Notes

Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne

• Many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne's empire
• Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout Europe, which is where many of us came from
• Middle ages= medieval period
• 500=1500 AD
• Medieval Europe is fragmented
• Invasions trigger changes in western Europe
• Invasions and constant warfare spark new trends
• Disruption of trade:

• Europe's cities are no longer economic centers
• Money is scarce

• Downfall in cities:

• Cities are no longer centers of administration

• Populations shifts:

• Nobles retreat to the rural areas
• Cities don’t have strong leadership

• Decline of learning:

• Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition
• Only priests and church officials could read and write
• Knowledge of Greek (and literature, science, philosophy) is almost lost

• Loss of common language:

• Dialects develop in different regions
• By the 600s, French, Spanish, other Roman-based languages are evolving from Latin

• Germanic Kingdoms emerge
• The concept of government changes
• Roman society: loyal to family

• Germanic chief led warriors
• During peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to love (the lord's hall)
• During wartime, warriors fought for the lord

• "The king? Who's that? You want to collect taxes from me? Who the heck are you?"
• Franks live in the Roman province of Gaul- their leader is Clovis
• Franks under Clovis:

• Another battlefield conversion (Just like Constantine)
• Clovis and 300 of his warriors are baptized by the bishop
• The church in Rome approves of this "alliance"
• Clovis and the church begin to work together

A simple math equation:

Clovis' military expertise+ the church's support and money= a strategic alliance between two powerful forces

• Germanic peoples adopt Christianity
• Pope Gregory I expands papal power

• Papacy- pope's office
• Secular power- world power
• Papal power (power of the pope) is political power, presented for the pope's palace
• The church can use church money to: raise armies, repair roads, and help the poor
• Ran like a government
• Gregory the Great began to act as mayor of Rome, and as head of an earthly kingdom (Christendom)