MEDIEVAL EUROPE:

Feudalism, the Church, Plague, and Crusades

UNIT SUMMARY:

From Japan we will move back to the west and look at Europe after the fall of the western Roman Empire. After Rome fell, western Europe entered a period called the Middle Ages, Dark Ages, or Medieval Times. This era would last for almost a thousand years and would not end until the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy. Medieval Europe was a place of castles, manors, knights, kings, and popes.

Our focus this unit will begin with understand the political system of feudalism and how it spread over most of western Europe after Rome’s fall. We will discuss the important role of the Roman Catholic Church in the everyday lives of Europeans and in the politics of the period. Important steps in the limiting of government power with the Magna Carta and English Parliament will be studied. Finally, our time will end with a review of the holy wars known as the Crusades and the eventual end of feudalism in Europe due to the deadly Black Death.

During this unit you will focus on five different aspects of Medieval Europe and use the information you gather to help prepare for the unit assessments at the end. Our focus will include:

• Understanding how feudalism became the main system of political organization in Medieval Europe after the fall of Rome.

• Explaining the role of the Roman Catholic Church and the influence they held in everyday lives and politics.

• Learning about the various ways the English worked to limit the power of their king with the Magna Carta, the idea of habeas corpus, and Parliament.

• Understanding the impact of the Black Death on Europe.

• Knowing what the Crusades were and their effect on opening up trade between Asia and Europe.

The Development of Feudalism in Western Europe

How well did feudalism establish order in Europe in the Middle Ages?

Introduction

The collapse of the Roman Empire in 476 C.E. marks the beginning of the period in Europe known as the Middle Ages. During this time period, a complex political and economic system developed that largely shaped people's lives.

Historians divide the Middle Ages into three periods. The Early Middle Ages lasted from about 476 to 1000 C.E. The High Middle Ages lasted from about 1000 to 1300. The Late Middle Ages lasted from about 1300 to 1450.

The Middle Ages began with the fall of the Roman Empire, which had unified much of Europe for about 500 years. After its collapse, life became dangerous and difficult in Western Europe. People worked hard simply to survive and to have enough to eat. They also needed to protect themselves from conquest by invading barbarians and neighboring kingdoms.

These challenges gave rise to the economic and political system historians call feudalism (FEWD-ahl-ism) in which people had clearly defined roles and relationships with each other. In the feudal system, people pledged loyalty to a lord — a ruler or powerful landholder. In return, they received protection from that lord. Warriors fought on behalf of their lords, and peasants worked the land. At the bottom of the system were serfs, or peasants who were not free to leave the lord's land without permission.

In this lesson, you will discover more about the difficulties people faced during the Early Middle Ages. Then you will learn about the rise of feudalism and how it helped to establish order and security after the fall of Rome. Finally, you will explore what daily life was like for people living under feudalism.

Western Europe During the Early Middle Ages

For 500 years, much of Europe was part of the Roman Empire. The rest of the continent was controlled by groups of people the Romans called “barbarians” because they did not follow Roman ways. When Rome fell to invading barbarians in 476 C.E., Europe was left with no central government or system of defense. Throughout Western Europe, many invading groups set up kingdoms that were often at war with one another. The most powerful rulers were those who controlled the most land and had the greatest warriors.

Charlemagne's Empire

One powerful group during this time was the Franks (from whom modern-day France takes its name). The Franks were successful because they had developed a new style of warfare that depended on troops of knights, heavily armed warriors who fought on horseback. To achieve and hold power, a ruler needed the services and loyalty of many knights. In return for their loyalty and service, the ruler rewarded knights with land and privileges.

One of the early leaders of the Franks was an ambitious young warrior named Clovis. In 481 C.E., at the age of 15, Clovis became leader of the Franks. Five years later, he defeated the last great Roman army in Gaul at Soissons. During his 30-year reign, he led the Franks in wars that largely extended the boundaries of the Frankish kingdom.

Clovis also helped convert the Franks to Christianity. Clovis married a Christian woman, Clotilda, and eventually was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. Many of his followers became Christians, as well.

The most important leader of the Franks was Charlemagne (SHAR-luh-main), which means “Charles the Great.” This impressive king ruled for over 40 years, from 768 to 814. Writings from that period say that he was six feet four inches tall — extremely tall for his time — and “always stately and dignified.” Legend has it that he read very little and couldn't write, yet he loved to have scholarly works read to him. He encouraged education and scholarship, making his court a center of culture. Most important, he unified nearly all the Christian lands of Europe into a single empire. One of the poets at his court called him the “King Father of Europe.”

Charlemagne built his empire with the help of a pope — Leo III, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church was a central part of society during this time, and for Charlemagne, the blessings of the Church sent the message, “God is on my side.” The Church also valued support from the empire, and Leo needed the backing of someone with an army. In return for Charlemagne's help, the pope crowned him Holy Roman emperor in 800 C.E.

Charlemagne's empire survived many attacks. After his death in 814, however, it quickly fell apart. The weak rulers who followed him could not defend the empire against new waves of invasions. Still, these kings helped prepare the way for the system of feudalism by following Charlemagne's example of rewarding knights with land and privileges in return for military service.

A Need for Order and Protection

In the 9th and 10th centuries, Western Europe was threatened by three main groups. Muslims, or the followers of the religion of Islam, advanced from the Middle East and northern Africa into what is now Spain. The Magyars, a central Asian people, pressed in from the east. Vikings swept down from present-day Norway and Denmark.

