Study Guide For THE PENGUIN HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE

CHAPTER 1: Louise Mengelkoch

The Middle Ages and their heritage: The idea of the unity of Christendom
Middle Ages: 800-1440 AD
Middle Ages named by later historians of the Renaissance as a pejorative term
800: Charlemagne takes throne as Holy Roman Emperor
1449: Council of Basle dissolved
These dates mark the beginning and end of Church authority for a united western Europe
Common history and common objectives
British Isles alone resisted rule
Kingdom included what is now Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Germany, France, Bohemia, Poland, into Russia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Sicily, most of Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, etc.
Peak: 13th century
That’s when the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire most closely matched those of Latin Christendom
Dream of popes, emperors, subjects and servants: The restoration of the world-wide domination of Rome
Which actually ended in 476
Roman Empire got so extended that they depended more and more on barbaric tribes to defend borders (became “federate” tribes)
Their numbers increased because they were driven into the empire by the Huns from steppes of Asia
The barbarians penetrated everywhere
Lombards: Italy
Visigoths: Spain
Franks: Gaul (which became France) and parts of Germany
Marked the decline of urban prosperity, reduction of commerce, retreat of wealthy to estates, breakdown in communications
Deepened the gulf that already existed between eastern and western provinces
However, barbaric kings still respected emperor in Constantinople; just remote

Significance of Charlemagne’s coronation in 800 A.D.
The empire’s center moved from Constantinople to Franks
east to west; Greek to barbarians
They wanted the peace and unity of the Roman Empire, but had little understanding of the things on which it was based
Signified unity of Christians in the west
Unity went beyond religion. . .However,
Their religious and political aspirations owed much to the Roman past
Social attitudes and organization owed much to ancient Germany (did not think abstractly)

Ideas which colored the historical outlook of Middle Ages
Saw the classical achievements and biblical history as one: continuous
In other words, Greek and Roman culture and the story of the Jewish nation was all part of the great Christian scheme -- God’s plan
People thought the world was “growing old” and the end would come soon
The reality: tribalism
Vendettas
Importance of blood relations
But you could leave your kin for others
Threat of force always in background
Germanic idea of lordship: noble birth
Protection and generosity, not efficient administration expected
courage and loyalty important
Magnificence of strength and riches displayed
Militaristic and aristocratic

Peace was not the natural condition in the Middle Ages
“A society in which martial prowess is held in such high social esteem is not likely to remain long at peace.”
Problems caused: hard to preserve a sense of unity
Common Latin culture and religious beliefs brought people together, but martial instinct and loyalties divided them still more deeply


Chapter 3
Feudalism and Serfdom

Feudalism began after the break up of the Carolingian Empire. Trade decline and the downfall of town life were key factors. None of the main Carolingian government hubs were prominent trade centers. Lack of communication among regions resulted in a weak central government. This caused regions to split into their own self-sufficient domains versus the ‘great domain’ of the Carolingian Empire.

A domain was an estate in, or a series of estates. A landlord controlled the domain. Landlords were kings, monasteries, powerful noblemen ect. The estate was divided into two sections, a smaller one for the needs of the lord and the rest divided up into holding among his tenants. The tenants worked the land for the lord as well as themselves. This system had evolved naturally. The tenants’ sought protection granted by the lords in exchange for self-sufficiency given by the tenants who worked the land on agreement never to leave or be kicked out by the lord. The need for protection is how many became serfs. Serfs not only gave up their freedom but the freedom of their descendants as well (although not the same as a slave).

A vassal gave his verbal homage to the lord. Unlike the vassal from the Carolingian Empire they passed their status on through kin. Vassals were granted control of their own “smaller domain” it was not uncommon for vassals to appoint their own vassals and so forth. The concept of lords, vassals and serfs is what makes up the feudal system. Decision-making was left to the aristocracy of the top. The force of heredity perpetuated their authority and privileged position and what they did with these advantages depended very much on individual character.

Chapter 4
Religious and Political Ideals

Common religious belief and outlook were drawing men together almost as strongly as social pressures and the shocks of invasions were forcing men apart. The monasteries recorded a man entering into serfdom; which spoke of them giving themselves and their labor to god and the church. The exchange of ideas was traveling faster than trade. Children were introduced into the life of prayer well before they reached the years of discretion. During these times this was the only way ensuring the child would lead a useful life. The serfs also gave themselves to god and the church in hopes to be looked favorably upon.

The monasteries were directly associated with the religious beliefs of the lord who founded it. Gift giving in the monastery was used to elevate status of families. Monastery influence was moral not political however, this changed when a group of scholars interpreted the old testament as saying the king is the head of the church and chosen by god to rule his people. The king was able to appoint men to authority within the church. As a result the church had become intertwined with politics unlike it when it began as separate entities.


