Feudalism

• Feudalism is a term used by historians to describe the governmental system and the relationships between landowners and warriors
• Warriors known as knights
• they would pledge their allegiance to a lord, who would in turn give that knight land
• the lord would grant a fief (property)to the knight, who would then become the lord's vassal (servant) -  this was called the "feudal compact"
• the vassal must fight for the lord when he needs it and attend his court once a month

Homage and Knighthood

• A vassal was required to pay homage to his lord, usually this meant kneeling down and taking the lord's hands in his while speaking an oath of loyalty
• Men were apprenticed to older knights before they could become a full knight themselves
• When a knight died, his fief would revert to his son, thought his lord would be protected of that son if he was underage

Feudalism of the Church

• Some clergy were known to fight as nights themselves

Feudal States

• Barons were lords of large territories who usually paid homage to a king
• Often a baron's army could outnumber that of a king, which kept a check on the king's power

Peasants and Lords

• Medieval society was divided into three "estates": the clergy, the nobility, and the common people
• Usually the peasantry farmed on large plantations known as "manors" which were owned by a lord or a lady of the nobility
• Iron plows and water-powered grinding mills helped with agricultural production, but the yield was still miniscule by today's standards
• To maintain the health of the soil, the "three-field system" was used where two fields were planted and one was left to reconstitute its fertility - they were rotated
• Villages spring up on and around manors with small cottages for the peasants and large manor houses for the lords and ladies

People of the Manor

• Most peasants were serfs, meaning they were bound to the land and to their lords for labor service a few days a week
• The serfs were responsible for the "internal colonization" of Europe, that is the cultivating and settling of previously uninhabited land 

The Growth or Trade

• The agricultural boom after 1000 allowed tor the establishment of many towns across Europe

The Location and Appearance or Towns

• Most medieval towns were surrounded by fortified walls
• Residences also sprung up outside the walls in the suburbs
• Towns were dominated by a main church and a central market place
• Buildings for the craft guilds and the wealthiest families would also be in the center of town

Life of Townspeople

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Passing the Test

Today in West Civ, we went over the test that we took last week. I actually passed it and i was so proud of my self. Mr. Schick was too. Becca brought in cookies for every one and the were delicious and i want more. I don't know if she made them or if she bought them. They were delicious either way and i want more. Mr. Schick was so proud of me and i even did better than the smart kids of the class. I am retaking a test that i failed a while ago and the highest i can get on that is a 70 percent. I have to study very hard to get this grade. When i do pass it might bring my grade up a little and i won't have to go to summer school for his class. Well wish me luck!

After Rome 500-700

The Germanic Barbarians

• Barbarian warlords and their families who assimilated into Roman culture became the "nobles" or aristocrats
• Germanic tribes who ruled former Roman lands sought to conquer and assimilate other barbarian peoples who lived beyond the frontiers and were pagans
• The Angles and Saxons invaded great Britain and assimilated the native Britons
• Most of the Angelo-Saxons were converted to Christianity in the 7th century
• The most powerful Germanic tribe was the Franks
• But the real power lay with the "mayors of the palace" who were royal officials and nobles themselves

From the "Eastern Empire" to "Byzantine"

• The eastern Roman Empire continued on while the west was now divided up by the barbarians
• When the emperor Justinian came to power in 527, he decided to reunite the entire Roman Empire by reconquering the western tribes
• He succeeded for a time, but the land he re-took was soon conquered by new barbarians and a massive plaque depopulated most of the west

Christian Empire

• Greek Byzantine emperors saw themselves as Roman emperors and the heads of the Christian Church
• Byzantines preserved Greco-Roman art, architecture, philosophy and writing despite much of if being non-Christian
• Justinian built the massive domed "Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom") in Constantinople, considered to be the most glorious church on earth at the time

End of the Roman Empire :(

Dioclecian

284-303

Rome needs a big army

Rome needs a big government

Constantine

306 - 337

Cool to be a christian

313 - Edict of Milan

Byzantium- changer to Constantinople

The Struggle

Country dwellers are getting bankrupt by taxes

New farming system: peasants work for elite landlords

Peasants can avoid 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 faraway empire

Foreshadowing feudalism

Western Empire

Rome's poer is decreasing

Barbarians gain

Western Empire is too poor

Huns migrate from China and take Roman empire

Vicigoths take spain and actually capture and loot Rome

Vandals control Carthage and western Mediterranean

Other Barbarian tribes:

Ostrogoth's

Franks

Angels 

End of an Era

From the beginning

500BC monarchy is abolished

450 bc twelve Tables

Through the glory days

44 BB end of the line for Julius Caesar

27 BC - 180 AD - Pax Romana

To the bitter end

Constant fifth century invasions by barbarians tribes left the western Roman Empire

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

Barbarians desposed of Romulus Augustus without bothering to kill him

476 - last emperor gone

The Hardest Test of My Life

Today in West Civ we had a test, and it was by far the hardest teat i had ever take from Mr. Schick. There were easy questions on the front, but when i turned the page i died a little inside. There were 3 essays and one was an entire page. there were two that were only a half of a page. the exam i took for Mr. Schick, last year, was actually easier. I hope the exam this year will be easier but i doubt that.

Test Question

What is Pax Romana, and what does it mean? 
- Roman Peace 
What language is it? 
- Latin
Who is Diocletian? 
- the guy who killed all dem Christian people 
Who is Constantine? 
- The person who saw the sign in the sky and it said "Conquer by this" and put a cross on the shields of his soldiers 
How long was the Pax Romana?
- 207 years 
Who were the people that Jesus hung out with?
- Prostitutes and poor people 
What does Gospel mean?
-Good News 
What was the battle Constantine faught after he saw the sign? 
- Milvian Bridge
Edicts of Diocletian? 
-wanted to burn the churches and scripture 
- arrest bishops, and clergyman
- if they wanted to be freed the would have to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods 

- All men, women, and children to come to the public space and make a collective sacrifice together and if they refused they would be killed

he moved the capital to Byzantium and named it after himself, Constantinople 

Edict of Milan

- could not persecute people for their beliefs 

In 300 AD, how many people were in Rome? 

-60,000,000 

Predestination? 

- God knows what you are going to end up doing 

    

 
 
 

PowerPoint and Q and A Day

Today in class we went over a PowerPoint that Mr. Schick made. It wasn't that long but it was full of information and Mr. Schick explained things in great detail. When he was done that he set us loose to answer questions that were on one of the slides. We got to work with partners and i worked with Damian and Andy. We got all the questions done and had a little time to go ever them so they were right. These are the questions and answers that we did during class:

Q. Why did Diocletian persecute Christians?

A. because he wanted everyone to worship the Roman gods, and disturbed the faith that he believed in.

Q. What was Constantines connection with Christianity?

A. He was visited by a dream the night before, and was told to mark all the shields with a cross, by God. he got visited again by God, and he told him to make a standard, the labarum, for his army in that form.

Q.How did Constantine reconstruct his Empire?

A. because he defeated Maxentius and Licinius. he easily defeated his enemies, and was the first known Christian in the Roman Empire. He converted the entire army to Christianity.