Hist Chap 6

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Governing the Franks: Clovis 466-511 founded the Merovingian dynasty that attempted to pull Europe back together. He united the Salian and Ripuarian Franks, subdued the Burgundians and Visigoths, won the support of the native Gallo-Romans by converting to orthodox Christianity, and turned the Roman province of Gaul into France. Clovis and Merovingian kings struggled with balancing the claims of the "one" agains those of the "many". As kings worked to centralize governments, local magnates fought to preserve their regional autonomy. The result was a battle between the forces of societal unification and fragmentation. The Merovingian kings tried to pull the kingdom together by making pacts with nobility and utilizing the office of the count. Counts were assigned authority over districts in which they held no personal land. It made them easier to control than the aristocrats because they did not command the loyalty of the people in their estates. BY the seventh century the power did not lie in the king but in the chief minister. Where the Merovingians tried to weaken the aristocrats by raising landless men to power, the Carolingian dynasty forged and alliance with the landed aristocracy and staffed their government almost entirely from its ranks.
Breakup of the Carolingian Kingdom: As Charlemagne aged, his empire became progressively ungovernable. People obeyed local leaders more than distant kings. Due to poor communications Charlemagne had to grant a great deal of authority to the men who held the far regions of his empire, and their power diminished his.
Monastic culture: the early medieval church drew much of its strength from its monasteries. The first monks opted for harsh environments and ascetic disciplines that made their lives a kind of living martyrdom. The suffering they embraced as a witness to faith made them the church's new heroes. Medieval Christians viewed monastic life as as humanities highest calling. Monks were expected to meet higher spiritual standards than ordinary Christians. The monastic movement was inspired by the lives of hermits but soon monks abandoned solitude and formed communal institutions. They were focused less on personal ascetism and more on caring for the needy outside their communities. The monastic practices evolving in the East were introduced to the west and governed a monks every activity. Time was set aside for prayer, worship, study and manual labor that supported them. The objective was to create religious communities that were economically, spiritually and intellectually self-sufficient. The monks did not turn their back to the world but were responsible for the missionary work that converted England and Germany to Christianity and they kept civilization alive during the darkest of the Dark Ages.
Muhammad's Religion: Muhammad(570-632) was orphaned at a young age and raised by various relatives. He had no fortune and worked on caravans. He married a wealthy widow and with her support became a kind of social activist. When he was 40 he had a religious experience. He was inspired to recite what his followers believed were literally God's words. He revealed texts which were collected in a sacred book called Qur'an. The heart of his message was a call for all Arabs to submit to God's will as revealed through "the Prophet". His religion is known as Islam- which means submission
Islam: appeared Arabia in the sixth century in response to the work of the Prophet Muhammad. Islam was strictly monotheistic religion that rejected Christianity's trinitarian view. It had no priesthood and was led by a scholarly elite
The Frankish Church: the church played a major role in the Frankish government, its monasteries were the intellectual centers of Carolingian society. The Christian missionaries helped pacify barbarian elements in the new land and conversion to orthodox Christianity was essential for assimilation. If the pope shared sacred authority with the king, the king returned the favor by bolstering the secular authority of the pope.
The Carolingian Manor: Early medeieval Europs chief economic institution was a communal farm called manor. The manor provided security and the residents shared labor and the cost of expensive plows and oxen. Each family had a specific field assigned to them and lived from what grew on its land. The status was determined by the amount of land that was brought to the lord. Serfs were people who surrendered their land for protection, they received their land back but with a new set of rights and obligations. Peasants who brought little land were unfree serfs and peasants who had nothing to offer but labor had the lowest status and were the least protected from exploitation. The three-field system was developed along with a new plow that cut deeply and had a moldboard that turned the earth over and utilized more of its fertility.
The Western Debt to Islamic Culture: Even though Christian Europe was hostile to Islam it profited a great deal from with the Muslim world. The works of great scientist were reintroduced through Arabs. As late as he sixteenth century the study of medicine was dependent on ancient Arabic and Roman physicians. Multilingual Jewish scholars helped make the translations that bridged the gap between the Muslim and Christian worlds.