Chapter 5: Empire and Papacy-the Beginning of the Struggle

• Henry III had power in Europe; he was “head of the church in Europe.”
• The church was publicly deflowered and polluted
o Before 1046 the Roman aristocracy had used control of the bishopric of Rome as a pawn in their family feuds.
o 1046 Henry III went into Italy and freed the church of corruption.
o New religious popes under Henry III’s rule used contemporary instincts in coming up with Canon Law: the antique rules governing the lives of clerks and their relations with the laity.
• Dedication to the church
Canon Law
• Bishops and the church turned to the emperor for assistance to impose higher standards on their clergy and to protect independence from aristocrats.
• Objective of Leo IX and his associates establishing this idea was to use this primacy to establish throughout the Western Church the standards of clerical life and independence to which they themselves had been trained.
• By the time (1054) Leo died the Christians in the east acknowledged his primacy equal with those of the west.
• When Henry III died in 1056, the pope and his advisors were left to defend their new system and claims alone.

Henry IV took rule as a 6 year old boy.
• 1059 members of the clergy, during crisis concerning the political confusion of a minority, took two great steps in order to protect themselves:
o Alliance with the leaders of the Norman adventurers
• To turn to the Normans was an evolutionary step
o New rules for the election of a pope which gave decisive voice to the cardinals.
• Decree concerning election was more important still, constituting for the papacy a kind of declaration of independence.
• Emperor was a layman: in principle the same objections could be raised against his choosing a pope, as to the choice of some local family.

Simony: the sin by which ecclesiastical office is obtained for money
• Cardinal Humbert of Moyenmoutier wrote “three books against simonials”
• Essence of Simony-“lay not in the fact that money had changed hands, but in that spiritual office was conferred as a result of wholly material considerations”
• Whenever lay influence dictated preferment, there was a suspicion of simony

Casus Belli: the proud and ancient archbishopric of Milan; key archbishopric in political terms, controlling the passes which connected imperial Germany and Lombardy

Gregory VII became Pope
• Henry in weakness submitted matter to the “apostolic judgment” of the pope
• One year later went back on his submission
• Gregory must either give way to the emperor or uphold principles of freedom in the church
o If he gave way:
• Papacy’s dependence on the empire would be made known
• Whole endeavor of last 20 years would be endangered
o If stood ground:
• Alliance with the empire, the traditional ally would be broken
• Claims of revolutionary tenor
o Meant decisions of the Bishop of Rome would override any secular authority
o Gregory drawn between spiritual and secular matters
• Would have to claim that ultimate decisions lay with himself as Peter’s vicar and not the emperor
• Went with the spiritual office by laymen
o Henry replied by charging him with usurpation of the papacy
o Gregory in return excommunicated Henry
• Put Henry outside of the church which had made him king
• Could no longer claim any right “by the Grace of God”
• Both reconciled eventually and three years later Gregory excommunicated Henry again
o Gregory asserted superiority of the monarchy of the papacy over the monarchy of the empire
o The pope’s position was well founded in Canon Law
• Dictatus Papae: a kind of aide-memoir on the canonical authority of the papacy
o “no council (or decree) is to be held general without the pope’s approval”
o came up with articles from documents that were forged
o Gregory was weak in law
• Henry insisted on ruling as his ancestors did
o After second excommunication Gregory deposed Henry formally and recognized Rudolph as King and emperor
o 1084 Henry and his soldiers stormed into Rome and at his orders Guibert of Ravenna was set up as Pope Clement III
• Gregory was declared deposed
• Gregory’s successors
o Whole empire in civil war
• Henry’s son decided to break from his father and find agreement with Roman pope
• But estates of the church were scattered too widely and closely tied with the lay mobility for any kingdom to survive settlement.
• 1122 compromise was extended to the empire
• end of the civil war
• established principle of fundamental importance:
o there was a difference between the allegiance men owed to spiritual and to secular authorities
• Henry gained rule but only because pope approved of it
• Church gained most by struggle and settlement
• Henry died with no blood related successor
• Popes capitalized on the same universal ideals
o Had not gained complete freedom of the church under the monarchy of the Romans



