After the fall of the Roman Empire, the majority of Europe lost its major governmental system, leaving the continent without a unified structure. Many nations and cultures vied for power and respect and were left on their own to attain it. It was an era when there was no set way for a country to evolve, and many countries took many paths. Welcome to Medieval Europe!
Medieval Europe: Timeline
The Medieval Period began in the fifth century and ended in the fifteenth. A lot happened during that period, and it might get a little confusing! To make things simpler, let's look at the below chart. These are not all the important events of Medieval Europe, but highlight a few of them. We might not cover each event, but they're all significant nonetheless!
| Date | Event |
| 476 | The Fall of Rome and the start of the Medieval Period |
| 481 | Clovis united Germanic tribes to form the Franks |
| 732 | Islam crept into Christian territory |
| 800 | Charlemagne became the first Holy Roman Emperor |
| 871 | Alfred the Great became the King of England |
| 1095 | The Catholic Church began the crusades against Muslims and other non-Catholics |
| 1215 | The Magna Carta was signed in England |
| 1377 | The Black Death began in England |
| 1453 | The Fall of Constantinople |
Medieval Europe: Time Period
Traditionally, historians set the start of the Medieval Period with the fall of Rome in 476. To understand the Medieval Period, we need to know a few facts about the Roman Empire. Toward the end of Rome, the empire had expanded far past the means that it had to support expansion. There were not enough Roman citizens to recruit to the armed forces to protect the empire. This was exacerbated by a plague in the third century that resulted in a devastating population loss.
The empire became politically unstable, partially because there was no formal way of choosing an emperor. If the Senate and military agreed that someone was emperor, then he was. The political insatiability paired with the understaffed military allowed Germanic and Gaulish tribes to rise against the Romans and effectively destroy them through invasion.
With the fall of Rome, so can the fall of the system that protected Europeans. People had to look for new governing bodies or govern themselves. Small-scale self-government wasn't a permit system because armed warriors could easily overthrow and raid them. Without Roman protection, invaders had little competition when they attacked.
Fig. 1: Romulus Augustus was the last emperor of Rome
Norsemen
In Northern Europe, Scandinavians sailed further throughout Europe. Occasionally, they wanted to settle down and farm. These Norsemen would assimilate with the cultures where they settle down. Other Norsemen raided coastal Europe. They targeted Christian monasteries. These monasteries had little to no defenses and vast amounts of gold, which made them easy targets.
Conflicts with non-Christians were often the real problem during this time because the southern areas of the Mediterranean saw the rise of the Maghrebine Berbers. In mainland Europe, groups like the Saxons, the Francs, and the Visigoths plagued the lives of many people attempting to make a life for themselves. And in the East of the Mediterranean, the Byzantine Empire, the last relic territory of the once great Roman Empire, still reigned from Constantinople and declared itself the legitimate heir of European power.
Maghrebine Berbers:
A loose collection of people from Northwest Africa who also expanded their holdings into Arab regions in the Middle East, and even across the Mediterranean Sea into Spain.
Feudalism In Medieval Europe
In the feudal system, there was a power exchange between the king, nobility, vassals, and peasants. All the land in the kingdom belonged to the king. He allowed the nobility to use it, and in exchange, they pledged their loyalty to him. The nobility was required to provide military service to the king should he need it.
The nobles gave land to vassals, and the vassals provided the military that the nobles required for the king. The peasants provided labor and resources for the vassals in exchange for their protection and the right to live on the vassal's land. A person inherited their status from their parents. Please reference the below image for a simple breakdown of this system!
Fig. 2: Visual breakdown of the feudal system
There are three shared hallmarks in this system, the king had to lose power, the social system is one where everyone is forced to rely on one another, or it disintegrated, and the economic system was based on agriculture. This complicated system prevented the king from creating a centralized power, instead, each lord ran his territory in whatever manner he deemed appropriate.
Centralized Power:
A system of government where one entity provides the executive and legislative powers.
Charlemagne and the Origin of Feudalism
Charlemagne is sometimes called the "Founder of Modern Europe." He was a Frankish ruler and a military strategist who invaded Saxon's land. He was the first Holy Roman Emperor and was able to keep his empire through effective administrative policies. To encourage loyalty, Charlemagne advocated for an education for his people. This ensured that even the further parts of his kingdom understood his policies.
