EARLY EUROPE AND ITS GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Alex Meredith, Shawnee Flores, Ksanthi Lapa, and Zach Mullin GERMANIC TRIBES WHO WERE THE GERMANIC TRIBES?
The Germanic tribes were an Indo-European group that originated in Scandinavia. Germanic tribes invaded places like Gaul, Italy, and Hispania. The Germanic tribes are most known for being a big reason why the Roman Empire fell. Prior to the Roman Army arriving there were no written records in their history. GERMANIC TRIBE RELATION TO THE FALL OF ROME
Right when the Roman Empire arrived the people of Germania would fight with the Roman soldiers. In the fifth century the Roman Empire had begun to loose its strength, and the Germanic people migrated, in many different locations. Germania was the main reason why the Roman Empire fell. They invaded because they wanted to defend territory that Rome could not control. Six tribes contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire, the Visigoths, Ostogoths, Vandals, Burgundians, Lombards, and the Franks. AFTER THE INVASION
After they defeated the Roman Empire they converted it into Medieval Europe Later they defended this area from the Huns, Muslims, Magyars, and Ottomans ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Invaded and successfully contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire Created “Frameas” which is the spear Excelled in war due to the influence of the Roman Empire Transformed the Roman Empire into Medieval Europe and protected it from invaders. ENGLAND
Europe 5th -6th Century 800-1300 600-700: KING ARTHUR
Some believe King Arthur may have been a legend or he might actually have been a real person. King Arthur was the son of Uther and Igraine. He was given to Ector and was raised in secrecy. After his father’s death, no king was there to rule England. To solve this problem, Merlin set a sword in stone and said whoever takes it out will become king. Arthur was the one to take the sword out and he became king. He married Guinevere, and his father-in-law gave him the Round Table where Arthur and his knights sat(thus come the stories of King Arthur and the Knights at the Round Table). King Arthur fought the Romans and beat them, eventually becoming emperor. One of his knights, Lancelot, committed adultery with his wife, Guinevere, and they were both sentenced to death. Lancelot left the kingdom and came back to rescue his lover, which caused Arthur to declare war on his prior knight. Arthur’s final battle was the Battle of Salisbury, where he was deeply wounded. “Some said he never died, but would one day return.” 800S-1000S: ANGLO-SAXON AND DANISH ENGLAND
The people of England originated from the Anglo-Saxons. The independent kingdoms of England were Northumbria(southern Scotland and northern England), Mercia(central England), and Wessex(southern England). The kingdoms were divided into governmental districts, which were called shires. In the early 800s, the kings of Wessex controlled almost all of England. This was soon to change as the Vikings(the Danes) conquered England. In 871, Alfred the Great got the throne of Wessex and was determined to get the Vikings out. He first paid them a HUGE sum of money and spent the next five years reconstructing his army, which he used to attack the Vikings in 876. The war went on for TEN YEARS, until the Vikings claimed for peace in 886. In the 900s, Alfred’s descendants allied England, reinforced the government and spread Christianity to the people. Unfortunately, the Vikings attacked again, and by 1013 they had conquered all of England. King Canute of Denmark had become the new king. When it was time for his sons to receive the throne, they were unable to live up to their father’s expectations and the Danish royal line soon died out. This resulted in the Anglo-Saxon nobles picking a new king: Edward the Confessor. 1000S-1300S IN ENGLAND
Edward the Confessor unfortunately died without any children to receive the throne in 1066. Duke William of Normandy insisted that that he get the throne because he was a distant relative of Edward, but the Anglo- Saxons selected Harold of Wessex as their new king. William and the Normans defeated the King Harold and the Anglo-Saxons, and King Harold died in battle. Duke William of Normandy became King William I of England(also known as William the Conqueror). The next king, Henry I, set up a new department in his kingdom called the exchequer, who handled his finances. 1200s – England set up a 12 juror system for court cases. Court cases were originally tried in the king’s court but now they were trial by jury. King John adopted the Magna Carta which stated that “the king had to obey the law just as his subjects did, or they would be free to rebel against him.” 1265 – England’s Great Council transformed into the Parliament of England. The parliament was split into two houses – House of Commons and House of Lords. Edward I established common law for England. Common law is “the law administered through the system of courts established for the purpose, as distinct from equity or admiralty.”