Chapter 6: The Expansion of Europe

Towns and trade had begun to revive, new lands were being brought under cultivation, and the frontiers of Europe were expanding
• Inhabitants increasing
o Between 1000 and 1300 population increased at least two folds
o Population increase maybe due to:
• Improvements in agricultural techniques
• Development of harness for horse plowing
• Adoption of three field rotation of crops (more land more productively)
o Impossible to offer any factual explanation
• The land is having to support more people
o Canals and dykes cut to drained swamps being built, clearing of land and trees began
o Not only more labor induced but the need for more laborers (much work of reclamation was evidently due to the undirected initiative of peasants)
• Lords (William I of England) imposing “forest laws” to prevent agricultural uprising
o Count of Vedosome burned houses of those who participated in agricultural expansion
• Lords created strict rules:
o Cistercian houses were to be built in waste places; monks were to accept no settled land, but to labor for their upkeep with their own hands
• Cistercian lay brothers, sworn to poverty and chastity did not found homesteads or raise families
• France
o Count of Maine gave to Church of St. Vincent of Le Mans
• “Leave to build a Bourg:” to build about the new church a little town and rent the houses to countrymen who would agree to cultivate the land around it
o others imitated the churches
• Lords had land to offer; they learned to encourage colonization because they found it made them richer
• Offered greater freedom
• Was protected and privileged by charter of its founder
• Paid rent of some kind
• Were not bound to soil
• The larger the city the better the defense system
o The manorial system of the previous age began to decay but at the same time the gap between those who owned land and those who tilled it grew wider
• Crusade to the Holy Land
o Spain had fueros-like French bourgs
• Settlers from far afield
o Christian expansion to the South continued steadily
• Germany
o Over lordship and tribute had been the prime German objective, the settlement of conquered land began to take pride of place
o 1147 campaign during second crusade to Palestine:
• “Let the God who is in Heaven be our God and it will suffice”
o German settlement was being pushed further east and south
• Expansion of Normandy
o Not peasants who responded to increased population
o Fortunes were Hautevilles to be won in the service of Greeks and Lombards
• Hautevilles taught the Normans they could win these lands for themselves
o Conquests of the Normans
• Lead by Roger and Roger II, gained land in Italy and Sicily, Roger II became king of Sicily
• Conquest of England in 1066
• Restless aristocracy made their influence not with peasants
• Norman conquests and German colonization reflect at different social levels, responses to identical pressures
o Externally and internally, Christian Europe was expanding

Discovery of Commerce and Revival of City Life
• Cities grew more than countryside
• New influences in the way of life of medieval Christendom
• Merchant’s success was by knowing where to find goods and production
o Associations, native home and travels to where he could buy and sell
o Goods came from outside
• (orient) silks, spices
• Italian merchants carried most of these goods
• Goods produced in Europe were clothes
• Flanders, north Italy and Champagne:
o These were the nodal points of commerce
o Italy excelled all others in wealth and enterprise
o Most goods coming into Europe came through Constantinople; on this trade merchants of Venice were growing rich
o Earliest achievements were due to individual enterprise
• Pisa, Genoa, and Venice built up wide commercial empires
o Merchants raised money on the security of his own land and a partner to load cargo
• They shared risk and profit
• Success increased demands for goods to be exported and stimulated a circulation of means of exchange, currency
• Nobles began to leave their homes to pursue the money in trading, buying and selling
o Men drawn in from the countryside by the lure of opportunity
• Flemish cities never achieved the same independence as the Italians
o In the long run their culture was less rich and individual and depended more on the protection of noble rulers
o Class of citizens in commerce had no place in the social framework
o No understanding of problems for commercial men
• Questions of contract and debt
• Regulation of wages and prices
• Conditions of labor and sale
o Only dealt with by the citizens themselves
o Right to self-government was vital
o Gained right “to chose their own laws”
o Gained independence (new force of the life of Christian society, the bourgeoisie)
• Cities became bastions of liberty
o Buildings, churches, cathedrals and guildhalls testify to public spirit born of pride of achievement
o They did not think of other cities as allies but as rivals
o The natural tendency of city government was towards quarrelsome oligarchy
• Independence had its downfalls
• Effects of civil and commercial revival
o Increased commercial exchange stimulated a great revival in currency circulation
o Long-term – steady depreciation of money
• government became more businesslike as money came to count more than land
• Christendom-internal change brought the spread of new ideas
• Capital cities in certain countries developed
• Christian society
o Promoted a more common level of culture


Chapter 5: Empire and Papacy-the Beginning of the Struggle

• Henry III had power in Europe; he was “head of the church in Europe.”
• The church was publicly deflowered and polluted
o Before 1046 the Roman aristocracy had used control of the bishopric of Rome as a pawn in their family feuds.
o 1046 Henry III went into Italy and freed the church of corruption.
o New religious popes under Henry III’s rule used contemporary instincts in coming up with Canon Law: the antique rules governing the lives of clerks and their relations with the laity.
• Dedication to the church
Canon Law
• Bishops and the church turned to the emperor for assistance to impose higher standards on their clergy and to protect independence from aristocrats.
• Objective of Leo IX and his associates establishing this idea was to use this primacy to establish throughout the Western Church the standards of clerical life and independence to which they themselves had been trained.
• By the time (1054) Leo died the Christians in the east acknowledged his primacy equal with those of the west.
• When Henry III died in 1056, the pope and his advisors were left to defend their new system and claims alone.

Henry IV took rule as a 6 year old boy.
• 1059 members of the clergy, during crisis concerning the political confusion of a minority, took two great steps in order to protect themselves:
o Alliance with the leaders of the Norman adventurers
• To turn to the Normans was an evolutionary step
o New rules for the election of a pope which gave decisive voice to the cardinals.
• Decree concerning election was more important still, constituting for the papacy a kind of declaration of independence.
• Emperor was a layman: in principle the same objections could be raised against his choosing a pope, as to the choice of some local family.

