Section+13-1+Charlemagne+Units+Germanic+Kingdoms

Key Words:

 * __Middle Ages__: The gradual decline of the Roman Empire, also known as the medieval period.
 * __Franks__: Germanic people who held power in the province of Gaul (present day France and Switzerland).
 * __Monastery__: religious communities.
 * __Secular__: A worldly power involving politics.
 * __Carolingian Dynasty__: A family that would rule the Franks from 751 to 987.

Key People:

 * __Charlemagne__: Ruled for 47 years.

Key Terms:

 * Invasions of the Western Europe:**
 * When Germanic people invaded the Roman Empire, they caused a disrupt in trade (collapsed, money became scarce), downfall of cities (they were abandoned), and the population shifted (no leaders, many fled to rural areas).
 * The Decline of Learning:**
 * Germanic people could neither read nor write (singers), Romans also began to loose their intelligence and many left for rural areas except for priests and church officials, Greek culture nearly lost.
 * Loss of a Common Language:**
 * With the mix of the Germanic language and Latin, other languages evolved (French, Spanish, etc.) in the 800s, Latin itself was changed and was barely understood.
 * Germanic Kingdoms Emerge:**
 * The Church survived, providing order and security, as the borders were constantly changed by war, and Germanic kingdoms replaced all Roman provinces between 400 and 600.
 * The Concept of Government Changes:**
 * Germanic kingdoms were unified by family and personal loyalties, and were governed in small communities through unwritten rules and traditions.
 * A Germanic chief would lead a band of loyal men, giving them food, treasure, shelter, and weapons, and they would fight to the death for him, no loyalty for a king and refused to pay taxes.
 * Clovis Rules the Franks:**
 * Clovis ruled the Franks and he brought Christianity, he did so by praying to God while in battle against other Germanic people in 496, afterwords he and all his men (3,000) asked to be baptized by a bishop.
 * Roman Church welcomed them and supported them, this created a united community within the Franks.
 * Germans Adopt Christianity:**
 * Missionaries, Frankish rulers, and politics helped spread Christianity through the Germanic people by 600, 300s and 400s, gave to Celtics, Muslim also became a religions for the Germanic people in the 600s.
 * Monasteries, Converts, and Manuscripts:**
 * Christian men (monks) gave up all possessions and devoted their life to God, women became nuns.
 * Italian monk Benedict wrote a book in 520 about the strict rules for monks, his sister, Scholastica, adapted the same rules for nuns, the rules (guidelines) became a model for many religions.
 * Monks opened schools, copied books, helped libraries, Vernerable Bede wrote the best historical work from the Middle Ages about the history of England in 731, 600s and 700s monks made religious writings with decorations.
 * Papal Power Expands Under Gregory I:**
 * AKA Gregory the Great became the pope, broadened power by becoming a secular**,** he replaced roads, raised armies, and helped the poor, and negotiated peace treaties.
 * Kingdom under pope included Italy to England, Spain to Germany, the central theme of the Middle Ages was the spiritual kingdom known as Christendom.
 * An Empire Evolves:**
 * After Roman Kingdom, many small kingdoms were born (exp: 7 in England), many very small (Connecticut sized), Clovis died in 511, Franks the largest empire.
 * Charles Martel Emerges:**
 * The ruler of the Frank kingdom was the mayor of the palace (//major domo//) and he would take care of royal estate, led armies, made policies, although the last two jobs are unofficial.
 * Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) was major in 719, more power then king and he expanded his power, he also defeated the Muslim invaders, which was important because otherwise western Europe might have evolved into a Muslim Empire (Martel was a Christian hero).
 * Passed down to son, Pepin the Short, after his death, and he defeated the invaders of Lombards for the Christian Church, pope named him the "king by the grace of God" and the Carolingian Dynasty began.
 * Charlemagne Becomes Emperor:**
 * Pepin dies in 768, left the kingdom to his sons Carloman and Charles, Carloman died in 771, Charles (or Charlemagne or Charles the Great) ruled the kingdom,
 * Charlemagne Extends Frankish Rule:**
 * He would fight bordering Muslims and Germanic kingdoms expanding his rule, by 800s empire was larger then the Byzantine Empire, he unified Europe and he spread Christianity.
 * In 800 he stopped a mob from attacking the pope, Pope Leo III crowned him emperor.
 * Charlemagne Leads a Revival:**
 * He limited nobel's power to encrease his own, had counts (wealthy landowners) justly rule their lands by sending out agents, he surrounded himself with scholoars and asked that a schools was opened to teach future monks and priests.
 * Charlemagne's Heirs:**
 * Left kingdom to his son Louis the Pious, who left it to his three sons who fought for power (Lothair, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German) until the Treaty if Verdun was signed in 843 dividing the empire into three sections, empire lost its power and authority broke down. Lack of strong rulers led to feudalism.