Western Half Of The Roman Empire: The European Middle Ages

The European Middle Ages lasted from 500-1500 CE. During the Middle Ages, the western half of the Roman Empire started to slowly decline. The decline of the Roman Empire all began with the invasions of Western Europe. Germanic invaders invaded the Western half of the Roman Empire. Consequently, the western half of the Roman Empire experienced economical problems. There was disruption of trade, downfall of cities, and population shifts. Therefore, businesses started to collapse. As the Germans mixed with the Romans, there was a decline of learning and loss of a common language. Additionally, as the Roman Empire fell, Germanic Kingdoms replaced Roman provinces. Germanic chiefs led the warriors who pledged their loyalty to them. As the concept
of government changed, the economy also changed. Germanic warriors did not pay taxes to the emperor. Pope Gregory the Great increased the power of the papacy in politics. This affected the economy because Gregory used church revenues for political reasons rather than religious reasons. As Western Europe was attacked again by invaders, feudalism was introduced. Feudalism affected economy as well as politics.The manor system was the economic arrangement during the Middle Ages.
The manor was known as the lord’s estate. The manor system was the set of rights between serfs and their lord; a manor was considered a self-sufficient community. Serfs did certain duties and in return the lord gave them food and shelter. Peasants had to pay taxes on many things such as marriage. They also paid tithe which was the church tax. The manor system changed the economy of Western Europe. Western Europe changed politically various time during the Middle Ages. Western Europe was attack by Germanic invaders, this resulted in decentralizations. The Roman Empire gradually fell during the Middle Ages. As Germanic kingdoms replaced Roman provinces, the concept of government changed. Personal ties held Germanic communities together. Each community was governed by unwritten laws. Clovis united the franks, a Germanic people, into one kingdom. The Frankish Kingdom strengthened their relationship with the Church. Gregory the Great, increased the papacy’s political power. He used money that the Church had for raising armies, repairing roads, and helping the poor. Charles Martel became the most powerful person in the Frankish kingdom. Charles Martel helped the franks win the Battle of Tours which ensured that the
Muslims did not take Western Europe. This was an important battle because if the Muslims won then Western Europe would have drastically changed. In 771, Charlemagne ruled the Frankish kingdom. Charlemagne built an empire that was greater than any seen. He reunited western Europe together since the Roman Empire. He was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III. This shows the power of the pope politically because Leo claimed the right to give a European king the title “Roman Emperor”. After Charlemagne died, his grandson fought for the empire and it was split into three kingdoms through the Treaty of Verdun. The vikings, magyars, and Muslims attacked Western Europe. The political turmoil led to the development of Feudalism in Europe. Feudalism was a form of government that was based on landowning, rights, obligation, and authority. A lord grants a fief to a vassal in exchange for many services such as military protection. At top of the feudal society was the king then vassals then knights then landless peasants. Serfs were peasants who lived on their lord’s manor and they owed their lord certain duties. The Church used its political power to create the canon law. The Church developed courts to punish people who violated the canon law. Interdict and excommunication were two punishments inflicted on people who did not follow the canon law. If the pope excommunicated a king, this meant that the king would be denied salvation and they would be banned from the church. This gave the pope power over the king which caused many issues. If a pope used interdict, then sacraments would not be able to be performed in the king’s lands. Conflicts between the emperor and pope arose. Kings had control over the clergy and the church disliked that. The Church did not approve of the practice of lay investiture. Pope Gregory VII banned lay investiture and in return Henry IV order Gregory to step down from the papacy. Consequently, Gregory excommunicated Henry. After begging for forgiveness, Henry’s excommunication ended. The Church and the emperor agreed on the Concordat of Worms, which settled the lay investiture issue. Overall, the Roman Empire fell and the government changed which resulted in the development of feudalism and then there was a struggle between the pope and emperor for power.
Western Europe changed in many ways socially.
Germans introduced their cultures and their form of government to the Romans which influenced their culture. Unlike the Romans, the Germanic society was held together through family ties and personal loyalty. Meanwhile, Clovis expanded Christianity with the help of the church. Monasteries were religious communities, this is where monks devoted their life to Christianity. Monks helped the community by opening schools, and maintaining libraries. As feudalism was introduced, society changed. The social classes changed; the king was the top then came church officials and nobles then came knights then peasants. A status of a person in the feudal system influenced a person’s power. Many serfs lived on their lord’s manors and carried out services for him. Feudal lords had armies of knights that protected the lord’s manor. Knights were supposed to correspond with the code of chivalry. The code of Chivalry requested that a knight fights for three masters: feudal lord, heavenly lord, and his chosen lady. Overall, feudalism and chivalry were two concepts that changed the
society.