Simony: the sin by which ecclesiastical office is obtained for money
• Cardinal Humbert of Moyenmoutier wrote “three books against simonials”
• Essence of Simony-“lay not in the fact that money had changed hands, but in that spiritual office was conferred as a result of wholly material considerations”
• Whenever lay influence dictated preferment, there was a suspicion of simony

Casus Belli: the proud and ancient archbishopric of Milan; key archbishopric in political terms, controlling the passes which connected imperial Germany and Lombardy

Gregory VII became Pope
• Henry in weakness submitted matter to the “apostolic judgment” of the pope
• One year later went back on his submission
• Gregory must either give way to the emperor or uphold principles of freedom in the church
o If he gave way:
• Papacy’s dependence on the empire would be made known
• Whole endeavor of last 20 years would be endangered
o If stood ground:
• Alliance with the empire, the traditional ally would be broken
• Claims of revolutionary tenor
o Meant decisions of the Bishop of Rome would override any secular authority
o Gregory drawn between spiritual and secular matters
• Would have to claim that ultimate decisions lay with himself as Peter’s vicar and not the emperor
• Went with the spiritual office by laymen
o Henry replied by charging him with usurpation of the papacy
o Gregory in return excommunicated Henry
• Put Henry outside of the church which had made him king
• Could no longer claim any right “by the Grace of God”
• Both reconciled eventually and three years later Gregory excommunicated Henry again
o Gregory asserted superiority of the monarchy of the papacy over the monarchy of the empire
o The pope’s position was well founded in Canon Law
• Dictatus Papae: a kind of aide-memoir on the canonical authority of the papacy
o “no council (or decree) is to be held general without the pope’s approval”
o came up with articles from documents that were forged
o Gregory was weak in law
• Henry insisted on ruling as his ancestors did
o After second excommunication Gregory deposed Henry formally and recognized Rudolph as King and emperor
o 1084 Henry and his soldiers stormed into Rome and at his orders Guibert of Ravenna was set up as Pope Clement III
• Gregory was declared deposed
• Gregory’s successors
o Whole empire in civil war
• Henry’s son decided to break from his father and find agreement with Roman pope
• But estates of the church were scattered too widely and closely tied with the lay mobility for any kingdom to survive settlement.
• 1122 compromise was extended to the empire
• end of the civil war
• established principle of fundamental importance:
o there was a difference between the allegiance men owed to spiritual and to secular authorities
• Henry gained rule but only because pope approved of it
• Church gained most by struggle and settlement
• Henry died with no blood related successor
• Popes capitalized on the same universal ideals
o Had not gained complete freedom of the church under the monarchy of the Romans



Chapter 6: The Expansion of Europe

Towns and trade had begun to revive, new lands were being brought under cultivation, and the frontiers of Europe were expanding
• Inhabitants increasing
o Between 1000 and 1300 population increased at least two folds
o Population increase maybe due to:
• Improvements in agricultural techniques
• Development of harness for horse plowing
• Adoption of three field rotation of crops (more land more productively)
o Impossible to offer any factual explanation
• The land is having to support more people
o Canals and dykes cut to drained swamps being built, clearing of land and trees began
o Not only more labor induced but the need for more laborers (much work of reclamation was evidently due to the undirected initiative of peasants)
• Lords (William I of England) imposing “forest laws” to prevent agricultural uprising
o Count of Vedosome burned houses of those who participated in agricultural expansion
• Lords created strict rules:
o Cistercian houses were to be built in waste places; monks were to accept no settled land, but to labor for their upkeep with their own hands
• Cistercian lay brothers, sworn to poverty and chastity did not found homesteads or raise families
• France
o Count of Maine gave to Church of St. Vincent of Le Mans
• “Leave to build a Bourg:” to build about the new church a little town and rent the houses to countrymen who would agree to cultivate the land around it
o others imitated the churches
• Lords had land to offer; they learned to encourage colonization because they found it made them richer
• Offered greater freedom
• Was protected and privileged by charter of its founder
• Paid rent of some kind
• Were not bound to soil
• The larger the city the better the defense system
o The manorial system of the previous age began to decay but at the same time the gap between those who owned land and those who tilled it grew wider
• Crusade to the Holy Land
o Spain had fueros-like French bourgs
• Settlers from far afield
o Christian expansion to the South continued steadily
• Germany
o Over lordship and tribute had been the prime German objective, the settlement of conquered land began to take pride of place
o 1147 campaign during second crusade to Palestine:
• “Let the God who is in Heaven be our God and it will suffice”
o German settlement was being pushed further east and south
• Expansion of Normandy
o Not peasants who responded to increased population
o Fortunes were Hautevilles to be won in the service of Greeks and Lombards
• Hautevilles taught the Normans they could win these lands for themselves
o Conquests of the Normans
• Lead by Roger and Roger II, gained land in Italy and Sicily, Roger II became king of Sicily
• Conquest of England in 1066
• Restless aristocracy made their influence not with peasants
• Norman conquests and German colonization reflect at different social levels, responses to identical pressures
o Externally and internally, Christian Europe was expanding

