A Short Sketch of European History
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Conditions and Terms of Use PREFACE Copyright © Heritage History 2009 Many European histories written for school use are too Some rights reserved long for careful study by young pupils during the necessarily limited time allotted to the subject. Many of them are overloaded This text was produced and distributed by Heritage History, an organization with details of battles and domestic politics which, although of dedicated to the preservation of classical juvenile history books, and to the importance in the thorough study of one country, have little or promotion of the works of traditional history authors. no influence on the general growth of Europe. It is very The books which Heritage History republishes are in the public domain and important that students should realize as early as possible that are no longer protected by the original copyright. They may therefore be reproduced the history of our islands has at all times been influenced by the within the United States without paying a royalty to the author. broader movements of European history, and in this book an endeavour has been made to give, succinctly, the main factors The text and pictures used to produce this version of the work, however, are the property of Heritage History and are licensed to individual users with some which have gone to the forming and developing of the various restrictions. These restrictions are imposed for the purpose of protecting the integrity European states from the fall of the Roman Empire to the of the work itself, for preventing plagiarism, and for helping to assure that Reformation, together with sufficient detail to enliven that compromised or incomplete versions of the work are not widely disseminated. dullness which is the almost inevitable accompaniment of great compression. In order to preserve information regarding the origin of this text, a copyright by the author, and a Heritage History distribution date are included at the foot of As a good deal of time is generally devoted to the history every page of text. We request all electronic and printed versions of this text include of England in the ordinary school curriculum, it has seemed these markings and that users adhere to the following restrictions. unnecessary to enlarge on it here. The history of England has 1) This text may be reproduced for personal or educational purposes as long as therefore rarely been touched upon save when (as in the the original copyright and Heritage History version number are faithfully Hundred Years' War, for example) that country plays a reproduced. prominent part in the politics of Europe. On the other hand, considerable space has been given to the period immediately 2) You may not alter this text or try to pass off all or any part of it as your own following on the fall of the Roman Empire, that being a period work. somewhat neglected, but which yet gives the necessary key to 3) You may not distribute copies of this text for commercial purposes unless future developments. you have the prior written consent of Heritage History. To aid smooth reading the dates have been for the most 4) This text is intended to be a faithful and complete copy of the original part relegated to the margin. In the case of rulers the dates of the document. However, typos, omissions, and other errors may have occurred beginning and end of their reign have been given; of all other during preparation, and Heritage History does not guarantee a perfectly personages those of birth and death. reliable reproduction. Permission to use Heritage History documents or images for commercial purposes, or more information about our collection of traditional history resources can be obtained by contacting us at [email protected] Original Copyright 1920 by H. E. Marshall 2 Distributed by Heritage History 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS GERMANY: CONTINUED STRUGGLES WITH THE POPE............ 72 FRANCE: THE REIGN OF LOUIS XI ......................................... 75 THE MOORS DRIVEN OUT OF SPAIN ...................................... 77 BARBARIANS INVADE THE ROMAN EMPIRE ............................ 4 EUROPE AFTER DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD ................ 80 THE RISE OF THE FRANKS ....................................................... 6 THE PROGRESS OF RUSSIA .................................................... 82 THE BARBARIANS RULE IN ROME........................................... 8 THE RISE OF SWITZERLAND .................................................. 84 RISE AND FALL OF JUSTINIAN'S EMPIRE ............................... 10 THE BEGINNING OF ITALIAN UNITY SHATTERED .................. 88 GREGORY LAYS THE FOUNDATION OF PAPAL POWER .......... 11 THE STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY IN ITALY ........................... 91 THE RISE OF MOHAMMEDANISM .......................................... 