The Vikings were fierce warriors who instilled fear in the people of Europe. At times, the Vikings' intent was to set up colonies, but they were best known for their terrifying raids on towns and religious centers.

Picture a Viking attack. The people of the town are at early morning church services when an alarm bell starts to clang. Vikings! Long, shallow wooden boats have brought the Vikings close to shore. Now they leave their boats and run toward the town with swords and axes raised over their heads. People are running in all directions, while several villagers who attempt to resist are killed.Others are seized by the Viking raiders and taken back to the ships.

Clearly, the people of Western Europe needed to figure out new methods of defense. To protect themselves and their property, they gradually developed the system we call feudalism.

Feudalism: Establishing Order

By the High Middle Ages (about 1000 C.E.), Europeans had developed the system of feudalism. Feudalism provided people with protection and safety by establishing a stable social order.

Under this system, people were bound to one another by promises of loyalty. In theory, all the land in the kingdom belonged to the monarch (usually a king, but sometimes a queen). A large amount of land was also owned by the Church. The king kept some land for himself and gave fiefs (FEEFS), or land grants, to his most important lords, who became his vassals. In return, each lord promised to supply the king with knights in times of war. A lord then enlisted lesser lords and knights as his vassals. At times, these arrangements were written down, and some of these contracts even survive to this day in museums.

At the bottom of the social system were peasants. Lords rented some of their land to the peasants who worked for them. However, some peasants, called serfs, were “tied” to the land they worked, which meant that they could not leave the lord's land without permission and had to farm his fields in exchange for a small plot of their own.

Most lords and wealthier knights lived on manors, or large estates. A manor included a castle or manor house, one or more villages, and the surrounding farmland. Manors were in the country, far from towns, which required peasants to produce everything the people on the manor needed. Only a few goods came from outside the manor, such as salt for preserving meat and iron for making tools.

During the Middle Ages, people were born into a social class for life. They had the same social position, and often the same job, as their parents. Let's take a closer look at the social classes in feudal society.

Monarchs During Feudal Times

At the very top of feudal society were the monarchs, or kings and queens. As you have learned, medieval monarchs were also feudal lords. They were expected to keep order and to provide protection for their vassals.

Most medieval monarchs believed in the divine right of kings, the idea that God had given them the right to rule. In reality, the power of monarchs varied greatly. Some had to work hard to maintain control of their kingdoms, and few had enough wealth to keep their own armies. They had to rely on their vassals, especially nobles, to provide enough knights and soldiers. In some places, especially during the Early Middle Ages, great lords grew very powerful and governed their fiefs as independent states. In these cases, the monarch was little more than a figurehead, a symbolic ruler who had little real power.

In England, monarchs became quite strong during the Middle Ages. Since the Roman period, a number of groups from the continent, including Vikings, had invaded and settled England. By the mid-11th century, it was ruled by a Germanic tribe called the Saxons. The king at that time was descended from both Saxon and Norman (French) families. When he died without an adult heir, there was confusion over who should become king.

William, the powerful Duke of Normandy (a part of present-day France), believed he had the right to the English throne. However, the English crowned his cousin, Harold. In 1066, William and his army invaded England. William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings and established a line of Norman kings in England. His triumph earned him the nickname “William the Conqueror.”

When William of Normandy conquered England, he brought feudal institutions from Europe with him. Supported by feudalism, strong rulers brought order to England. In fact, by the start of the High Middle Ages, around 1000 C.E., the feudal system had brought stability to much of Europe.

Lords and Ladies During Feudal Times

Like monarchs, lords and ladies were members of the nobility, the highest-ranking class in medieval society. Most of them lived on manors. Some lords had one manor, while others had several. Those who had more than one manor usually lived in one for a few months and then traveled with their families to another.

Manor Houses and Castles

Many of the people on a manor lived with the lord's family in the manor house. Built of wood or stone, manor houses were surrounded by gardens and outbuildings, such as kitchens and stables. They were protected by high walls.

The manor house was the center of the community, and in times of trouble, villagers entered its walls for protection. Its great hall served as the lord's court, but it also offered a place for special celebrations and feasts, such as those given at Christmas or after a harvest.

Kings and queens, high-ranking nobles, and wealthy lords lived in even grander structures: castles. Castles were built for many purposes, but one of their main functions was to serve as a home. Castles were also one of the most important forms of military technology. With their moats, strong walls, and gates, they were built for defense. Finally, their large size and central locations made castles visual reminders of the social hierarchy and the power of the ruling classes.

The earliest medieval castles were built of wood and surrounded by high wooden fences. The strongest part, the motte, was built on a hilltop. A walled path linked the motte to a lower enclosed court, the bailey, where most people lived. After about 1100 C.E., most castles were built of stone to resist attacks by more powerful siege weapons.

Castles gradually became more elaborate. Many had tall towers for looking out across the land. The main castle building had a variety of rooms, including storerooms, kitchens, a dining hall, sleeping quarters for distinguished guests, and the lord and lady's quarters.

The Responsibilities and Daily Life of Lords and Ladies

It was the lord's responsibility to manage and defend his land and its laborers. The lord appointed officials to make sure villagers fulfilled their duties, which included farming the lord's land and paying rent in the form of crops, meat, and other foods. Lords also acted as judges in manor courts and had the power to fine and punish those who broke the law. Some lords held posts in the king's government. In times of war, lords fought for their own higher-ranking lords, or at least supplied them with a well-trained fighting force.

