European History

***Although we're going to look at many of the individual countries that make up Europe, Agent, there are certain historical events that happened all across the continent. We'll explore these first.***

After the fall of *Rome*, there was a period of time throughout *Europe* when education and culture nearly vanished. The knowledge and culture gained from the *Greeks* and *Romans* was nearly lost.

This period is known as the *Middle Ages*, and it took place from about AD 500 until about AD 1500.

Luckily, *Christian* monks throughout *Europe* did manage to save some of the literature and art of the Greeks and the Romans, and they devoted their lives to making copies of the works.

During the *Middle Ages*, a new system of organizing society known as *feudalism* sprang up throughout Europe.

Feudalism began with the *king*, who gave land to the nobles, who were the wealthiest and most powerful of his subjects. In return, the nobles used their power to serve and protect the king. The land that was given to the nobles was called a *fief*.

The noble then gave a part of his fief to a less powerful noble, who was called a *vassal*. In return, the vassal used his power to serve and protect the noble, who was known as a *lord*.

This system worked very well during a time when there was constant warring between kingdoms.

Then, in AD 800, *Pope Leo III* crowned a new Holy *Roman* Emperor by the name of *Charlemagne*.

*Charlemagne* was a Frank, and the Frankish lands he ruled eventually became *France*. He helped unite *Europe* during his rule.

Charlemagne built schools and supported the monasteries where monks were studying and copying the ancient literature. Education and art flourished during the reign of Charlemagne.

During the *Middle Ages*, nobles had *knights* to protect their lands.

Unlike common soldiers, knights were warriors who followed a code of conduct known as *chivalry*. Chivalry was a combination of *Christian* and military ideals, including faith, courage, honor, and loyalty.

Knights regularly competed in contests of skill in battle known as tournaments. A tournament gave knights the chance to show off their skills and to practice for war.

When the Seljuk Turks began to invade the Christian Byzantine Empire in AD 1095, *Pope Urban II* held a sermon in which he called upon Christians in *Europe* to go to war with the *Turks* in the holy land of *Palestine*.

His sermon inspired many *Christian* knights and nobles, and they set off on what is called the *First Crusade*.

During the First Crusade, the knights defeated the *Turks* and won control of *Jerusalem*. They held the city until AD 1187, when the *Turks* reclaimed the city.

There were five major *Crusades* to the holy land, but the First was the most successful. Eventually, the Crusaders were driven out of the Middle East by the unified Muslim states.

Finally, there was a terrible period during the *Middle Ages* when disease swept across Europe.

The disease was called the *Black Death* because of the dark bruises caused by blood clots below the skin of its victims.

It originated in *Asia*, where it took a terrible toll in lives. It was brought to *Europe* by merchants, whose ships had *rats* aboard that were infested with disease-carrying fleas. The fleas bit humans, infecting them with the disease.

One third of the people in *Europe* died from the plague during the *Middle Ages*.

### Additional Research

If you are interested in learning more about European history, try looking up the following topics at your local library:

1. Dark Ages
2. Middle Ages
3. King Arthur, Camelot, and the Knights of the Round Table