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• The Middle Ages, spanning approximately 1,000 years from 500 AD to 1500 AD, was an era characterized by a newly emerged society influenced primarily by classical greco-roman culture, the catholic church, and various germanic tribes.
• The English once defeated a French army three times its size as a result of the skillful use of the longbow in The battle of Crecy (August 26, 1346)
• The Renaissance was the start of a long process with which Europe would begin to change and shift towards a more “enlightened” version of itself spanning centuries of time.
• 12-15 arrows could be fired a minute
• The Renaissance never happened as a small percentage of Europe was truly ever affected by it
• The Middle Ages saw the loss of trade and spread of ideas, the loss of cities and centers of culture, the value of education diminishing over time, common languages such as Greek or Latin mixing with local languages and becoming distinct dialects, concepts of governments such as equality and a unified people changing as loyalty became a personal concept, and the emergence of unwritten rules and traditions.
• Charlemagne or Charles the Great, king of the Franks and a member of the Carolingian Dynasty, was an imposing figure of around 6’4 and a potent prince with the greatest skill according to a monk named Einhard.
• Charlemagne was the emperor of the Frankish Empire and a member of the Carolingian Dynasty, becoming king in 771 AD.
• Charlemagne doubled the size of the Empire through conquests in Spain and Germanic Tribes, reunited western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and became the most powerful king by 800 AD.
• Charlemagne saved Pope Leo the Second in Rome from an unruly mob, was the first Holy Roman Emperor, limited the authority of nobles, kept a close watch on his empire and its management, encouraged learning and scholars, and started a tradition of monks and monasteries preserving knowledge.
• Despite being a powerful monarch, Charlemagne's son was not with his death in 814 AD, his son Louis the Pious was crowned, but was a terrible ruler.
• The effects of the Germanic Barbarian invasions on the Roman Empire were numerous, shifting the culture, ideological beliefs, religion, architecture, and concepts of government.
• Craft Guilds were made up of artisans, tailors, winemakers, wheelwrights, glassmakers, and druggists, often with a family trade, and some were women-dominated.
• This new three-field system increased food production, leading to a better-fed population, which could resist diseases, decrease child mortality, live longer, increase the population, and allowed for specialization.
• In the Commercial Revolution, the availability of goods increased, new ways of doing business emerged, merchants' power and wealth expanded, merchant's taxes increased the king's wealth, more cash banking and lending services emerged, more money was available for building businesses, and towns became cities and urban life began.
• Guilds helped set standards, improve working conditions and wages, and created supervised training for new workers, leading to better and more sustainable manufacturing of goods.
• The Battle of Hastings was fought between William the Duke of Normandy and Harold Godwinson, an anglo-saxon, over William's claim to the throne based on being the king of England's cousin who had died childless.
• Guilds were organizations of people in a similar position of work or business that banded together to improve socio-economic conditions.
• The first Guilds were often for merchants who controlled the number of goods being traded to keep prices up, reduce losses, and provide security.
• Guilds also provided funeral expenses, paid dowries for poor girls, helped cover medical expenses, built almshouses for the poor, donated windows to the church, and more.
• Guilds became powerful forces in the medieval economy, accumulating wealth and establishing influence over the wealthy government and the economy of towns and cities.
• In AD 800, villages began using a new agricultural method that would impact society and the economy previously using a two-field system where ½ of the field was used while the other was allowed to rest to not deplete the soil too extensively of its nutrients.
• The Germanic Barbarian invasions disrupted trade, leading to the downfall of cities, population shifts, the decline of learning, and the loss of a common language.
• The Germanic Barbarian invasions also changed the concept of government, with loyalty to written law and public government becoming disregarded for the Germanic ideals of family ties and personal loyalties to a commander and unwritten rules and tradition.
• The Crusades were a set of Holy Wars fought from the late 1000s to the 1200s (nearly 200 years) to defend and preserve the Byzantine Empire, restore Christendom (split in 1054 east and west schism), regain the Holy lands, limit Islamic influence, and get rid of Troublesome Knights who posed a threat to church and state property.
• Lay investiture was the practice of ceremonies where kings and nobles could appoint church officials and whoever controlled this held power as they could name bishops who were extremely influential members of the clergy.
• The third Crusade was fought over Jerusalem which was reconquered by Saladin a Kurdish warrior and Muslim leader in 1187, this one included legendary figures such as Frederick the First (Barbossa) of Germany, Philp the Second of France, and Richard the lion-hearted.
• The effects of the Crusades were the introduction of women to previously thought “men's affairs” such as running operating inns, estates, shops, and businesses, European merchants going to crusader states expanding trade by importing spices and fruits, and the fall of the Byzantine Empire which was often ravaged by unprepared crusaders.
• The concordat of Worms took place in 1122 AD where representatives of the emperor and pop meant to resolve matters over lay investiture in the German City of Worms.
• The first Crusade was successful in regaining 650 miles of land from Edessa in the north to Jerusalem in the south, but the second one failed to regain Edessa when it was reconquered by the Turks in 1144.
• In 1075, Pope Gregory the Seventh banned lay investiture as appointing church officials became more of a power tactic and was being given out to members of family and supporters of the empire as well as being sold in simony.
• Richard and Saladin were brilliant military strategists and in 1192 they agreed to a truce that Jerusalem would remain under Islamic control but Christian pilgrims could safely travel.
• The Crusades also led to the growth of cities, universities, trade, and towns.
• Around the 1100s, architecture changed to a new style from French masters called Gothic derived from the German Goths, this style was intricate with spires that reached for the heavens and tall pointed arches.
• The problems in the Age of Faith were: Priests being essentially illiterate could barely read their prayers, Popes of questionable morals and character, Bishops and abbots cared more about being a feudal lords than their spiritual roles, Village priests marrying and having families, Simony (the selling of church positions), Lay investiture.
• The feudal system was based on rights and obligations, with nobles granted use of land that technically belonged to the king, and in return, they gave their loyalty and military services to the king.
• The Vikings were able to carry out raids at an insanely fast speed, using swords, heavy wooden shields, and ships.
• Both noblewomen and peasant women were often disregarded and seen as inferior to men due to the views of the church, but were usually of economic value, needed to bear children, and often had little or no property.
• The code of chivalry was a complex set of ideals for knighthood that included values of loyalty, braveness, courage, and courteousness, protection of those who were vulnerable, and inspiration for romanticized literature of castle life, love-a-hero adventures, and battles.
• Viking ships weighed around 20 tons when fully loaded and could sail in just three feet of water.