Western+Europe

=Notes on worldology:=

Impact of Christianity (490-600): Reign of Charles Martel & Viking raids (600-755): The Rise of the Franks (755-850): 2. Geo-Politics: 3. Politics: 4. Centralization: 5. Leadership: Feudalism (840-967): Christianity and the High Middle Ages & Expansion of Holy Roman Empire (967 - 1060): Roman Empire--- Effects of the Crusades, Norman conquest of England and Magna Carta (1060-1240): ---England-- Why the Golden Horde was able to dominate Europe and the Black Death Plague (1240 - 1350):
 * Christian churches controlled information, beliefs, and attitudes
 * less cultural interaction
 * ruled by uneducated people like the Germanics
 * clergy controlled knowledge of the peoplee: suppressed science, literature, and art
 * dark ages was worse in central and western Europe than in eastern europe
 * church was most influential force and it had absolute power
 * kings connected to the church had more advantages
 * moastaries were common targets because they were undefended and contained valuables
 * slaves were captured
 * warm weather made it better and easier to travel over seas
 * farming didnt support overpopulated Scandinavia so Vikings were forced to steal from neighboring coastal lines
 * 1) Military excelence :
 * better control of weapons on calvary
 * learned from Roman military technology
 * heavily-armored infantry
 * first permanent, professional army
 * built upon existing power base (easily accepted by Roman population)
 * protected from Muslims and Vikings
 * converted to Roman Catholicism
 * no heavy taxes
 * fair amount of local autonomy for subjects
 * split personal possessions equally
 * single powerful nation because of Clovis murdering siblings and families of other tribes to consolidate rule
 * good, strong leaders: Clovis, Martel, and Charlemegne
 * feudalism- military/economic/social order where monarch grants feudal lords large parts of land in exchange for military service when needed and taxes in exchange for unified military protection
 * serfdom- form of slavery which pervaded West and Central Europe in some form until the French Revolution
 * Christianity dominated the continent
 * by the 10th and 11th century, all barbarics had been converted into Christianity
 * Christian crusaders revived interest in Asian trade and introduced Islamic science/enlightment into Europe
 * increase in papal influence and sense of community among Christians
 * power of religion transcends nationalism and other loyalties
 * "low countries" became defacto independent city-states and petty kingdoms- known as Dutch
 * Bohemia- semi-autonomous state
 * submitted by HRE under its total rule after attempt to reassert sovereignty
 * kingdom of Burgundy- annexed by HRE
 * became independent kingdom on france
 * German emperorsalso crowned Holy Roman Emperors that could exercise power over ecclesiastic authority, appointed clergy and the pope
 * gained support for expansion of Dutch, Bohemia, and Kingdom of Burgundy
 * Otto I appointed supporters of high ecclesiastic offices within German Empire, could consolidate power and influence throughout German states
 * Otto I saved Italy by conquering those who wanted to be king of Italy
 * HRE not centralized- helped decline
 * senseless violence and wars: Christians must displace Islam/Judaism
 * Undermining Church moral authority: slaughter of Jews and Muslims used against Catholic church
 * Distrust of Christians: ruthless reputation
 * opened way for future Muslim conquest of Europe
 * Roman Catholics and Byzantine grew animosity
 * fight over Constantinople
 * Asian influence:
 * Asian knowledge more advanced than Europe
 * cosmopolitan influence to Europe
 * increased anti-semitism:
 * religious tolerance low
 * entire Jewish communities destroyed
 * Magna Carta- first seed of democracy
 * forced king john to ensure certain rights
 * Normans became ruling class of England
 * Black Death Plague: killed 75 mil. in Italy and South France
 * Arabs and Mongols in coastal areas (introduced)
 * bacterium found in rats in Central Asia
 * over population: more vulnerable and famines...people would eat anything
 * typical unsanitary conditions
 * led to increased persecution of Jews, peasant revolts, papal authority weakened, and lower class leverage and enlightment
 * Golden Horde:
 * Forced West because of bad weather
 * depended highly on trade
 * superior military technology, various methods because of nomadic lifestyle
 * strengthening numbers: forced defeated people to join and fight with them or die

= Magna Carta = media type="custom" key="7514649" summary of the Mgna Carta: The Magna Carta was addressed to all loyal subjects and had 63 clauses that solved the problems of the time. It was used for people to obey the monarchs of England. It set up a form of law system that reduced the king's power for the good of the people. It was written in 1215. The church wanted to be free from royal interference. The government couldnt tax peoplemore than what was already taxed. It also allowed the right to due process (trial by jury).