In theory, only men were part of the feudal relationship between lord and vassal. However, it was quite common in the Middle Ages for noblewomen to hold fiefs and inherit land. Except for fighting, these women had all the duties that lords had. They ran their estates, sat as judges in manor courts, and sent their knights to serve in times of war.

Noblewomen who were not landowners were still extremely busy. They were responsible for raising and training their own children and, often, the children of other noble families. Ladies were also responsible for overseeing their household or households. Some households had hundreds of people, including priests, master hunters, and knights-in-training called pages and squires, who assisted the knights. There were also cooks, servants, artists, craftspeople, and grooms. Entertainment was provided by musicians and jesters who performed amusing jokes and stunts.

When they weren't hard at work, lords and ladies enjoyed hunting and hawking (hunting with birds), feasting and dancing, board games such as chess, and reading. Ladies also did fine stitching and embroidery, or decorative sewing.

Although nobles and monarchs had the most privileged lives in medieval times, they were not always easy or comfortable by modern standards. Lit only by candles and warmed only by open fires, manor homes and castles could be gloomy and cold. There was little or no privacy. Fleas and lice infected all medieval buildings, and people generally bathed only once a week, if that. Clothes were not washed daily either. Diseases affected the rich as well as the poor. And, of course, warfare was a great and ever-present danger.

Knights During Feudal Times

Knights were the mounted soldiers of the medieval world. In general, knights needed to have a good deal of wealth, since a full suit of armor and a horse cost a small fortune. Knights were usually vassals of more powerful lords.

Becoming a Knight

The path to becoming a knight involved many years of training. A boy started as a page, or servant. At the age of seven, he left home and went to live at the castle of a lord, who was often a relative. Nearly all wealthy lords had several pages living in their castles and manors. A page learned how to ride a horse and received religious instruction from the local priest or friar.

During this first stage of training, a page spent much of his time with the ladies of the castle and was expected to help them in every way possible. During this period, the ladies taught pages how to sing, dance, compose music, and play the harp—skills that were valued in knights.

After about seven years as a page, a young boy became a squire. During this part of his training, he spent most of his time with the knight who was his lord. The squire helped care for his horse and polished the knight's armor, sword, shield, and lance. He even waited on his lord at mealtime, carrying water for hand washing, carving meat, and filling his cup when it was empty.

Most importantly, squires trained to become warriors. They learned how to fight with a sword and a lance, a kind of spear that measured up to 15 feet long. They also learned how to use a battle-axe and a mace (a club with a heavy metal head). Squires practiced by fighting in make-believe battles, but they also went into real battles. A squire was expected to help dress his lord in armor, care for his weapons and horses, follow him into battle, and look after him if he was wounded.

In his early 20s, if deserving of the honor, a squire became a knight, a process that at times was a complex religious event. A squire often spent the night before his knighting ceremony in prayer. The next morning, he bathed and put on a white tunic, or long shirt, to show his purity. During the ceremony, he knelt before his lord and said his vows. The lord drew his sword, touched the knight-to-be lightly on each shoulder with the flat side of the blade, and knighted him. Sometimes, if a squire did particularly well in battle, he was knighted on the spot.

The Responsibilities and Daily Life of Knights

Being a knight was more than a profession. It was a way of life. Knights lived by a strong code of behavior called chivalry. (Chivalry comes from the French word cheval, meaning “horse.”) Knights were expected to be loyal to the Church and to their lord, to be just and fair, and to protect the helpless. They performed acts of gallantry, or respect paid to women. From these acts, we get the modern idea of chivalry as traditional forms of courtesy and kindness toward women.

Jousts and tournaments were a major part of a knight's life. In a joust, two armed knights on horseback galloped at each other with their lances extended, aiming to unseat the opponent from his horse. Jousts were held as sporting events, for exercise, or as serious battles between rival knights. A tournament involved a team of knights in one-on-one battle.

Knights fought wearing heavy suits of armor. In the 11th century, armor was made of linked metal rings, called chain mail. By the 14th century, plate armor was more common and offered better protection.

The medieval style of knighthood lasted until about the 17th century, when warfare changed with the growing use of gunpowder and cannons. Knights, who fought one-to-one on horseback, were no longer effective against such weapons.

But knights were only a small group in medieval society. Next, let's turn to daily life for the vast majority of the population: the peasants.

Peasants During Feudal Times

Most people during the Middle Ages were peasants. They were not included in the feudal relationship of vassal and lord, but they supported the entire feudal structure by working the land. Their labor freed lords and knights to spend their time preparing for war or fighting.

During medieval times, peasants were legally classified as free or unfree. These categories had to do with the amount of service owed to the lord. Free peasants rented land to farm and owed only their rent to the lord. Unfree peasants, or serfs, farmed the lord's fields and could not leave the lord's manor. In return for their labor, they received their own small plot of land to farm.

The daily life of peasants revolved around work. Most peasants raised crops and tended livestock (farm animals), but every manor also had carpenters, shoemakers, smiths (metalworkers), and other skilled workers. Peasant women worked in the fields when needed, while also caring for their children, their homes, and livestock.

Along with the work they performed, peasants and serfs might owe the lord numerous taxes. There was a yearly payment called “head money,” at a fixed amount per person. In addition, the lord could demand a tax, known as tallage, whenever he needed money. When a woman married, she, her father, or her husband had to pay a fee called a merchet.

Peasants were also required to grind their grain at the lord's mill (the only mill on the manor). As payment, the miller kept portions of the grain for the lord and for himself, with lords keeping any amount they wanted. Peasants found this practice so hateful that some of them hid small handmills in their houses.

