne:

Main Idea:

·        Many Germanic Kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne’s empire

Why it matters now!

·        Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout northern Europe, which is where many of us came from

Setting the stage:

·        Middle ages= medieval period

·        500-1500 AD

·        Medieval Europe is fragmented

A.   Invasions trigger changes in western Europe

1.     Invasions and constant warfare spark new trends

B.    Disruption of trade

-         Europe’s cities are no longer economic

-         Money is scarce

C.    Downfall of cities

-         Cities are no longer centers of administration

D.   Population shifts

-         Nobles retreat to the rural areas

-         Cities don’t have strong leadership

2.     Decline of learning

a.      Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition

b.     Only priests and church officials could read and write

c.      Knowledge of Greek (and literature, science, philosophy) is almost lost

3.     Loss of a common language

a.      Dialects develop in different regions

b.     By the 800s, French, Spanish, other roman-based languages are evolving from Latin

MAIN LANGUAGE IN ROME IS LATIN

B. Germanic kingdoms emerge

1. The concept of government changes

A. roan society: loyal to public gov’t

B. Germanic society: loyal to family

- Germanic chief led warriors

During peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, and a place to live (the lord’s hall)

-         During wartime, warriors fought for the lord

c.      The king? Who’s that? You want to collect taxes from me? Who the heck are you?

d.     Franks live in the roman province of Gaul- their leader is Clovis

B. Germanic kingdoms emerge

2. The franks under Clovis

A. another battlefield conversion (Just like Constantine)

B. Clovis and 3000 of his warriors are baptized by the bishop

C. the church in Rome approves of this “alliance”

d. Clovis and the Church begin to work together

CLOVIS’ MILITARY EXPERTISE + THE CHURCH’S SUPPORT AND MONEY= A strategic alliance between two powerful forces! Woo-hoo

C. Germanic peoples adopt Christianity

- Pope Gregory I expands papal power

A. Papal- pope’s office

B. Secular Power= worldly power

C. So…. Under Gregory the Great…

Papal Power (Power of the pope) is political power presented from the pope’s palace

The church can use church money to:

-         Raise armies

-         Repair roads

-         Help the poor

E.    Gregory the great began to act as mayor of Rome, and as head of an earthly Kingdom

Germanic peoples adopt Christianity

1.     511 AD- Clovis unites Franks into on kingdom

2.     600 AD- Church + Frankish rulers convert many

3.     Fear of Muslims in southern Europe spur many to become Christians

4.     Monasteries and convents

a.      520 AD- benedict wrote the rules for monks and monasteries

-         Poverty, chastity, obedience, study

b.     His sister scholastic did the same for nuns in convents

c.      731 AD- the Venerable Bede wrote a killer history of England

d.     Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books (bibles, Greek text)   

Middle Ages

Christendom- combination between Christianity and kingdom

Taxes/tithe/tithing: 10% of what they make to the church

Byzantine Empire- eastern empire

·        It became more Greek, than roman

·        Stopped speaking so much Latin

·        Education is less more important

·        The only people who knew how to read were the priests and other people.

·        Regular people didn’t know how to read; they would be learning different types of jobs

·        Middle Ages- when civilization took a step backwards

·        The romans were no longer the center of trading and social life

·        Feudalism: a political, military and economic system based on land-holding and protective alliances

·        In other words: the system is based on person loyalty to people who can help you

·        Rich Dude (LORD): “I own land; I need people to help me work it and defend it.”

·        Tough Dudes (VASSALS): “There are a lot of us, we can help the rich dudes hold on to their land.”

The Feudal Pyramid:

Top: KING

Next: the most powerful VASSALS (Nobles and Bishops)

Next: KNIGHTS-mounted warrior who received FIIEFS for defending their lord’s land

Next: PEASANTS (mostly SERFS) – landless, powerless, moneyless, rights- less; just working the land for “the man” (their lord)

Manor: the lord’s estate

·        The lord’s manor house

·        A church- very few windows, dark inside

·        Some workshops

·        15-30 families

·        All on a few square miles

·        Good news: it’s a self-sufficient community

·        Bad news: it’s harsh if you’re a peasant, if you don’t have any encounters with other people, you’re not learning about the world and its cultures

·        Peasants are poor and pay high taxes

·        Tax on grain

·        Tax on marriage

·        Church tax (tithe= 10% of their income)

·        They live in crowded cottages

·        Live with animals and insects

·        Eat very simply

·        The church says this is your lot in life

·        God determines your place in society 

New Section

“The upheaval of the early middle ages ended not in a collapse of civilization but in its renewal. And the first two early medieval centuries set the patterns for how this renewal would later take place in western and Eastern Europe.”

