The Middle Ages: A Time Of Change
In 476 the Roman Empire fell, this was the start of a brand new time period, the Middle Ages. The middle ages was a transition period for Europe. During this time many things changed. The changes from the middle ages allowed for the next time period, the Renaissance, to occur. The changes in the middle ages also lead to a rise in the middle class. Despite also being referred to as the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages was a very important time in history.
In the beginning the Carolingian House of the Franks took over. This provided some stability for the people, and a basic feudal system was put into place. The basic feudal system was meant to take the place of the previous Roman central government. However, the Franks were not successful in their take over for long. They soon lost their power over Europe to the Catholic Church.
Because the first takeover by the Franks was not very successful, there was no specific leader of ruler over Europe with the Romans gone, so the Catholic Church took over. It became the command center for all that happened. “Kings, queens and other leaders derived much of their power from their alliances with, and protection of the Church.”(The History Channel). The Church had so much power that people were forced to give a percent of their yearly earnings to the Church. This helped the Church gain wealth and even more power. With Islam on the rise and Muslim armies conquering land in the Middle East, the Catholic Church stepped in. As the Muslims gained more land and the Church got stronger, military expeditions also known as Crusades were organized.
The goal of the Crusades was to drive the Muslims from the Holy Land. Anyone who participated in Crusades wore a red cross to symbolize their relation to the Church. The Crusades were dangerous. Unlike wars or battles no one ever officially won the Crusades, instead thousands of people died from both the Church and the Muslims. People went on the Crusades to support the Church and because the Church offered rewards, the Church guaranteed remission of sins and entrance into Heaven to anyone who would go on the Crusades.
“In medieval Europe, rural life was governed by a system scholars call “feudalism.” In a feudal society, the king granted large pieces of land called fiefs to noblemen and bishops. Landless peasants known as serfs did most of the work on the fiefs: They planted and harvested crops and gave most of the produce to the landowner. In exchange for their labor, they were allowed to live on the land. They were also promised protection in case of enemy invasion.’(The History Channel). The Kings were on top, followed by the nobles, and then the serfs were at the bottom. Being on the top the Kings had the most power. Even though the serfs were promised protection from the nobles, there lives were still challenging. They had hard work working the lands of the nobles. The serfs lived in houses on the property of the noblemen. The noblemen lived on manors. A nobleman ruled his manor much like a king ruled his castle. Noblemen that were of greater power also lived in castles. From these castles they ruled the manors of other noblemen, and the serfs lived on the land of the noblemen. The serfs were locked into working the land for the nobles, however peasants were people who simply worked the land. They could leave whenever they pleased, because they only leased the plots of land that they worked
(The Human Odyssey). These free people, the peasants, were on the
rise; they would become the new middle class.
(The Human Odyssey). These free people, the peasants, were on the
rise; they would become the new middle class.