Discovery of Commerce and Revival of City Life
• Cities grew more than countryside
• New influences in the way of life of medieval Christendom
• Merchant’s success was by knowing where to find goods and production
o Associations, native home and travels to where he could buy and sell
o Goods came from outside
• (orient) silks, spices
• Italian merchants carried most of these goods
• Goods produced in Europe were clothes
• Flanders, north Italy and Champagne:
o These were the nodal points of commerce
o Italy excelled all others in wealth and enterprise
o Most goods coming into Europe came through Constantinople; on this trade merchants of Venice were growing rich
o Earliest achievements were due to individual enterprise
• Pisa, Genoa, and Venice built up wide commercial empires
o Merchants raised money on the security of his own land and a partner to load cargo
• They shared risk and profit
• Success increased demands for goods to be exported and stimulated a circulation of means of exchange, currency
• Nobles began to leave their homes to pursue the money in trading, buying and selling
o Men drawn in from the countryside by the lure of opportunity
• Flemish cities never achieved the same independence as the Italians
o In the long run their culture was less rich and individual and depended more on the protection of noble rulers
o Class of citizens in commerce had no place in the social framework
o No understanding of problems for commercial men
• Questions of contract and debt
• Regulation of wages and prices
• Conditions of labor and sale
o Only dealt with by the citizens themselves
o Right to self-government was vital
o Gained right “to chose their own laws”
o Gained independence (new force of the life of Christian society, the bourgeoisie)
• Cities became bastions of liberty
o Buildings, churches, cathedrals and guildhalls testify to public spirit born of pride of achievement
o They did not think of other cities as allies but as rivals
o The natural tendency of city government was towards quarrelsome oligarchy
• Independence had its downfalls
• Effects of civil and commercial revival
o Increased commercial exchange stimulated a great revival in currency circulation
o Long-term – steady depreciation of money
• government became more businesslike as money came to count more than land
• Christendom-internal change brought the spread of new ideas
• Capital cities in certain countries developed
• Christian society
o Promoted a more common level of culture


The Penguin History of Medieval Europe
By: Maurice Keen
Chapter 7: New Movements in Thought and Letters
Presented By: Rebecca Boe

-A new outburst of intelligence and literary activity occurred in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, which generated multiple forces and a many sided movement.

-A spirit of curiosity created a demanding why and wherefore for old values and assumptions – “New Movement in Thought”

-Traditional centers of learning were in the monasteries, but cathedral chapters were beginning to flourish, especially in northern France.

-Cathedrals had certain advantages over the monasteries because they could develop more freely, more speculative, and they studied logic.

-Aristotle and Porphyry showed a means by which statements, meanings, and argument could be categorized, classified, and valued - First time in centuries scholars were familiarized with intellectual standards which were completely “human and rational”.

-Viewing sacred truths in the eyes of everyday human reason could be seen as improper – Conservative minded saw it as questioning the teaching which Christian society had adopted as its “guiding light”.

-Even in the monasteries, the Cistercians were opening their studies to the “literate lay brothers”.

-Abelard was the greatest philosopher is his day and Bernard was the most influential Cistercian of history. He began to question the doctrines and wanted them to be reviewed with logic.

-Peter Lombard wrote “The Sentences”, which became a companion to the bible and the standard theological text book of the Middle Ages. His text systematically addressed the inconsistencies in scriptures and Christian doctrines and became the starting point for all theological study and controversy for three hundred years. Lombard taught in School of Paris, along with Abelard.

-Gratian, a contemporary of Abelard and Lombard, taught canon law at Bologna. His book, “Concordance of the Discordant” played the same role in the study of canon law as “The Sentences” by Lombard in theology.

-There were two problems facing the canon law student: (1) How to decide what was authoritative and what was not and (2) How to reconcile the conflicts in the remaining body of the authoritative legislation.

-John of Salisbury and Hugh of St Victor were able to present a systematic Christian view of society based on an examination of its nature components and functions. Their methods for analyzing could be used for any problem. This was the beginning to break free of thinking dominated by theology.

-At the same time writings began to appear about Arthur and the kings of Britain. These writings were of feelings, woman, men, and the story of the Holy Grail. However, the basis of authority was Christian teachings.



The Penguin History of Medieval Europe
By: Maurice Keen
Chapter 8: The Twelfth-Century Revolution in Government
Presented By: Rebecca Boe

-Revival of city life and commerce in the eleventh and twelfth century gave new importance to money, as a medium of exchange. Development of a systematic approach was taking place in the schools. These two things made possible an advance in the range and methods of government.