When Charlemagne died, his son Louis the Pious became the Holy Roman Emperor, but Louis died without choosing an heir from his three sons. Charlemagne's empire was divided into three, and each of his grandchildren received a portion. This division was decided in the Treaty of Verdun.
Fig. 3: Division decided by the Treaty of Verdun. Charles the Bald, Lothair I, and Ludwig the German were Louis the Pious' sons.
When the new kings couldn't defend their kingdoms from Norse, Muslim, and Magyar invaders, they went to the nobles for assistance. In exchange for their military aid, the kings granted the nobles land. The lords protected the peasants, but the peasants had to provide labor and resources for the nobles.
Christianity And Medieval Europe
When Rome fell Christianity, began to splinter into two different groups: Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
- The Eastern Orthodox Church was powerful and based in Constantinople in the Byzantine Empire. The Emperor was the head of the church, but he appointed a patriarch to run it.
- The Roman Catholic Church was headed by the Pope and descended from the Roman Empire. The Pope was a symbolic role that had no real political power. The Pope rose in power along with Catholicism.
In 863, the differences between the churches became more evident after the Great Schism. The Pope claimed that he was the supreme head of the church and that the Byzantine Emperor had to ask him for permission to choose a patriarch. Of course, the Byzantines disagreed.
Fig 4: Pope Nicholas I was the Pope during the Great Schism
The breaking point was during the Great Schism when the two completely separated. The Eastern Orthodox had slightly fewer followers and held domain in Eastern Europe, while Catholicism was stronger in Western Europe. The Pope ordered the knights of the fourth crusade to target the Eastern Orthodox Church and in 1241, they sacked Constantinople.
Crusades:
Holy Wars commanded by the Pope against non-Christians.
Role Of The Catholic Church In Medieval Europe
Catholicism directly influenced the lives of Medieval Europeans, from the average commoner all the way to the very king! The Catholic Church existed within its own niche spot in the feudal system. The Church didn't pay taxes and was momentarily supported by the town or city.
Fig 5: Medieval Catholic Hierarchy Chart
While nobles donated large sums to it, commoners carried the heavy burden of financial support. They had to pay ten percent of their income to the Church. Churches also charged fees for baptisms, funerals, and other services. Commoners paid the Church for festivals held on Holy Days, i.e., Christmas, Easter, etc.
The Pope was believed to be a direct link to God. Kings ruled by divine right, which meant that God gave them the right to rule. If the Pope was God's voice on Earth, then he could revoke that right through ex-communication. Kings and nobles couldn't go against Pope, Cardinals, or Bishops,
An ex-communication was when someone was removed from the Catholic Church. They were unable to participate in Catholic sacraments or enter Heaven. If a king were excommunicated, then his entire kingdom were unable to participate in holy sacraments! There were no weddings, funerals, or communions. This was a powerful tool used by Popes to control Kings, nobles, and kingdoms.
The Church also judged some crimes through a process called ordeals. These judgments were almost impossible to survive. A person who survived an ordeal might be guilty because the devil assisted them. If someone failed to complete an impossible task, it was because God refused to help them, since they were guilty.
The Ordeal of Water, which was often performed on women, involved tying someone into a sack and tossing them into a body of water. If they escaped and swam to the top, it was with the assistance of the Devil. The person was burned because they were a witch. If they drowned, well, they were innocent, but also dead.
Medieval Europe
The Medieval period began with the fall of Rome and ended in the fifteenth century. When Rome fell, Europeans were forced to find a new source of government. Kingdoms rose and fell while power shifted from one person to another. The Byzantine Empire was the source of religious power until it was taken by the Roman Catholic Church. This period ended with the start of the Renaissance.
Medieval Europe - Key takeaways
- The Medieval period began with the fall of the Roman Empire. When the empire fell, it left the perfect conditions for power dynamics to change.
- The feudal system dominated Medieval Europe. The nobility were the most powerful people because the king needed them to provide him with a military.
- The Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Church split during the Great Schism. While the Eastern Orthodox originally had more power, the Catholic Church slowly gained more religious power than them.
- The Catholic Church influenced the lives of everyone, from the king to the commoner!
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