Middle Ages P. 1

Organization of the Church

301

In the beginning of the fourth century the church was rearranged. From bottom to top it went Parishes, the local community, that were lead by a Priest, then a group of parishes were headed up by a bishop and was called a diocese, all of that was under an archbishop, and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome later to be called a pope.

Clovis I and the Kingdom of Franks

500

Clovis I was a strong military ruler and became so around 500 AD. He was the first Germanic ruler to become Catholic and because of that gained support of the Roman Catholic Church. By 510 he had a vast kingdom that stretched from the Pyrenees to Western Germany.

Constantinople and Justinian I

527

In 527, Justinian I became the rule of Constantinople. Shortly into his reign he put down the Nika Revolt allowing him to build up the empire. However, shortly after his death it's almost all lost. One of Justinian's most important contributions is the Book of Laws. The Book of Laws showed the importance of laws and was used until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Gregory I

590

Gregory I was a very good and strong pope. He ruled from 590 to 604 and strengthened the power of the papacy and the church. He became the leader of Rome and the surrounding areas called Papal States. He increased political and spiritual power over the Church and actively converted non-Christian Germans through the Monastic movement.

Carolingian Empire

Oct 23, 768

Charlemagne ruled from 768 to 814 and he's the one who created the Frankish kingdom and named it the Carolingian Empire. The Carolingian Empire was the largest empire until Napoleon came 1,000 years later. He ran the empire using counts, German nobles, to be local representatives. On Christmas day in the year 800 Charlemagne was given the title Pope of Holy Roman Empire.

The First Crusade

Oct 23, 1000

In the First Crusade, Alexius I asked for help in getting the Holy Land back from the Muslims. Pope Urban II saw that he could give leadership and said yes. To get more people to join the crusade he said that if you died while fighting you were promised immediate forgiveness. This Crusade was led by three bands of French warriors and they massacred people living in the Holy City. They organized four Latin crusader states in the East. Because of this several port cities grew rich and powerful.

Willaim of Normandy

Oct 23, 1066

In 1066, William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings after landing on the coast of England. He later became king and gave his knights land, called fiefs, as long as they swore an oath to him as the sole ruler of England. William also took the first Census since the Roman times. The Census kept track of people, their land, and their animals and allowed William to tax them accordingly.

The Second Crusade

Oct 23, 1140

The Second Crusade was very different than the first. One of the Latin kingdoms in the East fell and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux enlisted two rulers to fight, King Louis VII of France and Emperor Conrad III of Germany. However, that was as far as they got resulting in a complete failure.

Henry II and the Church

Oct 23, 1154

Henry II ruled from 1154 to 1189 and during that time he greatly enlarged the English monarchy. He created common law that replaced the varying laws that one found from place to place; by doing this he created a stronger central government. He was not a favorite of the Church, though, because he wanted to punish the clergy like everyone else but they didn't think that it should be like that. He especially clashed with Thomas a' Becket and three of Henry's knights actually killed him.

The Third Crusade

Oct 23, 1187

The Third Crusade was more successful than the last, but in 1187 Saladin had control of Jerusalem. Three people led the third Crusades they were: German emperor Fredrick Barbarossa, English king Richard I, and French king Philip II Augustus. They hit a few bumps in the road including Fredrick drowning in a river while bathing one day and Richard and Philip struggling to get inland. Eventually, Richard negotiated with Saladin and allowed Christian pilgrims free access throughout Jerusalem.

The Fourth Crusade

Oct 23, 1193

The Fourth Crusade was organized by Pope Innocent III. This Crusade was fought over the Byzantium throne. In 1204 the crusaders sacked Constantinople. Finally the Byzantium Empire got back their city in 1261, but it only lasted for another 190 years and fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

English Parliament

Oct 23, 1201

In the 13th Century under the rule of King Edward I, the English Parliament was founded. The Parliament consisted of two knights from every county, two townspeople from every town, and all of the Nobles and Bishops throughout England. It turned into a bicameral system, meaning two houses. Those two houses were the House of Lords, containing the Nobles and Bishops, and the House of Commons, with the knights and townspeople.

Magna Carta

Oct 23, 1215

Nobles rebelled during King John's reign in 1215 forcing him to sign the Magna Carta, a document that wrote out a person's rights and obligations. The Magna Carta was used later in English history as well. The US's Bill of Rights had several amendments taken directly from the Magna Carta.