-Shift in the balance of power:
*Past: Local lord held power. (Feudal State: A system of rights and duties between lords and their vassals – those who are protected. In return for a piece of land, the vassals had to perform military duties and pay certain rents and dues. Peasants worked on the vassals land in return for protection)
*Present Time: Due to a new promising government (rulers personal intervention necessary less often – king, or a noble) a ruler was now able to govern over more land, which meant they had more money to build castles and pay men to defend them

Ways a ruler could extend resources:
*Easier to gain land through marriage, then by sword.
*Take over land of a vassal who died without heirs.

-In the twelfth century, Sicily had the most highly developed government in Latin Christendom.
*Sicily inherited an administration whose framework was Byzantine, based on the practices of the late Roman Empire.

*Roger II claimed himself King in 1130 - Omni competence of royal authority – power was not fragmented (he held all the power) – multi-racial composition of Rogers kingdom contributed to his exceptional power (Greek, Norman, and Arab alike).

-Another highly organized government was the Norman kingdom of England. (Normans were descendents of the Vikings who had settled in northern France).
*Domesday Book was produced in 1085 – William the Conqueror decided to find out who owned land and property and how much tax they should pay on it. (His officials toured England recording the names of landowners, their holdings, and how much their possessions were worth).

*Financial administration saw an important advance during the reign of Henry I (1100-35) The king’s treasury was organized into a rudimentary government accounting department, the Exchequer. Through the sheriffs the king had an annual account of all that was due to him and all he paid out, and a means of checking the activities of officials whom he seldom met.

*Henry II reign (1154-89) – people expected him to provide justice. Welfare was left to the church and family. Royal authority began to become something more meaningful to a wide range of people (began to shape a common law of all of the land).

*Henry gained land in France through family ties, which caused tension with the King of France. Henry’s successors, Richard and John, had to strain at their resources to keep their land.

*John stretched his royal right beyond reason to keep land (lost most of his land) – 1215 his subjects forced him to seal a Great Charter (Magna Carta), which put limits over his rights. The growth of royal power ended by forcing the king to acknowledge boundaries on their power.

-The French monarchy went from having very little power to having a great deal of power long before the signing of the Magna Carta.

-Louis VI (1108-37) focused on getting rid of the rich near Paris, who were illegally charging his citizens. (Possibly through tolls or taxing). This idea was wide spread and also carried out in other areas by Count Geoffrey and Count Charles. Due to Louis actions he guaranteed his successors money and men for defending themselves.

-The French monarch now thought through their decisions more carefully before they acted. Louis grandson decided to model their decision making process after the English Kings.

-Phillips land, France, was divided into districts, each which was supervised by a bailli (a person who was responsible for taxing the people, listening to complaints, and discussed with the Kings council any matters of great difficulty).

-The Kings court eventually became the Parliament of Paris, the highest court in France.

-Phillip forcefully gained control over the King of England’s land in the areas of Normandy, Anjou, and Maine – this doubles his land and made him more powerful.
(Phillip was able to gain this control because court systems were able to decide things more quickly and the other powerful rulers in the area were absent at the time)

-Phillip defeated Johns armies, during Johns attempt to save his land. Phillip
power was now secure, but he still was not a good of a ruler as the King of England.

-At the time, the Church was the most efficient form of government. (Similar to the bailli’s) Traveling legates would hear cases in the Pope’s name from the surrounding areas. (Go back to Pope with any cases that they could not resolve)

-Case hearings were not efficient enough with the Legates – small groups made up of local church members were appointed to solve the cases.

-The Pope felt it was to time consuming to hear all cases (getting to petty) so he decided he and his officials would only hear cases in the areas of: marriage, breach of oath, questions of legitimacy, testamentary disposition, and church endowments.

- The Church felt that all people should follow their laws – no boarders (All mighty power). Although they did not have the man power to enforce their laws, the church had the moral authority needed to enforce laws (going to hell).

- Rome was turbulent at the time (people were uprising). The Pope often had to move elsewhere to avoid death. While in hiding they had to depend on militaries provided by princes. Even though they were under threat, people still found them popular because they were recruiting for the Crusades.

- An emperor, Henry IV, challenged the aristocratic authority (rich ruling) – in 1077 Rudolf of Swabia was elected as an anti king by the people. (People started moving to their community and now all of a sudden Henry told them they must start reporting to him – people were upset and wanted to know why all of a sudden things were changing – Though Henry was greedy)

-Henry V died childless, which beginning a period of time when hereditary succession was not in existence. The empire was not able to build up because there was no family to pass power to. (No connection between the people and the leader)

-Empire lost power in Germany and Italy.

-1183 Treaty of Constance was signed by Barbosa (Rest of Europe’s Magna Carta) – Gave the cities a greater independence.



CHAPTER 16
Economic and Social Developments
In the Later Middle Ages (1330-1460)
Ryan Schwingler

The age of expansionism had drawn a close; new period of stabilization and even recession.

Example, the decline of crusader states and rise of national communities (England and France)

Invasion of government into social and economic relations

People began to realize the importance of organizing and uniting, as opposed to individual effort.

