The Middle Ages and Renaissance

Chapter 11, Section 3

The Middle Ages

• The period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the modern era.

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• Also called the medieval period.

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• No longer a strong central government, an army to protect them, a common culture to connect them.
• Many advances were lost.

The Middle Ages

• The German tribes were different from the Romans.

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• The people left the towns and moved to the countryside.

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• Warfare was constant throughout the region.

The Middle Ages

• In the 700s, Charlemagne brought much of France and Germany under his control.

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• Charlemagne worked with the pope, who crowned him emperor.

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• Charlemagne died in 814 and Europe again became small kingdoms.

The Middle Ages

• Feudalism became the political system.
• Remained in place from the 9^th – 14^th centuries.

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• The king was at the top.

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• Nobles, church officials, knights and peasants were below the king.

The Middle Ages

• Lords were the powerful landowners.

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• Vassals pledged to serve the lords.

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• Some vassals were knights.

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• Peasants were known as serfs.

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The Middle Ages

• The Roman Catholic Church continued on after the Roman Empire.

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• Many of the Germans converted to Christianity.

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• The church became the main source of education.

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The Middle Ages

• Eventually the area became the Holy Roman Empire.
• It was a loose confederation of states.

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• The Holy Roman Empire helped bring Europe back together.

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The Renaissance

• Peace and stability started to return to Europe.

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• At the end of the 11^th century, the Crusades started.
• Crusades were a series of military expeditions to take back the Holy Land from the Muslims.
• This led to centuries of mistrust.

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The Renaissance

• In the 1300s, the deadly plague known as “Black Death” swept through Europe.
• About 1/3 of the people died.

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• The high death rate led to a labor shortage and further eroded the feudal system.

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• All these things helped usher in the Renaissance.

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The Renaissance

• The Renaissance was about 1300 to 1600.
• Renaissance means “rebirth.”

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• This was a period of renewed interest in learning and art.

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• Renaissance began in the city-states of Italian Peninsula.

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The Renaissance

• New wealth allowed for the building of palaces and a new system.
• Patronage – system of financially supporting artists, writers, and musicians.
• Allowed artists like Michelangelo and da Vinci to thrive.

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• Secularism started to grow in art.

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The Renaissance

• Painters also found a new way to create more lifelike art call perspective.
• Gave paintings depth and distance.

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• The Renaissance spread north from Italy and France, England, Germany and Flanders.
• Flanders is now part of Belgium.

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The Renaissance

• The Hundred Years’ War between France and England ended.

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• Authors like William Shakespeare came on the scene as well.

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• Scholars also made scientific advancements.

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The Renaissance

The Renaissance

• The scholars in northern Europe studied Christianity.
• Their studies led to a call for reforms to existing religious practices.

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• Renaissance ideas spread across Europe with the aid of the printing press.

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The Reformation

• During the 14^th & 15^th Century, criticism of the Catholic Church grew.

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• In the 1500s, this set the stage for the Reformation.

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• Martin Luther, a German monk led the movement by posting his 95 Theses on the door of the church.

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The Reformation

• Northern Europe broke from the Church.

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• Many in Switzerland, Scotland, and England developed their own Protestant sects.
• Protestants was the name given to those protesting.

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The Reformation

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Homework

• Read P. 342-349

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• Answer #1-8

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