Most peasants lived in small, simple houses composed of one or two rooms. A typical house was made of woven strips of wood covered with straw or mud, usually with little furniture or other possessions inside. There was a hearth fire in the middle of the main room, but often there was no chimney, making the room dark and smoky. An entire family might eat and sleep in one room that sometimes also housed their farm animals.

Peasants ate vegetables, meat such as pork, and dark, coarse bread made of wheat mixed with rye or oatmeal. Almost no one ate beef or chicken. During the winter, they ate pork, mutton, or fish that had been preserved in salt. Herbs were used widely, to improve flavor and reduce saltiness, or to disguise the taste of meat that was no longer fresh.

The Roman Catholic Church in Medieval Europe

How influential was the Roman Catholic Church in medieval Europe?

Introduction

The Catholic Church in Europe had a heavy influence during the High Middle Ages, the period from about 1000 to 1300 C.E. The Church was the center of life in medieval western Europe. Almost every community had a church building, and larger towns and cities had a cathedral. Church bells rang out the hours, called people to worship, and warned of danger.

The church building was the center of community activity and many parts of daily life. Religious services were held several times a day. Town meetings, plays, and concerts were also held in churches. Merchants had shops around the square in front of the church. Farmers sold their produce in the square, and markets, festivals, and fairs were held there, as well.

During the Middle Ages, the Church was a daily presence from birth to death. It provided education and helped the poor and sick. In fact, religion was so much a part of daily life, that people even said prayers to decide how long to cook an egg!

Christian belief was so widespread during this time that historians sometimes call the Middle Ages the “Age of Faith.” People looked to the Church to explain world events. Storms, disease, and famine were believed to be punishments sent by God. People hoped prayer and religious devotion would prevent such disasters. They were even more concerned about the fate of their souls after death.The Church claimed that salvation, or the saving of one's soul, would come to those who followed its teachings.

In this lesson, you will learn how the Church began and how it expanded. You will also discover how much the Church influenced people's daily lives during the High Middle Ages.

The Christian Church Takes Shape

The Christian religion is one of ancient Rome's most important legacies. Christians are followers of Jesus, who, according to Christian scripture, was put to death on a Roman cross in the 1st century C.E. Christians believe that Jesus was the son of God, that God sent him to Earth to save people from their sins, and that he rose from the dead after his death by crucifixion.

Initially, the Romans persecuted Christians for their beliefs. Yet the new religion continued to spread. In 313 C.E., the Roman emperor Constantine issued a decree allowing Christians to practice their religion freely. In 395 C.E., Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

At the start of the Middle Ages, all Christians in western Europe belonged to a single church, which became known as the Roman Catholic Church. After the collapse of Rome, the Church played a vital role in society. In part, it was one of the few ties that people had to a more stable time. The Church provided leadership and, at times, even organized the distribution of food. Monasteries, or communities of monks, provided hospitality to refugees and travelers. Monks also copied and preserved old texts, and in this way helped keep both new and ancient learning alive. The spread of monasteries and the preaching of missionaries helped bring new converts to the Christian faith.

The Organization of the Roman Catholic Church

Over time, Church leaders developed an organization that was modeled on the structure of the old Roman government. By the High Middle Ages, they had created a system in which all clergy members had a rank.

The pope, who was the bishop of Rome, was the supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church. He appointed high-ranking clergy men, called cardinals, to assist and counsel him. These cardinals ranked just below the pope in the Church hierarchy.

Archbishops came next. They oversaw large or important areas called archdioceses. Below them were bishops, who governed areas called dioceses from great cathedrals. Within each diocese, priests served local communities, called parishes, each of which had its own church building.

The Increasing Power of the Church

During the Middle Ages, the Church acquired great economic power. By the year 1050, it was the largest landholder in Europe. Some land was gifted to the church by monarchs and wealthy lords, while other land was taken by force. The medieval Church added to its wealth by collecting a tithe, or tax. Each member was expected to give one-tenth of his money, produce, or labor to help support the Church.

The Church also came to wield great political power. Latin, the language of the Church, was the only common language throughout Europe. Church officials were often the only people who could read. As a result, they kept records for monarchs and became trusted scribes and advisers.

At times, the Church's power lead to conflict with European monarchs. One key struggle involved Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV, the Holy Roman emperor.

Gregory was elected pope in 1073. An ambitious leader, he undertook several reforms, such as forbidding priests to marry and outlawing the selling of Church offices (official positions). He also banned the practice whereby kings could appoint priests, bishops, and the heads of monasteries. Only the pope, announced Gregory, had this right.

Gregory's ruling angered Henry IV. Like rulers before him, Henry considered it his duty (and privilege) to appoint Church officials. He called a council of bishops and declared that Gregory was no longer pope. Gregory responded by excommunicating Henry. This action meant that Henry was thrown out of the Church and, therefore, could not gain salvation. Gregory also said that Henry's subjects were no longer obliged to obey him.

The pope's influence was so great that Henry begged forgiveness and was readmitted to the Church. For the moment, his action revealed the pope's authority, even over an emperor. But future rulers and popes would resume the fight over the rights of the Church versus those of the state.

Sacraments and Salvation in the Middle Ages

Most people in medieval Europe believed in God and an afterlife, the idea that the soul lives on after the body's death. The Church taught that people gained salvation, or entry into heaven and eternal life, by following the Church's teachings and living a moral life. Failing to do so condemned the soul to eternal suffering in hell.

