1. The Franks
1.1. The Franks (after Rome fell) they took over most of Rome, they conquered much of Gaul, as well as other small places.
1.2. Even though they were farmers,they loved making war.
1.3. Frank actually means: Free
1.4. The Merovingians
1.4.1. The Merovingians were a royal family that ruled Franks for almost 300 years
1.4.2. Clovis I reigned 481 to 511 C.E. He founded the country of France in 481 C.E.
1.4.3. Once Clovis died the kingdom was divided between 3 children, we were not capable leaders.
1.4.4. This family was now known for it's treachery and murderous infighting. Kings and Queens would often kill (when they needed to) without the help of others.
1.4.5. After a while this family was weakened by the infighting, and the kingdom collapsed.
1.5. The Laws of The Franks
1.5.1. Franks had their own law, with was very different from Roman laws.
1.5.2. These laws were called the Salic Code
1.5.3. If property was stolen or a person was hurt/killed a fine called wergild was given to the owner of the property or the victim's family. In the case of murder you could refuse the fine and demand the guilty person's death.
1.5.4. If a relative of the victim killed the victim they would not be held responsible for the victims death
1.6. Everyday Life Among The Franks
1.6.1. Franks had social Classes: Some people were rich some were poor. 60% of people were serfs or peasants (people who worked on lord's manor/estate.
1.6.2. Serfs were said to be free, but in actual fact were never allowed to move away from the manor.
1.6.3. Because serfs were farmers they were very dependent on the weather.
2. The Mediterranean World
2.1. The Mediterranean could sustain the lives of hundreds of people. It had fertile soil, plenty of rain, sunshine, and a good climate.
2.2. The sea in the Mediterranean was a great travel route that had encouraged people to travel far wide all, to learn from each other.
2.3. The two most important nations of the Mediterranean were the Romans and Greeks, the Greeks had studied philosophy, art, architecture, drama, literature, medicine and science very intently. The Greek Empire fell to the Romans in 150 B.C.E.
2.4. The Romans had made Legions, which were a band of armed forces, they were so powerful that they controlled most of Europe, southeast Asia, and Northern Africa.
3. The Romans
3.1. Colosseum
3.1.1. The Colosseum could seat 50,000 people
3.1.2. The Colosseum was where executions, mock naval battles, and combats between gladiators happen. Sometimes people were eaten alive by wild animals.
3.2. The Fall of Rome
3.2.1. The year 410 C.E. Rome was captured by the goths (Germanic peoples)
3.2.2. Only the Eastern Roman Empire capital had stayed strong.
3.2.3. Noone knows exactly how Rome fell.
3.3. After The Fall
3.3.1. Roman culture survived in isolated distant islands and monastaries
3.3.2. The Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Goths, Vandals, Lombards, and Franks were attracted to the riches of the Roman Empire. So they pushed out the original population of Celtish peoples and then made their own laws, religions, etc.
3.3.3. The civilization began to disappear, the roads fell apart, traveling became dangerous, cities decayed.
3.3.4. The allies of Romans (German Barbarians) moved into Rome.
3.3.5. Later on Europe fell into chaos, slavery, and savagery.
3.4. Rome could have fell because:
3.4.1. They spent too much money on luxuries.
3.4.2. A disease killed them.
3.4.3. In 30 B.C.E. they were ruled by selfish rulers.
3.4.4. Due to the terrain the empire was too hard to defend.
3.4.5. New religions weakened the will of people, and began choosing religion over Rome.
3.4.6. They grew weak because of the constant attacks from Germanic Peoples
3.5. The Pax Romana encouraged people to trade and exchange ideas.
3.6. Rome demanded taxes, slaves, and submission from all the lands it controlled
3.7. When the Romans ruled western Europe, the culture flourished. The Romans admired the Greeks, so they copied the Greek arts and architecture.
3.8. The Romans had made laws for people to follow, some Canadian laws are the same as Roman laws.
3.9. The Romans were highly literate people, some Romans would write thousands of books and poems, and libraries were filled with Greek, Egyptian, and Roman Books. Romans spoke Latin
4. Charlemagne
4.1. Pepin the short had made himself king by throwing out the last of the Merovingian rulers.
4.2. Charlemagne came to power in 768 C.E. His father was Pepin the short
4.3. Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of Rome on December 25 800 by the Pope Leo III to rule the Frank's territory.
4.4. Charlemagne sent out agents called missi domiminici to make sure people were being treated correctly
4.5. When Charlemagne defeated the Anglo-Saxons he insisted they convert to Christianity. Once they declined, Charlemagne ordered his soldiers to kill approximately 4000 Saxons in a day.
4.6. Charlemagne Insisted on making schools and churches, because he wanted education for everyone
4.7. He died at the age 72 and had ruled for 47 years.
5. The Anglo-Saxons and Celts
5.1. The Celts were invaded by Germanic peoples and pushed from Wales to Cornwall to Scotland then all the way to Ireland.
5.2. The Celts used to live in most of Europe (From Spain all the way to south Russia).
5.3. Now in Britain Celtic culture and language had disappeared from the 7 kingdoms.
5.4. Anglo-Saxon England
5.4.1. Anglo-Saxons were farmers
5.4.2. Men and woman shared the hard work.
5.4.3. Saxons were wonderful storytellers
5.4.4. Alfred the Great (an early Anglo-Saxon England leader) lost many battles against vikings, until he figured out how to defeat them
5.4.5. After Alfred died he left western and southern England united and prosperous
5.4.6. But England as a whole, they were being attacked by vikings and they ruled by weak kings
5.5. The Pivotal Role of The Irish
5.5.1. The Celts Who settled on the western-northern edge of the British Isles, had begun practicing Druidism. They fought bloody battles, kept slaves, and made human sacrifices. This changed when St.Patrick (who was a patron saint from Ireland) in the 5th century when he brought Christianity and a respect for learning.
5.5.2. Monasteries became learning centres for Irish monks and also scholars from other parts of Europe escaping the Germanic invaders.
5.5.3. Irish monks went to Scotland, and England spreading the word of Christianity. They had their books strapped to their belts.
5.5.4. Monks copied books onto sheep-skin, or "parchment"
6. The Vikings
6.1. The Vikings devastated many countries such as Ireland, England and Netherlands.
6.2. The vikings came from the north searching for plunder and glory.They travelled in long ships that enabled them to travel quick and leave before someone could fight back.
6.3. The Viking Reputation
6.3.1. The vikings would enslave/kill every man, woman, and child.
6.3.2. Some people would pay the vikings to leave their land
6.3.3. Only very few people could fight the vikings effectively.
6.4. Everyday Life Among the Vikings
6.4.1. They PROBABLY began their raids because the soil was not good enough to grow food for the constantly growing population.
6.4.2. Men and woman shared work.
6.4.3. Most people owned slaves called Thralls
6.4.4. People called skalds (A poet who could recite poems and tales word for word) would tell stories of history at gatherings.
6.4.5. Viking Law and Goverment
6.4.5.1. Vikings made fair laws and they would not be written down but instead memorized by people called law speakers.
6.4.5.2. Sometimes if you did something very wrong then you would become an "outlaw". When you are an outlaw anyone is allowed to kill and treat you like dirt.
6.5. The End of the Viking Age
6.5.1. The Viking age ended in the 11th century.
6.5.2. Gradually people knew how to deal with the vikings.
6.5.3. Some Countries gave certain places to the vikings
6.5.4. Most Viking settlements were destroyed or just simply disappeared
6.5.5. The people of Norway and Denmark were now christian.