Medieval Period “ The dark period ”
Objec&ves: a • During this presenta&on, the student will: – Understand the meaning of the Medieval Period. – Explore about the lifestyle of the Middle Ages – Men&on its characteris&cs – Explain the consequences that helped emerge this period – Comprehend the social, economic and cultural development of the Middle Ages.
Let see what did you guys found on Internet: What were the consequences that • provoked the fall of the Roman Empire?
According to Donnald Wasson Ancient History Encyclopedia: To many historians, the fall of the Roman Empire has always been viewed as the end of the ancient world and the onset of the Middle Ages, often improperly called the Dark Ages. CITY OF ROME English historian Edward Gibbon, who wrote in the late 18th century CE, points to the rise of Christianity and its effect on the Roman psyche while others believe the decline and fall was due, in part, to the influx of 'barbarians' from the north and west.
Fall of the Roman Empire Whatever the cause: • Religion • external attack • the internal decay of the city itself The debate continues to the present day. However, one significant point must be established before a discussion of the roots of the fall can continue: 1. The decline and fall was only in the west. 2. The eastern half - that which would eventually be called the Byzantine Empire - would continue for several centuries, and, in many ways, it retained a unique Roman identity. One of most widely accepted causes - the influx of a barbaric horde - is discounted by some who feel that the mighty Rome, the eternal city, could not have so easily fallen victim to a culture that possessed little or nothing in the way of a political, social or economic foundation. They believe the fall of Rome simply came because the barbarians took advantage of difficulties already existing in Rome - problems that included a decaying city (both physically and morally), little to no tax revenue, overpopulation, poor leadership, and, most importantly, inadequate defense. To some the fall was inevitable.
Why was the Medieval Age called the Middle Ages? Many think that the Middle Ages were a dark period where not much happened and is called like that because it was hanging between the splendor of Ancient Rome and the Modern World. For many, the Middle Ages were a bump in history, a period of transition; like a dark basement in which the man remained hidden and then came out again to the light by the year 1500 when the ideas of ancient times were reborn and had made bright the times of Greece and Rome. But in this period many things really happened, because it was in fact during these years that the Europe that we know today began to take shape. Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, all Scandinavia, Austria and Hungary are descendants of those barbarian people who occupied these territories after the fall of the Roman Empire. During the ten centuries of the Middle Ages, these peoples became kingdoms, giving shape to Europe’s Continent, bring this a fundamental reference of the western culture.
Middle Ages/ Medieval Period/ Dark Ages Miss Franco: Why the Middle Ages are called the Dark Ages? 11 B:
Why the Middle Ages are called the Dark Ages? “History is full of people talking about how they are living in a ‘dark time’ or in ‘age of light’ – it is an easy metaphor to explain that you are living in good or bad times.” (Medievalist.net) Class work: Direction: The student will access to the following link: http://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/why-the-middle- ages-are-called-the-dark-ages/ Once the student finish reading the article, he or she will answer the following question in the notebook: 1. In your own words, why do you understand that the Middle Ages are called the Dark Ages? 2. According to the reading, why was Petrarch dissatisfied with the times in which he lived? What other cultures inspired him? 3. How was develop the name of “Middle Ages”? 4. How did the Italian writers of the Renaissance (14th century) saw the period of the Middle Ages? 5. How does the term of the dark era arise? 6. According to some historians, in what part of the Middle Ages period can be considered the term of “dark period”?
The barbarians Back in the 5th century AD, barbarian peoples from the European center harassed the stability of the Roman Empire. The Germanic barbarians were the ones who finally, in 476, entered and destroyed Rome completely. These Germans were not a single people, but were subdivided into countless fractions that always fought each other. The Lombards, the Vandals , the Goths , the Visigoths , the Ostrogoths , the Burgundians , the Saxons and especially a group of people who managed to stand out among all these: the Franks.
The Franks These rustic characters, strong and very warriors came from very close lands of the river Rhine in present Germany. From the 5th century CE onwards, as Roman power declined in northern Gaul, the Franks expanded into Belgium and northern France. Later on, the Franks resumed their expansion process and, by the first half of the 6th century CE, they gained control over part of central and southern France and a small portion of northern Spain.
The Franks had a great advantage. From the Franco’s linage, a man was born who was a leader by nature and who never let himself be defeated. That leader was called Clovis (Clodoveo) and he began to lead his town with only 16 years. In the year 481 AC, he became the first king of all the Franks and under his command, the Franks expanded from their homeland, fighting against all their neighbors and conquering most of the ancient Roman province of Gaul, present-day France, which took its name from these strong warriors.
Clovis ruled from the city of Paris. He then married a beautiful princess from the village of the Gorgonians called Clotilde. (Died June 3, 548, Tours, France; feast day June 3) Queen consort of Clovis I.
But it turns out that Clotilde had embraced the Christian religion, which did not please the rustic Franks. Apparently, Clotilde spoke to him and spoke so much of the religion to Clovis that she succeeded in convincing him to become Christian.
The baptism of Clovis was a fundamental fact. From Clovis, all the franks were converted to Christianity. Thus was forging a very important relationship between the kings and the church that would last for centuries.
THE NOBLES OF THE SWORDS The Franks had a particular custom that, over time, became very common throughout Europe. When a king died, all his kingdoms were divided among his sons or princes. Their children would then own lands and could build their own castles to guard them. Kings had to protect themselves a lot from their opponents because ruling at that time was nothing more than defending property on one side and attacking new territories on the other.
To do this, each king needed many knights to lend for military service. In exchange for this service, the king granted them some of the lands they conquered. Thus, these gentlemen could construct their own castles, becoming a duke, which means conductors or counts, which means, in turn, owners of a county. It was thus that the bravest warriors were acquiring properties that had to protect in honor to their king to whom they owed absolute loyalty to death. They were the Nobles of Sword.
Fief/ Feudal System Thanks to the ancient custom of the Franks, the sons of the nobles inherited those same rights and, like their parents, tended a piece of land to protect. Those lands that seconded the castle were called fiefs. The fiefs were not composed only of lands and castles. Around the walls of a castle were extended the villages of the peasants. These villages were also part of the fief. The peasants worked from day to day in the fields, but this does not mean that they were slaves, nor were they free men too, because they were obliged to carry out the designs of the lord who protected them from the castle. This gentleman (feudal lord) decided on all matters of life in his fief. So, if you had the bad fortune of having a feudal lord cruel or unjust, there was no remedy; misfortune was your only destiny. Fiefs= archaic (land granted by feudal lord)
Even so, almost no one dared to leave the village where they were born because beyond, the forests and swamps, there were only abandoned roads, hunger and fear of being intercepted by evil spirits or demons. No peasant knew how to read or write, and rarely did they know what was going on beyond the hills that bordered the horizon. This lack of knowledge about the world around them gave rise to many fears and these fears were reflected in fabulous superstitions of wizards, witches and dragons.
Reference: http://www.ancient.eu/article/835/ http://www.ancient.eu/Byzantine_Empire/ http://www.ancient.eu/Franks/ http://www.ancient.eu/Clovis_I/
SECOND PART CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE
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