Mind map for Feudalism and Manorialsm summaries:
media type="custom" key="7696077"

Manorialism:
====Manorialism was the relationship between landlords and their peasant laborers. The peasant laborers were called serfs and they lived on the landlord's manor as they cared for the land and even counseled to the landlord. They lived there for protection and all they had to do was farming and basic chores around the house. The serfs were not slaves that could be bought or sold. They could own their own property and decided whether or not they would take inhereted land. Some serfs escaped landlord control and created a group of wanderes which illustrated the disorder of the Middle Ages. Life was not easy for the serfs because they didnt have all the best technology and tools to work with. With this new idea, new inventions were created to help the lives of the serfs.====

Feudalism:
====Feudalism was basically the need of one person and the agreement between them and someone else in which both sides had advantages and helped each other out. The landlord provided security and a place to live for the serfs in return for laborers. The serfs helped mantain the grounds and produce crops in exchange for security and a job. Feudalism could be referred to as the relationship between people who needed something.====

=﻿ESPIRIT on Western Europe=

=﻿E= main idea: In Western Europe, trade was the main attention. It was known throughout the rest of the world. -beginning the start of Capitalism -led to revival of trade in Med. S main idea: As the church lost power, kings tried to achieve higher social status through the feudal system but lower classes began questioning their authority. -women gained respect because of idolization of Virgin Mary -social status: kings, religion-clergy, landlords, vassals, merchants, serfs P main idea: Religion (Christianity) aided in further political advancements by European nobles in power in return for status/power in said country/domain. -Clovis intoduced Christ -Carolignians...used them even more to unite -Magna Carta -absolute power by monarchs -feudalism -development of nations as political entities -parliaments I main idea: With the help from scholars and philosophers and monks/clergy, literacy and education became more encouraged throughout Western Europe. -scholasticism -universities -Thomas Aquinas -attempt to rationalize religion...understand religion R main idea: Due to the lack of political organization because of feudalism, christianity became a powerful force in Western Europe. -persecution of Jews and Muslims (blamed for plague) -extensive missionary activity -investure I main idea: Conflicts in expanding territory led Western Europe to be exposed to cultural and economic influences from Byzantine and Islam. -Battle at Tours -Crusades -Hauseatic T main idea: A new way to farm with new creations of technology made it easier to farm and gave a new way top upgrade productivity without losing products of over planting or underplanting. -three field system
 * Rome was most powerful institution in the West because it was the center of the Catholic Church
 * Church and State were NOT divided
 * little more than subsistence agriculture
 * population growth because of improved agriculture and new inventions
 * more people created more markets
 * growing trade
 * trade encouraged towns to expand
 * whole regions became colonized by farmers
 * to get serfs to labor on their land, they had to require less money out of serfs
 * less rigid social life and more commercial, market-oriented economy
 * mobility defined by land ownership and military power
 * manorialism- economic and political relationships between landlords and peasant
 * Europe was hit hard by Rome's collapse
 * western europe shaped by rome
 * invasions prolonged and reflected western weakness
 * urban growth 20%...specialized manufacturing and commericial activity that promotedbetter trade
 * banking introduced to West to facilitate long distance exchange of money and goods
 * serfs- people who lived on self-sufficient agricultural estates (manors) and worked on the land in return for security promised by the landlord
 * some serfs "ran away" from the landlords control and created a group of wanderers that illustrated the disorder in the Middle Ages
 * harsh serfdom still existed but most serfs gained independance
 * free peasants emerged
 * schools began to form around important cathedrals
 * by 11th century, there was enough educated people to form a university