To believers, hell was a real and terrifying place. Its torments, such as fire and demons, were pictured in vivid detail in many paintings. The Church asserted that receiving the sacraments was an essential part of gaining salvation. Sacraments were sacred rites that Christians believed brought them grace, or a special blessing from God. The sacraments marked the most important occasions in a person's life, such as baptism and marriage.

Art and Architecture

During the Middle Ages, most art was created for a religious purpose. Paintings and sculptures portrayed Jesus and Christian saints and were placed in churches to support worship. Since most people could not read, art helped tell the story of Jesus's life in a way that everyone could understand.

Medieval art and architecture found their most glorious expression in cathedrals, the large churches headed by bishops.(The word cathedral comes from the Latin word cathedra, meaning “the throne upon which a bishop sits.") Cathedrals were built to inspire awe, or wonder. For centuries, they were the tallest buildings in any community, often taller than a 30-story building of today. Most were built in the shape of a cross, with a long central section called the nave and shorter side sections called transepts.

The cathedrals constructed between 1150 and 1400 were designed in the Gothic style and built to appear as if they are rising to heaven. On the outside are stone arches called flying buttresses.The arches spread the massive weight of the soaring roof and walls more evenly, a building technique that allowed for taller, thinner walls and more windows.

Gargoyles are a unique feature of Gothic cathedrals. Gargoyles are decorative stone sculptures projecting from the rain gutters or edges of a cathedral roof. They were usually carved in the form of mythical beasts. In medieval times, some people believed gargoyles were placed as a reminder that devils and evil spirits would catch them if they did not obey the Church's teachings.

The immense space inside a Gothic cathedral was lined with pillars and decorated with religious images. Beautiful stained-glass windows (windows made from pieces of colored glass arranged in a design) let in colorful light. The pictures on medieval stained-glass windows often depicted stories from the Bible.

Cathedrals were visible expressions of Christian devotion. Hundreds of workers and craftsmen constructed cathedrals by hand over many years. On average, it took from 50 to 100 years to complete a cathedral, but the work took more than 200 years in some cases.

Education

During the Middle Ages, most schooling took place in monasteries, convents, and cathedrals. This pattern was established under Charlemagne, who encouraged the Church to teach people to read and write. During his reign, scholars developed a new form of writing that helped make reading easier. Instead of writing in all capital letters, as the Romans did, scholars began to use lowercase letters, too. We still use this system today.

In medieval times, the clergy were the people most likely to be educated. Most of the students in Church schools were sons of nobles who were studying for careers in the clergy. They spent much of their time memorizing prayers and passages from the Bible in Latin.

Beginning in the 1200s, cathedral schools gave rise to universities. Students in universities studied Latin grammar and rhetoric (the art of argument), logic, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music. Books at that time were hand copied and very rare, so teachers often read to students.

Ancient texts were greatly respected in the universities, but the Church was sometimes uneasy about them. The Church taught people to be guided by faith. In contrast, ancient writers like the Greek philosopher Aristotle taught that reason, or logical thinking, was the path to knowledge. The clergy feared that studying such writers might lead people to question the Church's teachings.

Thomas Aquinas (uh-KWINE-iss), an Italian scholar of philosophy and theology, tried to bridge the gap between reason and faith. Aquinas greatly admired Aristotle. He saw no conflict between faith and reason, arguing that both were gifts from God. Reason, he believed, helped people discover important truths about God's creation, while faith revealed its own truths about God.

Aquinas wrote logical arguments in support of his faith to show how reason and religious belief worked together. For example, his concept of natural law stated that there was an order built into nature that could guide people's thinking about right and wrong. Natural law, he said, could be discovered through reason alone. Since God had created nature, natural law agreed with the moral teachings of the Bible.

Aquinas's teachings unified ancient philosophy and Christian theology. His teachings were later accepted and promoted by the Church.

The Decline of Feudalism

How did events in Europe contribute to the decline of feudalism and the rise of democratic thought?

Introduction

Several key events contributed to the decline of feudalism in Europe from the 12th through the 15th centuries. There were many causes for the breakdown of the feudal system. There are three main causes, but you will explore two of them: political changes in England and a terrible disease.

In England, several political changes in the 12th and 13th centuries helped to weaken feudalism. A famous document known as Magna Carta, or Great Charter, dates from this time. Magna Carta was a written legal agreement that limited the king's power and strengthened the rights of nobles. As feudalism declined, Magna Carta took on a much broader meaning and contributed to ideas about individual rights and liberties in England.

In the 1300s, a terrible disease called the bubonic plague, or Black Death, swept across Asia and reached Europe in the late 1340s. Over the next two centuries, this terrifying disease killed millions in Europe. It struck all kinds of people—rich and poor, young and old, town dwellers and country folk. Almost everyone who caught the plague died within days. In some places, whole communities were wiped out. The deaths of so many people led to sweeping economic and social changes.

Lastly, between 1337 and 1453, France and England fought a series of battles known as the Hundred Years' War. This conflict changed the way wars were fought and shifted power away from feudal lords to monarchs and the common people.

How did such different events contribute to the decline of feudalism? What social and political changes occurred as feudalism weakened? In this lesson, you will find out.

Political Developments in England

Political development was rampant during the Middle Ages, and in one country, England, developments during the 12th and 13th centuries helped to weaken feudalism. The story begins with King Henry II, who reigned from 1154 to 1189.

