Middle Ages

• After the Roman Empire fell and divided into smaller kingdoms, Europe was enveloped by uncertainty. During this period, Catholic Church became the source of strength of the Europeans. On the other hand, landlords became gradually powerful.
• The fall of the western Roman Empire in 476 C.E. is believed by many historians as the transition from the ancient period to the Middle Ages.
• This transition in European history lasted from 500 C.E. to around 1500. It is also called the Medieval Period.
• Europe experienced what was known as Dark Ages. The government and economy collapsed. Cities which were once the center of commerce and administration were destroyed and abandoned by its residents. Trade ceased and businesses went bankrupt because of the relentless invasions of barbarians.
• Latin was mixed with other languages, resulting to a variety of dialects and the lack of official language among the Romans.
• There were six main kingdoms established by the Germanic tribes in Western Europe: Burgundian, Frankish, Ostrogothic, Sueve, Vandal, and Visigothic.
• The most powerful among these kingdoms was situated in present-day France and western Germany. The kingdom was headed by monarchs from Merovingian Dynasty (476-450) and the Carolingian Dynasty (751-887). The most famous of them and considered one of the greatest emperors in Europe was Charlemagne. He became king in 768 and serve for 46 years until his death in 814. The center of his kingdom was in the city of Aachen in Germany.
• Charlemagne was able to unite the Germanic kingdoms and established the first empire in western Europe after the glorious Roman Empire.
• Charlemagne's prominence grew even more when Pope Leo III crowned him on Christmas Day of year 800 in gratitude for protecting him from a group of nobles who opposed him.
• The enthronement of Charlemagne as emperor of the Romans gave the right of the pope to appoint the emperor.
• The enthronement of Charlemagne led to the alliance between the Catholic Church and Frankish Empire.
• Charlemagne’s empire was later called the Holy Roman Empire.
• Charlemagne issued reforms to organize the government and revitalize Roman culture. He divided his empire into counties, led by counts.
• To assure that the counts fulfill their duties well, Charlemagne appointed the Missi dominici, or “messengers of emperor” who reported to him every year. He also established mark or marches, or defensive zones, to protect the empire’s borders.
• Charlemagne improved libraries and supported the education of priests and monks, who produced copies of Latin books.
• After Charlemagne’s rule, Frankish Empire gradually weakened because of political conflicts and weak leaders.
• In 843, by virtue of the Treaty of Verdun, the empire was divided into three parts. The divisions of the empire among Charlemagne grandsons - Charles the Bald, Louis the German, and Lothair.
• One cause of the empire’s decline was the invasions of Muslim groups from North Africa; the Magyars of West Asia; and the most feared by the Franks, the skilled and fierce Viking warriors.
• Due to the empire large expanse, it became hard for the leaders to defend its entire territory. This led to the decline of monarchial power and the shift of influence to the nobility and local leaders.
• At the outset of the tenth century, centralized rule in the Frankish Empire collapsed and new political and social system emerged in western Europe, feudalism.
• Under the feudal system, nobles and landlords agreed to grant other nobles a piece of their land. In exchange of the land called fief, was the protection of landlord and his properties. The noble who accepted the land was called a vassal.
• A ceremony was performed to make the pact official and final between the landlord and the vassal. This was called the Act of Homage, wherein the vassals pledged his loyalty to the landlord. 
• The knights were ones who maintained peace and order under feudal system in western Europe. They were European warriors who defended the vassals and the landlords.
• It was considered an honor for a European to serve as a knight. He was obliged to live by the code of chivalry, a system of virtues and values a knight must possess. Among these values were bravery, dignity, respect, justice, and willingness to help the weak.
• During the Middle Ages, the economic aspect of European life centered in the manor.
•  A manor was a huge estate owned by a landlord.
• Manorialism shows the economic relationship between landlords, nobles and serfs.
• A serf was a farmer in the manorial system. The serfs and their families lived inside the manor. Housing, food and protection served as payment in exchange for their services to the landlord.
• Serfs paid taxes to the landlord.
• Because of feudalism and manorialism, Europeans became divided in political, economic, and social aspects. During this period, it was their faith in God that bound them together. This made the Catholic Church a powerful spiritual institution during Middle Ages in Europe.
• As the highest leader of the church, the pope was the most powerful spiritual leader in the significant part of European history.
• Monasticism, or the renunciation of wordly pleasures to serve God, prevailed in Europe. It started when St. Benedict built a monastery in Monte Cassino, Italy. The monks spread the faith in Europe and produced copies of Latin books.
• In the eight century, Papal States were formed in central Italy. These were under the direct rule of the pope.
• The power of the church was also manifested by the creation of the Canon Law, or Church laws, which served as a guide to human behavior.
• In 1232, the Church founded the Inquisition. It was an ecclesiastical court which tried and punished people who were believed or proven to have committed heresy.
• Heresy is the act against the Church and its teachings.
• The pope fully demonstrated the power and influence of the Catholic Church with the launching of crusades.
• In the latter years of the 11th century, a group of Muslims, the Seljuk Turks, invaded and directly controlled Jerusalem. They denied the holy city from the devout Jews and Christians who were going on a pilgrimage.
• The Seljuh Turks also  became a huge threat to the Byzantine Empire and its capital Constantinople.
• The emperor of the Byzantine Empire, Alexius Comnenus, wrote a letter to Pope Urban II. He summoned the Church to send military aid to fight against the Seljuk Turks. In November 1095, Pope Urban II implored the devout Catholics to voluntarily form an army which would attack Palestine to regain Jerusalem from the Turks.