The Division of Christendom: Pope Gregory- the patriarch of Constantinople-called himself the "universal" partriach, implying supremacy over Rome, but because he had no power over the West anyway it amounted to declaration of the Eastern church separating from the Westers. By then the eastern and western Christians diverged in language, doctrine, disciplinary codes and worship. Byzantine faith tended to be more mystical while the Roman was practical. The western church imposed celibacy and used unleavened bread while the eastern allowed marriage and used leavened bread. By the ninth century the relations became so bad that the Roman Pope and the Byzantine Patriarch excommunicated each other. The west depended on the east for protection but because of religious disputes, the popes sought German allies.
Sunni: followers of sunna-"tradition"- have dominated Islam for most of its history. They emphasize loyalty to the fundamental principles of Islam and have spurned the exclusivity and purism that cause the Kharijites and the Shi'a to separate from the wider Muslim community
Holy Roman Empire: link between Germany and Italy
Germanic Migration: 376 German migration began to accelerate until it overwhelmed the western half of the empire. It began when the eastern emperor admitted the Visigoths into the empire because they were fleeing from the Huns of Mongolia. The Visigoths enlisted in the army but were exploited. They rebelled and destroyed the roman army. They were persuaded to invade Italy where they crossed the Rhine unopposed. Even though the German tribes were not very big Roman population offered little resistance due to overextention, internal struggles in the government, famine and overtaxation.
Fiefs: benefices ("lands") to men to fund their equipment and service
Fall of the Roman Empire: Attacks by the Visigoth, Attila and the Huns and vandals all weaked the empire and toward the mid fifth century barbarian chieftains replaced roman emperors. The west was overrun by the German tribes but they respected the Roman culture and learned from their roman sunjects. Roman governmental institutions survived and blended with German customs.
Monophysites: helped control a powerful popular movement. Believed Jesus had a single nature (a composite of the human and divine), whereas the orthodox church claimed he had two distinct natures-one fully human and the other fully divine- especially powerful in the eastern provinces of the empire
Qur'an: "reciting" came about between 650 and 651 and was the revealed texts that God had chosen Muhammed to convey, in this sacred book.
Caliphate: the office of the leader of the Muslim community
Fragmentation and Divided Loyalty: a vassal who had sufficient land could create vassals of his own and it was also possible for a vassal to accept fiefs from more than one lord. So a person could be a vassal and a lord. The kings were weakened by the fact that vassals tended to establish rights to the fiefs they were granted
Papal States: a region in Italy that confirmed the Pope as the secular ruler of the central Italy region
Louis the Pious: Louis the Pious the son of Charlemage, was unable to maintain the unity of the empire. Louis had three sons, and instead of splitting his estate equally, he recognized his eldest as the sole imperial heir. His wife bore him another son and encouraged the other two to rebel against their father. The pope backed them up and they defeated Louis in a battle near Colmar in 833.
The Treaty of Verdun and Its Aftermath: 843 the Treaty of Verdun divided Carolingian empire among three princes. Lothar got a region called Lotharingia, Charles the Bald got France and Louis the German got Germany. The Treaty of Verdun was only the start of the division of the Carolingian lands. Lothar died in 855 and his land was split between his 3 sons. Carolingian power in Italy evaporated. The last quarter of the 9th and the first half of the 10th centuries are characterized as Europe's Dark Ages. The gains that had been made were lost as Europe confronted a second wave of invasions. Vikings descended from Scandinavia and raided deep into Europe due to their shallow-draft ships, they moved quickly and struck randomly. Mayagars charged up the Danube Valley and Muslims that were based in Sicily raided Italy and southern France.
Manor: arly Medievil Europe's chief economic institution and was a communal farm
Shi'a: the "party" of Ali, believed Ali and his descendants (by virtue of their kinship with the Prophet and the Prophet's own will) were Muhammad's only rightful successors. Ali's assassination represented a basic truth of devout Muslim life: a true imam (ruler) and his followers must expect persecution
Hegira: provides the pivotal date for the Islamic calendar; it marks the founding of the first Muslim community
The Reign of Charlemagne: 768-814 Charlemagne was tall. Vigorous, restell and gregarious. He was known for his practical jokes, lusty humor and hostpitality. He has five wives, many mistresses and concubines and many children. He completed his fathers work by conquering Italy's Lombards and assuming their crown. He devoted much of his reign to wars of conquest. Under his reign the Saxons were subdued, the Muslims were pushed south, Avars were practically aniihilated. By the time of his death he ruled modern France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland almost the whole of western Germany, much of Italy, a portion of Spain and the island of Corsia.