Henry II's Legal Reforms

Henry made legal reform a central concern of his reign. For example, he insisted that a jury formally accuse a person of a serious crime. Cases were then tried before a royal judge. In theory, people could no longer simply be jailed or executed for no legal reason, but had to go through a court trial as well. These reforms strengthened the power of royal courts at the expense of feudal lords.

Henry's effort to strengthen royal authority led to a serious conflict with the Catholic Church. In the year 1164, Henry issued the Constitutions of Clarendon, a document that he claimed spelled out the king's traditional rights. Among them was the right to try clergy accused of serious crimes in royal courts, rather than in Church courts.

Henry's action led to a long, bitter quarrel with his friend, Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury. In 1170, four knights, perhaps seeking the king's favor, killed Becket in front of the main altar of Canterbury Cathedral. The cathedral and Becket's tomb soon became a popular destination for pilgrimages. In 1173, the Catholic Church proclaimed him a saint. Still, most of the Constitutions of Clarendon remained in force.

King John and Magna Carta

In 1199, Henry's youngest son, John, became king of England. John soon made powerful enemies by losing most of the lands the English had controlled in France. He also taxed his barons heavily and ignored their traditional rights, arresting opponents at will. In addition, John quarreled with the Catholic Church and collected large amounts of money from its properties.

In June 1215, angry nobles forced a meeting with King John in a meadow called Runnymede, beside the River Thames, outside of London. There, they insisted that John put his seal on a document called Magna Carta, which means “Great Charter” in Latin.

Magna Carta was an agreement between the nobles and the monarch. The nobles concurred that the monarch could continue to rule. For his part, King John agreed to observe common law and the traditional rights of the nobles and the Church. For example, he promised to consult the nobles and the Church archbishops and bishops before imposing special taxes. He also agreed that “no free man” could be jailed except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. This idea eventually developed into a key part of English common law known as habeas corpus (HAY-be-us KOR-pus).

In many ways, Magna Carta only protected the rights and privileges of nobles. However, as time passed, the English people came to regard it as one of the foundations of their rights and liberties.

King Edward I and the Model Parliament

In 1295, Edward I, King John's grandson, took a major step toward including more people in government. Edward called together a governing body called the Model Parliament that included commoners and lower-ranking clergy, as well as high-level Church officials and nobles.

The Impact of Political Developments in England

These political changes contributed to the decline of feudalism in two ways. Some of the changes strengthened royal authority at the expense of the nobles. Others eventually shifted some power to the common people.

Magna Carta established the idea of rights and liberties that even a monarch cannot violate. This document also affirmed that monarchs should rule with the advice of the governed. Henry II's legal reforms strengthened English common law and the role of judges and juries. Finally, Edward I's Model Parliament gave a voice in government to common people, as well as to nobles. All these ideas formed the basis for the development of modern democratic institutions.

The Bubonic Plague

In addition to political developments in England, another reason for the decline of feudalism was the bubonic plague, which affected all of Europe. The bubonic plague first struck Europe from 1346 to 1351. It returned in waves that occurred about every decade into the 15th century, leaving major changes in its wake.

Historians suspect that the plague began in Central Asia, possibly in China, and spread throughout China, India, the Middle East, and eventually to Europe. The disease traveled from Central Asia to the Black Sea along the Silk Road (the main trade route between Asia and the Mediterranean Sea). It probably was carried to Italy on a ship, causing it to spread north and west, throughout the continent of Europe and to England.

The Black Death

Symptoms, or signs, of the plague included fever, vomiting, fierce coughing and sneezing fits, and egg-sized swellings or bumps, called buboes. The term “Black Death” probably came from these black-and-blue swellings that appeared on the skin of victims.

The dirty conditions in which people lived contributed significantly to the spread of the bubonic plague. The bacteria that cause the disease are carried by fleas that feed on the blood of infected rodents. When the animal dies, the fleas jump to other animals and people. During the Middle Ages, it was not unusual for people to go for many months without a change of clothing or a bath. Rodents, covered with fleas, often roamed the floors of homes looking for food. City streets were filled with human waste, dead animals, and trash.

At the time, though, no one knew where the disease came from or how it spread. Terrified people falsely blamed the plague on everything from the positions of the planets to lepers and to Jews.

Persecution of the Jews did not begin with the plague. Prejudice against Jews provoked the English government to order all Jews to leave the country in 1290. In France, the same thing happened in 1306 and again in 1394. But fear of the plague made matters worse, and during the Black Death, many German cities ordered Jews to leave.

The Impact of the Plague

The plague took a terrible toll on Asian and European populations. China's population was reduced by nearly half between 1200 and 1393, probably because of the plague and famine. Travelers reported that dead bodies covered the ground in Central Asia and India.

Some historians estimate that 24 million Europeans died of the plague — about a third of the entire population. The deaths of so many people accelerated, or sped up, changes in Europe's economic and social structure, which contributed to the decline of feudalism.

Trade and commerce slowed almost to a halt during the plague years. As Europe began to recover, the economy needed to be rebuilt. But it wouldn't be rebuilt in the same way, as feudal lords no longer held most of the power.

After the plague, there was a shift in power from nobles to the common people. One reason for this change was a desperate need for workers because so many people had died. The workers who did survive could, therefore, demand more money and more rights. In addition, many peasants and some serfs abandoned feudal manors and moved to towns and cities, seeking better opportunities. This led to a weakening of the manor system and a loss of power for feudal lords.

After the plague, a number of peasant rebellions broke out. When nobles tried to return to the system from before the plague, resentment exploded across Europe. There were peasant revolts throughout Europe in France, Flanders, England, Germany, Spain, and Italy.

