Middle age in english

« ① Charlemagne’s conquests • Charlemagne (740s - 814) (King of the Franks 768 - 800) (emp.

800 - 814) o he conquest Lombardy in 773 - 774 : Adrian I • he crossed the Alps to conquer it • the pope at that time was Adrian I (Rome) and he asked the Byzantine Empire to be his allies • BUT they said no (because of own problems → other wars) • Charlemagne said yes to stop the Lombards to try to conquer Rome • Charlemagne gave a pretty big part (south and central) of Italy to the pope and he guarded Lombardy & Tuscany for him (north + small part of south) o war in Spain : 773 - 801 → conquest of Catalonia • the mission was to kicked the Arabs out of the Iberian Peninsula, every year an army of Charlemagne tried to defeat the Arabs → the only thing they seized possession is Catalonia • it wasn't a success and they didn't convince them to convert to Christianity o conquest of what is nowadays Germany : 772 - 804 • it was a success : they conquered the Germanic tribes and forced them to convert to Christianity o crowned emperor in Rome by pope Leo III : 25 December 800 * Summary: upon his death in 814, Charlemagne had managed to unite the entire Germanic world as well a large part of the Latin world • the Byzantine Empire isn't happy : some tensions btw them → Charlemagne was called emperor but not of the Western Empire ② The empire’s organisation 2.1 The government & its agents • 794 construction began on the Palace at Aix-la-Chapelle (now Aachen in Germany) Charlemagne's permanent residence seat from 807 • publication in a written form in Latin of laws applicable to all subjects of the Empire • division of the empire into more than 300 "countries" = approx.

3500 officials (counts + assistants) • borderland regions = "marches", placed under the authority of military leaders (mostly "margraves/marquesses" or sometimes dukes) • Counts, margraves/marquesses & dukes carried out the emperor's laws, gathered his armies and collected his taxes • chosen from Charlemagne's aristocratic supporters, they were compensated for their work by temporary grants of lands rather than with salaries • royal envoys (missi dominici = "those sent out by the lord king") regularly visited and controlled the administration of counties and marches • introduction of vassalage to unify and solidify the Empire (relationship btw vassal/lord) 2.2 Ruler’s power • the army: all free men must perform military service importance of the heavy cavalry • the sovereign's land wealth (= royal estates) • other revenues: taxes and tolls (pedage) • the justice system: 7 professional judges per country/march/court These courts of justice were presided by the local count/margrave/marquess/duke who did not participate in the final verdict 2.3 The Church • the emperor governed the Frankish Church without, however, being its head o he imposed his laws on it o he gathered and presided over the ecclesiastical councils/synods ▪ o formal assembly of the Church leaders & theologians he chose bishops, abbots & abbesses (some were laymen/laywomen), who needed also to maintain & command their own military contingents 2.4 The economy • cities regained their importance by becoming the residence of counts/margraves/margraveses/dukes & bishops • need for a currency based on a single denomination ⇒ creation of the silver denarius (1.7g coin) used: o to pay official & imperial troops o to pay the emperor's expenses o and to allow the population to pay for their transactions and.... »