Conquests weren’t won by individuals but by bands of soldiers, this carried into economic and social structure.

14th century saw countless alliances form from leagues of nobleman, to peasant revolts.

Three factors to the invasion of government
1.) European commercial expansion reached its limits
2.) War and Black Plague (War as a way of life, natural)
3.) Advance in production and commercial exchange techniques

Europe = Cloth export and Spices/Silks imports

Caused major metropolis development in the 12th century

Need for an internal government arose, fulfilled by governors in 12th century

Bar was raised for commercial expansion by stabilizing trade. Led to major competition between rival cities. War was inevitable (Venice and Genoa), By the time conflict had been won by Venice, flow of trade had been disrupted by a bigger war Tartar and Ottoman Empires.

German cities faced the same rivalries during this time, but found a peaceful means of resolving them.

A powerful league built up controlling the Baltic Sea, and North Sea and the Rhine River.

In 1360 over 80 cities in the league (not a sovereign state) pooled together recourses in order to fend off Scandinavian and English merchants from entering their markets.

Other Germanic leagues were formed under the same principals, mostly to protect their merchants from being plundered on the rivers, and to avoid paying tolls imposed by local dukes and princes.
After seeing the success of the town leagues the same approach was taken inside of each city, and thus guilds were formed.

With a hierarchy structure of officials ruling over decisions to be made regarding the terms of sale of their products, the prices of their products and wages to be given out, guilds were in essence a Corporation

Separation of Classes- Master controls several Laborers

Masters united under a guild shared a pool of monetary resources, as well as a common scheme to train in new apprentices.
Without unity between different masters of said trade, the monopolistic structure of society would have never happened.

Guild members wanted to make sure their posterity would be successful so they only allowed family members the right of entry into the Guild, outsiders would have to be lucky and find a master who would apprentice them, this was very rare. Any type of relative always had the advantage

All of this made it almost impossible for a person to climb the social class ladder. From Laborer to Master

Prices of goods were often high (Effect of a plague or a famine) so laboring class was perpetually being oppressed.

Laboring class takes after their masters, they form alliances of their own (Labor Unions)

Feeling threatened by these unions, Masters, using their political power outlawed these groups, but when the going got tough the tough got going. The Unions reappeared every time conditions worsened, sometimes disguising themselves as religious groups.

Every time the groups of craftsmen were put down, they became more and more aggravated eventually leading to outright revolts.

This pattern happened in both Flanders, and Florence
In Florence they guilds proved strong enough to silence their craftsmen, but in Flanders it wasn’t until the Valios Dukes (parental government) took control that the fighting stopped. There were riots and revolts by the proletarian class for Nearly 100 years before peace. Sometimes-outright civil war taking place.

Of course these weren’t the only cities which the pattern took place,
In France King Louis XI took the markets of Bordeaux and Rouen under his protection after seeing they were in the same circumstance Florence and Flanders were in. Under the Monarchy there was even more money to be shared, and also greater protection.

The plague had similar, but more extreme, effects than the inherent wars had on Italy

When the plague hit in the Middle of the 14th century the idea of the Monarchs was to pin wages, and price of goods, which had skyrocketed, to their pre-plague levels. Thus preventing men from leaving their jobs is search of higher pay.

Both France and England, not long after the Black Plague took its toll, saw their first peasant class revolts.

Surely these revolts weren’t entirely caused by the economically limiting legislation or the Black Plague itself. However they were the proverbial last straw(s).

Hindsight has us wondering if these revolts would have taken place had either of these to occurrences not taken place.

Gap between social classes caused by no longer exchanging work for shelter, landlords now wanted rent money, also caused by landlords because of increased commercial abilities being able to afford nicer shit.

Because they had a steady source of income the landowners became the Noble or Gentry class in France and England respectively.

The Peasant class had faired inversely to the higher (Land Owning) class, they were forced into slavery by the Noble class.

Intervention of the government to save the socially and economically helpless

Again the monarch saves the day, the Valois, in Italy, King in France, and the courts of England (not until 15th century) freed their peasant class from serfdom (slavery)

Bank System was beginning to develop in Tuscany, carrying cash proved to be dangerous

Deposit money in London, carry a letter of credit to Rome, instead of cash, and withdraw local currency. The company whom you deposit/withdrew money to/from charges you a fee.

This allows the agent in London to make purchases, which may lead to profit.

Banks began to appoint agents in towns that didn’t already have one, making it much easier to trade in many new cities.

People started depositing money long term, so banks rewarded them with a small sum of money for letting the bank use their money. The same concept applied to the private party; he was able to loan money from the bank but had to pay a sum of money based on the risk of the loan. (Interest)

It became such a large scale that banks were able to loan money to noblemen and princes to finance governments in need.

Government often borrowed more than they could pay back, causing the banks to go Bankrupt.

Some bankers only did it as a supplement to another occupation such as being a merchant.