 * women became very important in the role of family leaders
 * less segregation in religious services
 * women not assured property rights
 * patriarchal families became more strict
 * women couldnt lead religious services
 * Italy divided politically
 * Muslims in control of Spain
 * local administration of kingdom
 * manorialism- relationship between landlords and their peasants
 * Pope in Rome was top authority
 * Clovis converted to Christianity to gain more popularity over his political rivals- gained authority over the Franks
 * Carolingians- took over the monarchy. Charles Martel was responsible for defeating Muslims in battle of Tours (732)
 * Charlemagne- established empire in France and Germany (800) and helped restore some church-based education in Wetsern Europe
 * after Charlemgne died in 814, empire divided in three parts for his grandsons
 * because of division, no single language united this civilization
 * regional government became stronger
 * magna carta- first seed of democracy...limited the kings power
 * investiture- practice of the government appointing German bishops
 * Parliaments- represented nobles and the church
 * kings expanded their land through marriage
 * kings used feudalism to gain more power
 * little who could read and write were placed in the hierarchy and monastries of catholic church
 * copied old manuscripts but didnt understand the philosophy behind them
 * Popes regulated doctrine
 * Chalemagne, who restored church-based education, helped intellectual activity slowly recover
 * literacy spread in urban atmosphere and languages began to arise
 * professional entertainers introduced new songs and new tricks like fire-eating and bear-baiting
 * Italy offered universities that taught medicine and law
 * Paris offered universities that taught theology and other subjects as well
 * Solid educational institutions supported increasingly diverse and sophisticated efforts in philosophy and theology
 * Peter Abelard- explained logical contradictions of the doctrine
 * Bernard of Calirvaux- implies importance of unity with God...contradicted Abelard
 * Gothic styles of architecture were introduced
 * Scholasticism- use of logic to solve problems
 * art based on religion
 * through scholars and philosophers, literacy and education started to spread and became more encouraged throughout western europe
 * Rome was cebter of growing Catholic church
 * everything was ruled and governed by the Catholic Church
 * regional churches headed by Bishops
 * bishops appointed local priests
 * worship of saints
 * many people celebrated pagan festivals
 * Raided by Vikings- harder to set up a strong form of government or economic forms
 * papal missionaries- converted English to Christianity
 * missionaries brought religion to Northern and eastern Germany and Scandinavia
 * competed with Orthodox missionaries
 * monasteries helped improve cultivation of land and provided education and literacy
 * vikings became christians and didnt invade as much
 * interactions with other countries brought knowledge of new crops like: Durum wheat, Pasta, and Alfalfa
 * no single language
 * hundred years wars between england and frace over territories...english declared control over france over feudal rights versus emerging claims of national states


 * moldboard- allowed deeper turning of the soil
 * three-field system- one third of the land left unplanted each year to regain fertility
 * new horse collars- let horses horses be yoked without choking
 * stirrups also helped manage horses better and more efficiently
 * better plows helped people dig deeper into the soil and open new land
 * medival art and architecture reached new high point

Notes on Decline of Medieval Synthesis:
 * __ Black Death __ - 1348; decline of population because of famine and sickness
 * ruling class of medieval society began to show confusion
 * skill in warfare open to question
 * growth of professional armies and new weapons made traditional fighting methods irrelevant
 * military expertise turned into competitive games
 * chivalry gained ground
 * a single pope was returned to Rome but church was already weakened
 * church began to lose grip on western religious life
 * religion was NOT declining
 * new series of mystics (mostly women) who claimed direct relationship/connection with God
 * breakdown of intellectual and artistic synthesis
 * religious figures became less stylized and painters became more interested in human features
 * middle ages were period of growing dynamism