Medieval- refers to the distinctive civilization of the Middle Ages, which developed in Europe after the disintegration of the Roman Empire and before the emergence of the modern West.

Noble- a member of the warrior-landowner group that formed the elite of medieval Europe.

Chronology:

Fifth Century- Angles and Saxons invade Britain

486- Clovis leads Frankish confederacy against Romans and rival Germanic invaders in Gaul

527-565- Reign of Emperor Justinian in the Eastern empire

542- Plague hits Egypt, then spreads throughout the Mediterranean area and much of Western Europe.

568- Lombards conquer most of northern Italy

570-632- Life of Muhammad

595- Missionaries sent by the pope begin to convert the pagans of England

711- Muslim invasion of Spain

800- Slavs occupy almost all of eastern Europe

Rome Fades Away: Note-taking for Test

Rome Fades Away:

Two Emperors:

Diocletian:

·        Ruled from 284-303

·        Under his rule, near the end of his reign, it was fine with him to persecute Christians. (They are disobeying the law of the land)

·        Rome needs a big army (400,000 strong) They can’t control their borders or take care of their land

·        Rome needs a big government (200,000 officials)

·        But this means, the more people, the more money they need to pay soldiers and government officials

·        Have to provide them with food, supplies, and weapons

·        Solution at the end of his reign: realized his idea was stupid and irrational, idea was to take divide the roman empire into half- western and eastern roman empire

·        Each empire had their own emperors, taxes, and army

Constantine:

·        Ruled from 306-337

·        He was fine with people being Christians

·        He converted once he had his vision

·        313- his Edict of Milan proclaims freedom of worship in the Roman Empire (Big step because of past when you couldn’t believe in what you wanted to)

·        Built a new capital in the East

·        Byzantium, soon to be known as Constantinopleà Constantine

The Struggle of the Peasants:

Life in the Fourth Century:

·        Country dwellers are getting bankrupted by endless tax collection

·        New farming systems: peasants work for elite landlords on large farms

·        Peasants can avoid paying taxes, but they are getting hit just as hard by the landlords

·        Paying off debts and being “allowed” to live on the land, in exchange for endless back-breaking work

·        Landowners hold local power as counts and bishops, wielding more real power than the faraway empire

·        Foreshadowing feudalism

The Western Empire Crumbles:

·        Rome’s power is decreasing, while nomadic barbarians gain power

·        Western Empire is too poor, begins to be neglected

·        Huns migrate from China to eastern Europe

·        Visigoths takes over Spain, and actually capture and loot Rome itself in 410

·        Vandals control Carthage and the western Mediterranean

·        Other barbarian tribes:

·        Ostrogoth’s in Italy

·        Franks in Gaul

·        Angles and Saxons in Britain

End of an Era:

From the beginnings….

500 BC- the monarchy is abolished

450 BC- the twelve tables are established

…through the glory days…

44 BC- end of the line for Julius Caesar

27 BC-180 AD- the Roan Peace (Pax Romana)

To the bitter end…

Constant fifth century invasions by barbarian tribes left the Western Roman Empire shattered and crumbling

The last emperor was a teenage boy installed in 475 by his father

Barbarians deposed Romulus Augustus without bothering to kill him  

The Empire Strikes Out: The Decline of the Roman Empire

The Empire Strikes Out: The Decline of the Roman Empire

RISE OF CHRISTIANITY:

·        Jesus spends three years preaching, is killed by Roman leaders

·        Jesus’ followers believe he is the Messiah and Savior who has risen from the dead

·        Saul (the persecutor) becomes Paul (the evangelist), spreading Jesus’ message (one true God, not Roman gods)

·        Christianity evolves from cult status to established, official structure

·        Priest, bishops, pope (Bishop of Rome)

·        Christians and Jews were monotheistic (believing in one God)

·        This conflicted with Roman beliefs

·        Persecution against both was common

·        Christianity appealed to the poor, and since there were many poor, their numbers grew

·        As it grew, even some Roman leaders embraced Christianity (a lot of their followers were becoming Christians, they came around.)