Lords mostly borrowed money so that they could go to war, which was becoming increasingly expensive. Due to the development of new technologies such as plate armor, shipbuilding, and later gunpowder.

The increased borrowing by the Royal class led to an increase in taxation, specifically the development of taxation of purchased goods.

After some time the Kings and Monarchs realized that it was in their best interests to protect their subjects. Because it was from their subject they got all of their money.

Full circle-
European commercial expansion reached its limits; Parental Government finds a common good and stops war.
War and Black Plague (War as a way of life, natural)- Parental Government saves Peasants from serfdom
Advance in production and commercial exchange techniques, Parental Government protects its Subjects.

The Penguin History of Medieval Europe
Chapter 18: Politics and Political Society in an Age of Wars
1330-1460
Free Companies and the Influence of Chivalry
• “Without war you cannot live and do not know how to;” Sir John Chandos.
• 14th Century; France versus England wars create dramatic increase in armed forces, despite limited finances.
• ’free companies’ independent bands of soldiers; think of Robin Hood and his Merry Men!
• Had great draw due to the culture of chivalry inherent to the times; adventure and profit. Knights considered high social class worthy of even doing ‘combat with a king’, therefore something to aspire to and stick to—free companies moved on from one battle to another.
• would continue to influence the wars of 14th-15th centuries; as supply of soldiers often exceeded demand, battles would spill over. Even The 100 Year War (France vs. England) was seen as a series of battles of territory/lordship rather than a war of 2 nations.
Dynastic Wars and the Lords that Fought Them
• Most lordships/dominions were inherited. The right to own land and govern the inhabitants was not sovereign; it could be bought, sold, won or lost. Lords could make grants of land to others in their favor, or gain land through marriage. Competition resulted.
• All this combined with the surge of free companies equaled constant states of insecurity. The soldiers did not often leave with the lords until hired out again, adding to the confusing political landscape.
• Ex: King Edward III’s quest for the French crown and subsequent dukes’ invasions of Italy to win Naples from Duke Louis, who in turn was promised the kingdom of Adria, territory of the Pope of Rome—by the Pope of Avignon!
• Duke John of Lancaster’s efforts to win Castile and ‘to build castles in Spain’ due to inherent rights of his wife as daughter of a former king.
Battles of Spain
• Mid-13th Century; Castile and Aragon were the 2 main Christian kingdoms after the Reconquest from the Muslims. Andalusia was the only Moorish territory left. Castile largely fought over by nobility.
• Alfonso XI’s defeat of Moorish invaders in 1340 and son Pedro II’s reign of 1349-69 reinstated power of monarchy.
• Pedro’s brother Henry driven out of Castile to France, then returned in 1366 as head of French free companies. For 20 years on Castile and the Anglo-French war would be entangled.
• 1367 Battle of Najera Pedro and the Black Prince defeat Henry—but with no money to pay soldiers, Pedro is killed a year later by Henry and the French.
• Castilian efforts to appease French powers as well as continued competition over crown causes serious damage to Spain. However, Aragon manages to avoid war while serving Frederic, king of Sicily. This eventually leads to increased trading power amongst Mediterranean ports when the soldiers take over Aragonese Sicily for themselves.

Free Companies of Italy
• Free companies played an even larger role in Italy than in Spain, between native companies and German mercenaries intent on taking over. The Anglo-French War continued to complicate things.
• Soldiers referred to as ‘condotierres’.
• Only the richest Italian cities like Florence, Milan, and Venice were able to afford condotierres, then swallow up the small and poor cities.
• Condotierres could become despots, and vice versa. Money was the key. Ex: Cosimo de Medici of Florence, 1389-1464, obtained office and ruled the city by wealth. Condotierro Francesco Sforza, 1401-66, came to rule Milan by serving the Visconti and marrying a duke’s daughter.
• By 1401 all of central Italy could’ve been devastated by condotierre, but the deaths of Milanese Giangaleazzo Visconti (1402) and King Ladislas of Naples (1414) disorganized the soldiers. This lead to 5 main powers of Italy—Venice, Milan, Naples, Florence, and the Papacy. All were largely independent military states within Italy.
Burgundy and France
• By acquiring so many lordships, Burgundy became a near-independent power from France. Philip the Bold (1363-1404) and his son John the Fearless (1404-19) secured Burgundy’s power through marriage and English alliance, while still keeping influence in France.
• John would attract soldiers to fight for his lordship. However, his successor Philip the Good would prove too ambitious in his battles with France, Switzerland, and Lorraine, losing 2 armies then dying himself in 1477.
• After these defeats, Burgundy was weakened and divided between France’s Louis XI and Maximilian of Austria.
• Burgundy is yet another example of how free companies could both make and break a state. The influence of chivalry would leave its mark on the culture—look at the court life of Versailles and the emphasis on both aristocracy and militia. Everything from politics to arts and fashion would be affected by the romance of chivalry.