The most famous of these revolts was the English Peasants' War in 1381. The English rebels succeeded in entering London and presenting their demands to the king, Richard II. The leader of the rebellion was killed, however, and after his death, the revolt lost momentum. Still, in most of Europe, the time was coming when feudalism would end.

The Crusades

How did the Crusades affect the lives of Christians in Europe?

Introduction

During the Middle Ages, a series of religious wars, called the Crusades, took place. The Crusades were launched by European Christian nations to reclaim Jerusalem and other holy sites in the Middle East from Muslims.

Christians mounted these religious wars beginning in 1096. A major purpose was to gain control of Palestine, the ancient homeland of Jews and the place where Jesus was crucified. The spiritual heart of Palestine was the city of Jerusalem, a city that was, and is, sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.

In the 11th century, Palestine came under the rule of a rising Muslim power, the Seljuk Turks. The advances of the Seljuk Turks into Byzantine territory, and their ill treatment of Christians, alarmed the Byzantine emperors. In 1076, the Seljuks took Jerusalem. For several years, emperors sought help from Pope Urban II. In 1095, the pope called on Christians to go on a religious war to turn back the Seljuks and win control of Jerusalem and the surrounding area. The next year, the first armies set out from Europe.

Muslims were not the only targets of these religious wars. Europeans also mounted violence against Jews and Christian heretics. Religious wars were waged in Europe and North Africa, as well as the Middle East.

Events Leading Up to the Crusades

Why did European Christians begin the religious wars, or Crusades, at the end of the 11th century? To answer this question, we need to look at what was happening in Muslim lands at the time.

During the 10th century, the Seljuk Turks established a new Muslim dynasty. The Turks were a Central Asian people who had been migrating into Muslim lands for centuries. The Seljuks were named for a Turkish chieftain who converted to Islam in the mid-10th century. In 1055, his descendants took control of the Abbasid dynasty's capital of Baghdad in what was then Persia, meaning that a Seljuk sultan now ruled the old Abbasid Empire. The Seljuks were eager to expand their territory. Moving westward, they took Syria and Palestine from the Fatimid dynasty. They also overran much of Anatolia (also called Asia Minor), which was part of the Byzantine Empire. In 1071, the Seljuks defeated a large Byzantine army at Manzikert in present-day Turkey. The Seljuk advance alarmed Christians in Europe, who feared for the safety and property of Christians living to the east, as well as the control they held over western lands. The Seljuks' power seemed to threaten the Byzantine Empire itself. Christians also worried about the Holy Land, especially the city of Jerusalem, where the Seljuks sometimes treated Christians and their holy sites with intolerance.

Jerusalem was, and still is, a sacred city to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It was the spiritual capital of the Jews, where their great Temple had once stood, and had been their political capital in ancient times. For Christians, it was the city where Jesus was crucified and arose from the dead. For Muslims, it was where Muhammad ascended to heaven during his Night Journey.

Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine first came under Muslim rule during the Arab conquests of the 7th century. Muslims built a shrine in Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock, to mark where they believed that the Night Journey had occurred. Under Muslim rule, Jews, Christians, and Muslims all lived together. People of all three faiths made pilgrimages to Jerusalem and built houses of worship there.But, depending on the policies of various Muslim rulers, non-Muslims' rights and freedoms varied from time to time, and some Muslim rulers allowed the destruction of important Christian churches.

After the Seljuks took control of Palestine, political turmoil made travel unsafe. Tales began reaching Europe of highway robbers attacking and even killing Christian pilgrims. Christians feared they would no longer be able to visit Jerusalem and other sacred sites in the Holy Land. More and more, Christians began to carry weapons and travel in groups when they made the journey to Jerusalem. Together, with concern over the Seljuk threat to Christian lands in Europe, this fear helped pave the way for the Crusades.

The Story of the Crusades

The Crusades began as a response to the threat posed by the Seljuks. Many emperors appealed to Pope Urban II for help. By 1095, the Seljuks had advanced to within 100 miles of the Byzantine capital, Constantinople.

In response, the pope invited nobles and Church leaders to attend a council in Clermont, France where he called for a crusade to drive out the Muslims and reclaim Jerusalem. He promised a forgiveness of sins to all who joined the fight. French-speaking nobles quickly organized armies to fight in the Holy Land. In addition to trained knights, thousands of townspeople, craftsmen, and peasants joined in the Crusade.

Throughout the Crusades, the Christian faith inspired many to put on the red cross, worn by Crusaders as a symbol of their mission, and join the fight. Many viewed crusading as an act of love and devotion to God. Others believed that by joining the Crusades, their sins would be forgotten. Noble families often spent their own money to embark on the Crusades, without hope of regaining their losses.

The First Crusade (1096–1099)

Several European nobles led the First Crusade. Around 100,000 Crusaders fought their way through Anatolia and headed south toward Palestine. In June of 1098, the Crusaders laid siege to the city of Antioch, in Syria, which was protected by a ring of walls. Soon the Crusaders found a way over the walls, and Antioch fell to the Christians.

In 1099, the Crusaders surrounded Jerusalem and scaled the city walls. After a month of fighting, the city surrendered. The victorious Crusaders killed most of the people who had fought against them. With Jerusalem taken, most of the Crusaders returned home. Some, however, stayed behind. They established four Crusader kingdoms in Palestine, Syria, and modern-day Lebanon and Turkey.