ESPIRIT for Aztecs

E
 * Tenochtitlan- capital of Aztec Empire
 * markets and shores of the city were linked by canals and causeways
 * "floating gardens" kept thousands of peasants working
 * lands of conquered people were often appropriated
 * food was always demanded as a tribute
 * chinampas helped the agriculture system
 * the local clan apportioned the land
 * each community had periodic markets
 * cacao beans and gold dust sometimes used as currency
 * trade was done as barter
 * great market at Tlatelolcon operated daily and was controlled by the merchant class (pochteca)
 * specialized in long distance trade in luxury items like plumes of tropical birds and cacao
 * state controlled use and distribution of many commodities and redistributed vast amounts of tribute recieved from subordinate people
 * tribute levels assigned based on whether or not the person accepted Aztec ruling or fought against it
 * Aztecs were divided into 7 calpulli or clan

S P I R I T
 * two story homes (nobles)
 * state marriages
 * rulers and warrior nobles took lands and tribute from conquered towns
 * became more stratified society under authority of supreme ruler
 * basic duality recognized in all things...women and men
 * nobles recieved much more of the tributes than the commoners did
 * calpulli- basic building block for Aztec society
 * class of nobility emerged as Aztec power expanded
 * this group of nobles accumulated high offices, private lands, and other advantages
 * commoners could be promoted to noble status
 * military people had special uniforms and fought together as units
 * restrictions on clothing, hairstyles and uniforms made apparent social distinctions
 * new class of laborers (almost like serfs) created to work on lands...they were low in social status but slaves were even lower
 * scribes, artisans, and healers- intermediate group very important in larger cities
 * peasant women helped on the fields but primary focus was the household
 * marriages arranged between lineages
 * polygamy existed among nobles but peasants were monogamous
 * women could pass their inheretance and had almost equal rights to men, though they remained subordinate
 * each city controlled by kin group that cared for its temples, shrines, and palaces
 * organized by city-states
 * political units claimed power based on military power
 * calpulli distributed land to heads of the household and organized labor gangs and military units, mantained a temple and a school
 * calpulli governed by councils of family heads
 * each city-state ruled by an emperor who was considered a living god
 * emperor elected by siblings in the royal family
 * prime minister help great power also and was usually related to the emperor
 * conquered people were kept as slaves and sacrifice victims
 * little distinction between gods and natural world
 * many gods for nature
 * 128 major dieties
 * gods celebrated by human sacrifice and yearly festivals and feasting
 * Tlaloc- god of rain and of fertility and agricultural cycle
 * much abstract and philospphical thought was devoted to the theme of creation
 * Huitzilopochtli- aztec tribal patron
 * great temple of tenochtitlan was dedicated to Tlaloc and Huitzilipochtli
 * religion depended on complex mythology that explained birth, history, and relationships with people, of the gods that influenced every aspect of life
 * believed the world had been destroyed four times and it would be destroyed again, so fatalism in aztec thought was created and they thought the sacrifices to the gods would be insufficient
 * rewrote history to suit their purposes
 * spoke Nahuatl...this made their rise to power and claims to legitimacy more acceptable
 * served as mercenaries and allies
 * 1428- Aztecs became independent power
 * human sacrifice- military class played central role as suppliers of war captives to be used as sacrificial victims
 * human sacrifice expanded in postclassical period of militarism
 * warrior cults and images of jaguars eating human hearts were typical of Toltec art
 * cannibalism developed as part of the cult of human sacrifice
 * Nezhualcoyotl- king of Texoco...wrote hymns and poetry to an invisible creative force that supported all the gods
 * religious art and poetry are filled woth images of flowers, birds, and songs as well as human hearts, blood, and the "percious water" needed to support the gods
 * chinampas- beds of aquatic weeds, mud, ans dirt that had been placed in frames of cane and rooted to the lake floor...formed artficial floating islands and allowed water to reach all the plants and willow trees were also planted at intervals to give shade and help fix the roots
 * animal or water powered mills turned wheat into flour

ESPIRIT for Incas

E S P I R I T
 * bureaucratic control over people with different languages and cultures