The Medieval World: Kingdoms,Empires, and War Course Guide

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD: KINGDOMS,EMPIRES, AND WAR COURSE GUIDE Professor Thomas F. Madden SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY The Medieval World I: Kingdoms, Empires, and War Professor Thomas F. Madden Saint Louis University Recorded Books™ is a trademark of Recorded Books, LLC. All rights reserved. The Medieval World I: Kingdoms, Empires, and War Professor Thomas F. Madden Executive Producer John J. Alexander Executive Editor Donna F. Carnahan RECORDING Producer - David Markowitz Director - Matthew Cavnar COURSE GUIDE Editor - James Gallagher Design - Edward White Lecture content ©2009 by Thomas F. Madden Course guide ©2009 by Recorded Books, LLC 72009 by Recorded Books, LLC Cover image: Knights Before a Fortress, folio 5V of Le Jouvencel, a late fifteenth-century French manuscript; © Art Archive/Real biblioteca de lo Escorial #UT142 ISBN: 978-1-4404-0489-5 All beliefs and opinions expressed in this audio/video program and accompanying course guide are those of the author and not of Recorded Books, LLC, or its employees. Course Syllabus The Medieval World I: Kingdoms, Empires, and War About Your Professor...................................................................................................4 Introduction...................................................................................................................5 Lecture 1 The End of an Empire and the Beginning of the World ........................6 Lecture 2 The Empire Strikes Back: Justinian I and the Reconquest of the West ......................................................................10 Lecture 3 Storm in the East: The Rise of Islam...................................................14 Lecture 4 The New Masters of Rome: The Popes ..............................................18 Lecture 5 A New Empire: The Carolingians ........................................................22 Lecture 6 Devastation Again: The New Invasions of Europe..............................26 Lecture 7 To Reform and Rebuild: The Eleventh-Century Reform Movement ...............................................................................30 Lecture 8 The Clash of Church and State: The Investiture Controversy ............34 Lecture 9 The Crusades ......................................................................................38 Lecture 10 Growing Kingdoms: England and France............................................42 Lecture 11 The Rise and Fall of the Papal Monarchy ...........................................46 Lecture 12 Europe Asunder: The Avignon Papacy and the Great Schism ...........50 Lecture 13 The Hundred Years War......................................................................54 Lecture 14 Europe Stands Alone: The Fall of Constantinople ..............................58 Course Materials ........................................................................................................62 Recorded Books.........................................................................................................00 3 About Your Professor Thomas F. Madden Photo courtesy of Thomas F. Madden Thomas F. Madden is a professor of history and director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Saint Louis University. His publications include Empires of Trust: How Rome Built—and America Is Building—A New World (Dutton, 2008), The New Concise History of the Crusades (Rowman and Littlefield, 2005), Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003), and The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997), coauthored with Donald E. Queller. He is a recognized expert on pre-modern history, fre- quently appearing in such venues as the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, National Public Radio, the Discovery Channel, and the History Channel. His scholarly awards include the Haskins Medal of the Medieval Academy of America and the Otto Gründler Prize of the Medieval Institute. The following books provide an excellent supplement to the lectures in this course: John M. Riddle’s A History of the Middle Ages: 300–1500 (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008). Joseph R. Strayer’s Western Europe in the Middle Ages: A Short History, 3rd ed. (Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 1991). Brian Tierney and Sidney Painter’s Western Europe in the Middle Ages: 300–1475, 6th ed. (Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill, 1998). 4 © Art Archive/Real biblioteca de lo Escorial Knights Before a Fortress Folio 5V of Le Jouvencel, a late fifteenth-century French manuscript; Introduction The period between antiquity and the Renaissance has been termed the “Middle Ages,” and sometimes even the “Dark Ages,” but despite a lingering perception of this time as being one of barbarism and decline, the medieval world in fact proves an age of much interest. During the course of the following lectures, Professor Thomas F. Madden discusses the history, politics, and religion of this oft-misunderstood period. In so doing, Professor Madden not only sheds light on this remarkable time, but he illustrates how the accom- plishments of this period laid the groundwork for the “rebirth” to follow. 5 Lecture 1: The End of an Empire and the Beginning of the World The Suggested Reading for this lecture is Timothy D. Barnes’s The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. he name “Middle Ages” naturally defines the period in relation to the periods that precede and follow it. The thousand years of the Middle Ages stand between antiquity—in particular ancient Greece and Rome—and the Renaissance (or “rebirth”). Historians in the fifteenth century looked back to the greatness of ancient Rome and saw their own period as a rebirth of that greatness. Everything in between was simply “the middle.” And thus the name. Historians no longer believe that the Middle Ages was a time of barbarism and decline simply waiting for a new rebirth, but the name has stuck just the same. And it is true that the Middle Ages, like all ages, was built on what came before. In this case, it was the massive Roman Empire. The greatest political and military achievement in Western history to that time, the Roman Empire spanned the entire Mediterranean, at one point stretching all the way from Scotland to the Persian Gulf. For the first time ever, that area was united and enjoyed unprecedented levels of peace and prosperity. However, by the third century A.D., all of that was beginning to unravel. The Roman Republic had long since given way to an imperial form of government in which one man or dynasty ruled. When the man was good and his family held power securely, all was well. But that was increasingly rare by the third century. Competition among various leading generals led to frequent civil wars and a correspond- ing increase in military spending. Instability and increased taxation took a hard toll on the Roman economy, which began to experience runaway infla- tion and unemployment. Adding to Rome’s problems were the continued pressures on their western European borders caused by population migra- tions among Germanic barbarians. The Roman world was beset from within and without. In 284 A.D., Emperor Diocletian came to power and immediately began insti- tuting comprehensive reforms. He reorganized the provincial administration, creating twelve dioceses, each under a vicar, who were themselves answer- able to four praetorian prefects, who were directly under the control of the emperor. The emperor’s position as ruler was codified into Roman law. No longer a princeps or first citizen, he was now a dominus or lord. More dramat- ically, Diocletian’s reforms divided the Roman Empire between two emperors, called Augusti, who would be assisted by two vice-emperors, called Caesars. Diocletian hoped that the division would allow emperors to better respond to usurpers and other uprisings in their portion of the empire and that the desig- nation of a clear successor would reduce the number of those usurpers. LECTURE ONE 6 Rome remained the sole capital, at least at first, although Western emperors often ruled from Milan or other Italian cities. Diocletian’s other reforms were less successful. Although he attempted to restore confidence in the coinage, the state no longer had sufficient quantities of precious metals to mint. In 301, he issued a Maximum Price Edict, but it only served to create a black market. To combat the exodus from highly taxed professions, he made professions such as baker, soldier, farmer, and member of city government “compulsory services,” which became hereditary. He also attempted to remove what he saw as the evil influence of Eastern cults. In particular he targeted Christianity, which claimed some 10 percent of the Roman population. The Diocletian Persecution was the most comprehensive effort yet of the Romans to stamp out the religion. The persecution was unevenly applied and, as it happened, did not last long enough to have the desired effect. Indeed, Christianity was about to have an extraordinary change of fortune. On October 27, 312, a Roman military leader, Constantine, defeated Maxentius, the emperor in Rome, and claimed the throne himself. Earlier, Constantine had had a vision in which he believed that Jesus Christ gave him a sign, the Chi-Rho, to carry into battle for victory. As a result of his victory, Constantine immediately converted to Christianity. This one conversion would © Burstein Collection/CORBIS The Emblem of Christ Appearing to Constantine by Peter Paul Rubens, 1622 7 constitute one of the most profoundly important actions in all of history. It is

Load more