13 THE RENAISSANCE ................................................................ 93 THE CONQUEST OF SPAIN BY THE ARABS ............................. 15 THE NEW ASTRONOMY ......................................................... 95 DEFEAT OF SARACENS AND RISE OF CAROLINGIANS ............ 17 THE BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION ................................ 96 BEGINNING OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE ........................... 20 REFORMATION PERIOD—GERMANY ..................................... 98 THE BEGINNING OF FRANCE, ITALY, AND GERMANY ........... 23 REFORMATION PERIOD—SWITZERLAND AND FRANCE ....... 101 THE COMING OF THE NORTHMEN ......................................... 26 REFORMATION PERIOD—ENGLAND AND SCANDINAVIA ..... 103 THE NORTHMEN IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND ......................... 28 REFORMATION PERIOD—SPAIN, PORTUGAL ....................... 106 THE BEGINNING OF RUSSIA .................................................. 30 THE EFFECT OF AMERICAN CONQUESTS ON SPAIN ............. 107 THE NORMAN KINGDOM OF SICILY ...................................... 33 SCANDINAVIA—DENMARK AND SWEDEN ............................ 34 SCANDINAVIA—NORWAY .................................................... 38 THE FEUDAL SYSTEM ........................................................... 40 TOURNAMENT AND FEUDAL WARFARE ................................ 43 THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE—SAXON EMPERORS ................. 45 THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN POPE AND EMPEROR ................... 46 THE PROGRESS OF FRANCE TOWARDS NATIONALITY ........... 49 KNIGHTHOOD ....................................................................... 52 THE BEGINNING OF THE CRUSADES ...................................... 55 THE CHRISTIAN KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM ........................... 58 THE LATIN EMPIRE OF CONSTANTINOPLE............................. 60 THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE ........................................... 62 STRIFE WITH THE POPES ....................................................... 64 FRANCE: THE CAPTIVITY OF THE POPES ............................... 66 FRANCE: THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR ................................. 70 Original Copyright 1920 by H. E. Marshall 3 Distributed by Heritage History 2009 CHAPTER I "Rome was not built in a day," neither did Rome fall in a day. The fall was gradual, and came both from without and from within. BARBARIANS INVADE THE ROMAN EMPIRE It came because there was tyranny in Rome, and no state In the first centuries of our era the one great power of the can long be held by tyranny and the power of the sword alone. world was Rome. All southern Europe bowed beneath the The high officials and tax collectors cared nothing for the conquering sword of the Romans. Africa and Asia, too, owned people's good, they cared only for gold. They laid heavy and their sway. For the Mediterranean, the great trade route of the unjust taxes upon the middle classes. These classes must always then known world, was theirs, and the countries bordering upon be the backbone and support of a nation, but in Rome's last days it became mere provinces of Rome. Even the uttermost islands they were so oppressed that they ceased to exist. The backbone felt their might, and sailing beyond the "narrow seas," Cæsar set of the nation was gone. So when wild barbarian hordes poured his hand upon the island of Britain. From the Rhine and the over the borders of the empire Rome fell. Danube in the north, to the desert of Sahara in the south, from When the Emperor Theodosius died, about sixty years the borders of Wales in the west, to the Euphrates and the Tigris after the founding of Constantinople, he left two sons, both mere in the east, the empire stretched. boys. They divided the empire between them, Arcadius, the Of this wide empire Rome was the capital. Secure upon elder, taking Constantinople for his capital, ruled over the her seven hills she sat, mistress of the world, a city without rival, Eastern Empire, and Honorius, a child of eleven, became ruler of the Western Empire, with Rome as his capital. It was upon until in A.D. 330 the Christian emperor Constantine the Great resolved to build a new Rome upon the shores of the Bosphorus. Rome and the Western Empire that the full force of the barbarian Constantine called his new city New Rome. But men did not onslaught fell. take readily to the name, and the capital upon the Bosphorus First came the Goths. These were Teutons or Germans, became known as Constantinople, or the city of Constantine. It and were divided into two tribes, the Visigoths or west Goths, is difficult to-day to remember that Constantinople was founded and the Ostrogoths or east Goths. They were tall and strong, by a Christian, and was at one time the bulwark of Christianity their eyes were blue, their hair long and fair.