Islamic Diversity: Islam succeeded in unifying Arab tribes and various pagan people by appealing to pride of groups that were marginalized in a world dominated by Judaism and Christianity. Muhammad was believed to be history's most important figure and his followers were believed to e the people whom God had chosen to receive his definite revelation. Doctorinal differences spawned controversies just as they did among Christians. Kharijites accused Ali of sacrificing important principles for political advantage and assassinated him. They were known as puritans who wanted to purge Islam of Persons who did not meet their rigorous moral standards. Shi'a believed Ali and his descendants were Muhammad's only rightful successors, to this day Shi'a is an embattled minority within Islam. Sunnis dominate Islam and emphasize loyalty to the fundamental principles of Islam.
Ulema: ed Islam- "persons with correct knowledge", a scholarly elite. Authority derived from the reputations of its members for piety and learning. Their opinions had the force of legislation in Muslim society, and they ensured that Muslim governments adhered to the law of the Qur'an
Three-field System: productive farming system. In fall, one field was planted with winter crops (wheat or rye) and harvested in early summer. In late spring, a second field was planted with summer crops (oats, barley, lentils and legumes) and was harvested in August or September. Third field left fallow. Limited the amount of nonproductive plowing, used crop rotation to restore soil fertility, and provided backup crops should one harvest fail
Reign of Justinian: Justinian(527-565) ruled the Byzantine empire during its territorial and cultural peak. While the urban life in the west was disappearing the east was the center of economic and intellectual activity. Theodora, his wife, was his chief counselor, and was helpful in dealing with religious quarrels that threatened the unity of the empire. Justinian codified Roman law and his policy emphasizen central governmental control and social conformity. Religon also provided conformity throughout the Byzantine empire. The church functioned as a department of state and religious institutions used some of their wealth to provide welfare services. Justinian pressures Jews to convert but it didn't not succeed, they were protected under roman law as long as they didn't build synagogues, enter certain professions and attempt to convert Christians.
Serfs: bound to the land they worked. They were not free, but they were also not slaves. They could not be separated from the land and sold like pieces of private property. Allegiance and service for amenities
Alcuin and the Carolingian Renaissance: Charlemagne tried to improve the government of his empire by educating aristocratic boys. Alcuin of York (735-804) supervised the development of a curriculum that gave the tools for a bureaucratic career. These aspirations are considered a true renaissance. Alcuin and his colleagues halted the deterioration of Latin, improved communication by standardizing a new style of handwriting. Collected restored and copied ancient manuscript and reformed the church's liturgy and elevated standards for the clergy.
Iconoclasm: slam and Judaism regarded to the veneration of images as idolatry, and their point of view may have influenced Leo and led him and some of his successors to embrace this heresy
Ka'ba: located in Mecca, one of Arabia's holiest shrines built to contain a sacred black stone and numerous holy images
Vassalage and the Fief: A vassal promised to serve his lord and to refrain from action contrary to his lord's interests. Louis the Pious extended vassalage to the higher clergy. He required bishops and abbots to swear fealty and to accept their appointments on the same terms as the fiefs given knights. This was offensive to the church because it implied the subservience of the church to the state. A lord was obligated to protect his vassal from physical harm, to stand as his advocate in court, and to provide for his maintenance by giving his a fief. A fief varied in size from a small villa to several mansi. In the short run, oaths of vassalage marshaled the nobility behind the king but in the long run, grants of fiefs undercut royal power. King found it difficult or impossible to reclaim land once it was granted to a vassal.
Islamic Empires: in the fifth century Muslim armies swept throughout the southern and eastern Mediterranean. Islams capital moved from Mecca to the more centrally located Damascus and by the eighth century the caliphs ruled an empire that stretched from Spain to India. IN 750 the seat of caliphate moved to Baghdad. Shortly thereafter, the huge empire began to breakup. The muslim conquerors profited from the fact that their Byzantime and Persian opponents has exhausted themselves in a long war. The Arabs had taken all what remained of the Persian Empire and the last Byzantine outpost fell at the end of 600. Islam swept across North Africa and Spain but its thrust into the European heart of Christendom was rebuffed.
Vassal: hose who swear an allegiance to a Lord in return for a fief- contractual relations that made them dependent on others "those who serve"

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