·        AD 313: Constantine has a battlefield conversion (He has a vision of a cross, and hears “In his name.” So the night before the fight he tells his soldiers to put a cross on their shields and they pray before the battle and win.)

·        He issues the Edict of Milan

-         A law that was passed that you could not persecute Christians.

·        Not only no persecution, but actual approval of Christianity, eventually making it the official religion of Rome

·        The roman empire and Christianity are now linked in power and influence

DECLINE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE:

·        AD 180: Rome has problems

-         Economic (trade became risky; taxes were too high; food supply was dropping)

-         Military (frontiers were hard to patrol; Roman generals fought for control; soldiers’ loyalty declined and mercenaries appeared)

-         Diocletian divided the empire into two:

-         Greek-speaking East (had more resources)

-         Latin-speaking West (Rome, tradition)

·        AD 324- Constantine becomes emperor over both halves of the empire

-         Moves the capital from Rome to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople), where Asia met Europe (now Turkey)

-         After his death, empire is divided again

-         This time, “barbarian invaders” (Huns, Vandals, Visigoths, Angles, Saxons, Franks) overrun the empire’s frontiers

-         That’s it for the Roman Empire (AD 476) 

Test Day

Today in west civ class we took our test on Rome. It was pretty easy and I think I did really well. I didn’t know if I was going to do well, but I think I pulled it off. Reviewing yesterday really helped and I’m glad we did review. Also, Maddie quizzed me before the test and that helped tremendously. The test was short and sweet. Nothing too confusing. I’m kind of wondering what we will be learning next. I always enjoy this class because I like the way Mr. Schick teaches. It’s easy to learn when you have a powerpoint and a teach who knows a lot about the subject. I actually found it helpful how we went over new notes yesterday because I retained more knowledge then learning stuff from a few weeks ago. Overall, I think I did good on the test and hope that what we will be learning next class is fun. 

Notes for Test

Augustus- first emperor

·         Begins the Pax Romana- a period of peace and prosperity

·         Built roads, aqueducts

·         Set up civil service to take care of roads, the grains supply

·         Dies at age 76, started at 18

Caligula:

·         In addition to being Germanicus’ son, he was Tiberius’ adopted grandson and great- nephew-putting him next in line for emperor

·         He started off well: granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trails a thing of the past

·         He began to fight with the senate

·         He claimed to be a god, and had statues displayed in many places- including the Jewish temple in Jerusalem (sacrilege)

·         Other examples of cruelty and insanity: he slept with other men’s wives and bragged about it, indulged in too much spending and sex, and even tried to make his horse a consul and a priest (at least that’s what his critics said)

·         Assassinated by his own aides, AD 41 (aged 28)

Next in line: Claudius

·         Ostracized by his family because of his disabilities (limp, slight deafness, possible speech impediment- thought to be cerebral palsy or polio), he was the last adult male in his family when Caligula was killed

·         he rose to the occasion: he conquered Britain; he built roads, canals, and aqueducts; he renovated the Circus Maximus

·         Had an awful marriage to Messalina, who was quite often unfaithful to him, even plotting to seize her power for her lover Silius through a coup- so Claudius had them killed.

RELIGIOUS TROUBLES:

·         Christianity and Judaism: monotheistic

·         Romans had many gods, plus at times the emperor was viewed as a god

·         AD 66: a group of Jews called the Zealots tried to rebel, but Roman troops put them down and burned their temple (except for one wall)

·         The Western Wall today is the holiest of all Jewish shrines

·         Half a million Jews died in the rebellion

Persecution of Christians:

·         Romans were harsh toward those who would not worship the emperor

·         Especially Christians, who were viewed as followers of a new, upstart religion (cult)

·         Often used for “entertainment” purposes in the colosseum (thrown to the lions, etc.)

·         Despite the oppression, Christianity grew quickly- by AD 200, around 10 percent of the people in the Roman Empire were Christians