Unit 1: Developments in Europe (1200–1450)

Overview

• Timeframe: 1200 to 1450
• Focus: Developments in Europe

Religion

Christianity

• Roman Empire Influence:
  • Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official state religion.
  • Provided unity across Roman territories.
• Fall of Western Roman Empire (476 CE):
  • Led to political fragmentation in the West.
• Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire):
  • Continued for a millennium post-476 CE.
  • Practiced Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
  • Centralized power structure.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

• Byzantine Influence:
  • Continued influence despite losses to Islamic powers by 1200.
  • Fell in 1453 when the Ottoman Empire sacked Constantinople, renaming it Istanbul.
• Kievan Rus Adoption:
  • Adopted Eastern Orthodoxy before the fall of Byzantium.
  • Continued Byzantine traditions (architecture, alphabets, church-state organization).

Roman Catholic Christianity

• Western Europe:
  • Maintained influence despite political fragmentation.
  • Provided social and religious structure through Church hierarchy (popes, bishops, cardinals).
  • Inspired Crusades against Muslims, connecting Europe to larger trade networks.

Minority Religions

• Islam in Iberian Peninsula:
  • Muslims invaded in the 8th century and controlled the region by 1200.
• Judaism:
  • Jews participated in trade, faced anti-Semitism.

Political Organization

Feudalism

• Decentralization in Western Europe
  • No large empires present.
  • Political fragmentation into smaller entities.
• Feudal System:
  • Allegiances between lords and monarchs.
  • Land exchanged for loyalty.

Manorial System

• Economic Order:
  • Peasants (serfs) worked the land in exchange for protection.
  • Serfs bound to land, not owned by lords.

Centralization of Power

• Emerging Monarchies:
  • Monarchs began gaining power around 1200.
  • Centralized states through militaries and bureaucracies.
  • Shift from nobility holding power to monarchs consolidating authority.

Consequences

• Wars of Conquest:
  • Increased competition among monarchs for influence and territory.
  • Led to various conflicts and wars.

Conclusion

• Transition marks the end of Byzantine and decentralized feudal Europe to more centralized monarchies.
• Sets the stage for future European developments and conflicts.