The Second Crusade (1146–1148)

The Crusaders owed their early victories, in part, to a lack of unity among Muslim groups. When the Crusades began, the Seljuk Empire was already crumbling into a number of smaller states. Muslims had trouble joining together to fight the invaders.

When Muslims started to band together, they were able to fight back more effectively. In 1144, they captured Edessa, the capital of the northernmost crusader kingdom. Christians responded by mounting the Second Crusade.

That Crusade ended in failure. An army from Germany was badly defeated in Anatolia. A second army, led by the king of France, arrived in Jerusalem in 1148. About 50,000 Crusaders marched on the city of Damascus, which was on the way to Edessa. Muslims from Edessa came to the city's aid and beat back the Crusaders. Soon after this defeat, the French army went home, ending the Second Crusade.

The Third Crusade (1189–1192)

Over the next few decades, Muslims in the Middle East increasingly came under common leadership. By the 1180s, the great sultan Salah al-Din (SAL-eh ahl-DEEN), called Saladin by Europeans, had formed the largest Muslim empire since the Seljuks. Salah al-Din united Egypt, Syria, and other lands to the east. He led a renewed fight against the Crusaders in the Holy Land and quickly recovered most of Palestine. In 1187, his armies captured Jerusalem.

The loss of Jerusalem shocked Europeans and sparked the Third Crusade. King Richard I of England, known as “the Lionheart,” was one of the European leaders who led the fight against Salah al-Din.

In 1191, Richard's army forced the surrender of the Palestinian town of Acre (AH-kreh). Afterward, arrangements were made between the two sides to exchange prisoners. Salah al-Din tried to stall the completion of the exchange, and Richard, who grew impatient, ordered the deaths of all 2,700 of his Muslim prisoners.

Richard then fought his way toward Jerusalem, but his army was not strong enough to take the city. Salah al-Din's forces had also grown weaker. In September 1192, the two leaders signed a peace treaty. The Crusaders kept a chain of cities along the coast of Palestine, and Muslims agreed to let Christian pilgrims enter Jerusalem.

Later Crusades

The Crusades continued for centuries. Some Crusades were popular movements of poor people, rather than organized military campaigns. In 1212, for example, thousands of young peasants from France and Germany marched in a Children's Crusade. Few, if any, ever reached the Holy Land. Some made it to European port cities, only to be sold into slavery by merchants.Some returned home. Many disappeared without a trace.

None of the later Crusades succeeded in recapturing Jerusalem. Muslims, meanwhile, were gaining back the land they had lost and took Acre, the last Crusader city, in 1291. This victory ended some 200 years of Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land.

The Reconquista

Crusaders fought against Muslims in Europe and North Africa, as well as in the Middle East. One important series of wars was called the Reconquista (ree-con-KEE-stah), which means “reconquest” in Spanish. For several decades, Christian kingdoms launched these wars to retake the Iberian Peninsula from Muslims. The Iberian Peninsula is a region in southwestern Europe that contains Spain and Portugal.

The Umayyads had established a Muslim dynasty in Spain in the 8th century, where Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together.However, non-Muslims were treated differently, including having to pay a special tax.

Over time, Christian rulers in northern Iberia chipped away at Muslim lands. The pace of reconquest quickened after the Umayyad caliphate in Cordoba broke up into rival kingdoms around 1002. In 1085, Christians gained a key victory by capturing Toledo, in central Spain.

Muslims gradually gave up more and more territory. In 1039, Portugal became an independent Christian kingdom. By 1248, only the kingdom of Granada, in southern Spain, remained in Muslim hands.

Many Jews and Muslims remained in areas ruled by Christians. In the late 1400s, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand wanted to unite Spain as a Catholic country. They used the Inquisition, a Roman Catholic court, against Muslims and Jews, as well as those who claimed to have converted to Christianity. Judges, called inquisitors, sometimes used torture to find out whether supposed converts were practicing their old religion. Thousands of people were burned at the stake.

In 1492, Granada fell to Ferdinand and Isabella, ending Muslim rule in Spain. In the same year, Jews were ordered to become Catholics or leave the country. Roughly 170,000 Jews left their homes forever. Many found refuge in Muslim lands, including in Constantinople, now called Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Muslims remained in Spain, but many were forced to become Catholics. Spain expelled remaining Muslims beginning in 1609, ending any cooperation among these groups and Christians in Spain.

Christians and the Crusades

The religious wars were a costly ordeal, although Crusaders who participated were promised rewards in the afterlife. But European Christians also reaped many benefits from the Crusades.

Impact on Christians as a Group

Crusaders suffered all the terrible effects of war. Many were wounded or killed in battle, and those that were not often died of disease and the hardships of travel.

The impact of the Crusades reached far beyond those who fought, however. The Crusades brought many economic changes to Europe. For instance, Crusaders needed a way to pay for supplies, a need that increased the use of money in Europe. As a result, some knights began performing banking functions, such as making loans or investments. Monarchs established tax systems to raise funds for Crusades.

The Crusades changed society, as well. Monarchs grew more powerful, as nobles and knights left home to fight in the Middle East.The increasing power of monarchs weakened feudalism.

Contact with Middle Eastern cultures had an impact on Christians' way of life. In the Holy Land, Christians learned about new foods and other goods. They dressed in clothing made of muslin, a cotton fabric from Persia. They developed a taste for melons, apricots, sesame seeds, and carob beans, and used spices like pepper. After Crusaders returned home with these goods, European merchants earned enormous profits by trading in them.