Medieval History Lesson Four: Vikings, Vandals, Visigoths and Huns Invasions from Every Corner

Goals:

 Video: Vikings, Vandals, Visigoths and Huns

 Activity:

o Human Dominoes Barbarians

 Lesson: o Timeline o Reading o When, where and Why they attacked

 Review: Mapping Europe: before and after

VIDEO LESSONS: ACTIVITY: Human Dominoes Barbarians

Global temperatures rise Saxons leave what is now Scandinavia and Germany They settle in Britain Roman empire in Britain under strain from Saxons Saxons hired as mercenaries by Romans

358 Franks migrate into France Lombard’s migrate towards Switzerland and northern Italy Huns ride westward from Middle East Reflex Bow introduced to western warfare Horses introduced to western battlefields 375 AD Goths in Balkans Huns wreak havoc on Gothic villages

Goths driven into Roman territories as refugees Farming and trade re-established in new lands

Romans pick and choose which Goths can come into their territory (recruit soldiers from refugees)

Gothic soldiers turn on Romans 378 AD Battle of Adrianople Nomadic plundering begins across Europe 410 AD Goths sack Rome Payback for Roman oppression Vandals join refugees fleeing from Huns in the Baltics

409 AD Vandals move into Spain to escape poverty and oppression

Romans send Visigoths to fight Vandals and obliterate them. Vandals driven into Southern Spain

Vandals become accomplished ship builders They migrate across Northern Africa As Vandals take over Carthage, Romans align themselves with them. Granted control of military affairs in Northern Africa. 447 AD Attila the Hun reaches Holy Roman Empire Conquers Rome Huns become leaders of Italy 453 AD Attila dies His sons divide the empire through internal conflict Huns no longer formidable force 455 AD Vandals attack Southern Italy Remaining Romans fight Vandals Sack Rome 491 AD Saxons rule eastern Britain. Britons (Welsh) rule west. Anglo-Saxon battles break out throughout

620 AD Viking invasions in southern Britain. King Alfred plots resistance. Alfred reclaims Saxon lands from Vikings.

History Timeline: Barbarians

400-600 AD

378 Visigoths Revolt against Romans

409 Vandals invade Spain

410 Goths: Sacking of Rome

433 Attila rules the Huns

455 Vandals sack Rome

Yup, that’s where the word 476 End of the Western Roman “vandalism” Empire comes from!

493 Ostrogoth’s take over Italy

481 Franks organize in the North under Clovis

496 Clovis converts to Christianity

503 Franks conquer Visigoths in France

587 Visigoths convert to Christianity Barbarian Invasions

Even in the days when the Roman Empire was at its height, Germanic tribes like the Goths, Vandals and Franks lived beyond Rome’s Frontiers. The Romans considered these people “barbarians.” In the 4th century, a war-like tribe known as the Huns moved from Central Asia to Europe, pushing the Germanic tribes westward into the Roman empire. Eventually, these tribes defeated the Romans, causing the empire’s collapse. The barbarian tribes then established new kingdoms in many parts of the Western Europe. They mixed their own customs and beliefs with what they learned from the Romans, and gradually adopted Christianity.

The constant migration and warfare of this period disrupted trade and made travel unsafe. Bridges and roads fell into disrepair. Cities, towns and villages were abandoned. Shortages of food and other good grew. People gave up their interest in learning. Church and monasteries became the only places with people who could read and write.

Barbarian Invasions

Complete the handout provided: When and where and why they invaded