The Early Middle Ages

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The Early Middle Ages

• 15.1

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I. The Geography of Europe

• After Romes Fall (A.D. 476), Western Europe was
  divided into many kingdoms.
• Europe is a continent, but it is also a peninsula
  made up of smaller peninsula.
• Easy access to water help the European economy.
• Rivers made it easy for people to travel within
  Europe.
• Seas and Rivers offered Europe protection from
  enemies.
• Also allowed different cultures to develop
  because of separation.
• Europe contains many mountain ranges that made it
  difficult for one group to rule all of Europe.

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English Channel
Rhine River
Pyrenees Mts.
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II. The Germanic Kingdoms

• The Visigoths in Spain and the Ostrogoths in
  Italy adopted Roman ways because they were close
  to the center of the old Roman Empire.
• In the 400s, the Angles and Saxon invaded Britain
  from Denmark and Germany and became the
  Anglo-Saxons. The Celts who had been living in
  Britain fled north and west.
• The Franks were a Germanic people living in the
  area that is now France. Clovis was king of the
  Franks who became a Catholic. Much of his
  kingdom became Catholic.
• After Clovis death, fights broke out over land,
  and nobles called mayors settled disputes, gave
  out land, and fought each other.
• Charles Martel was a Frankish mayor who wanted to
  control all the nobles. The Catholic Church
  supported Martel

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• Muslims conquered Spain in A.D. 711 and
  threatened to spread Islam throughout Europe. In
  A.D. 732, Martel and the Franks defeated the
  Muslims, and Christianity remained Europes major
  religion.
• Pepin, Charles Martels son, defeated the
  Lombards. He gave all the conquered land to the
  pope. It became the Papal States.
• Pepins son was Charles. He defended the pope
  and conquered Germany and Spain. His Empire
  covered most of Europe. He earned the name
  Charlemagne. The pope crowned him the new Roman
  emperor.