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107 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Who was the Germanic general who deposed the last Roman emperor in 476 C.E.? |
Odoacer |
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In what year did Germanic general Odoacer depose the last Roman emperor? |
476 C.E. |
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What happened to the cities of the western Roman empire after 476 C.E.? |
They gradually decayed; due to Germanic invasions and contests for power, most people jumped ship. |
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After the Roman Empire's fall, which part of the former empire was taken over by the Visigoths? |
Spain |
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The Visigoths ruled Spain through what years? |
From the 470s to the early eight century C.E. |
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What ethnic group ruled Spain from the 470s to the early 900s? |
The Visigoths |
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What ended the Visigoth rule in Spain? |
Muslim invasion |
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After the Roman Empire's fall, which part of the former empire was taken over by the Ostrogoths? |
Italy |
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The Ostrogoths ruled Italy through what years? |
470s to the 530s |
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What ended the Ostrogoth rule in Italy? |
Invasion of the Byzantine emperor Justinian |
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What group ruled Italy after the Byzantines left in the sixth century? |
The Lombards |
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Who controlled Gaul from the mid-fifth century? |
The Burgundinians in the south and east, and the Franks in the north and west |
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When did the Angles, Saxons, and other Germanic peoples cross the English Channel and establish regional kingdoms in Britain? |
About the fifth century C.E. |
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Prior to settling in and around the former Roman empire, most Germanic peoples followed what religious beliefs? |
Polytheism, elemental gods |
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After settling in and around the former Roman empire, most Germanic peoples followed what religious beliefs? |
Arian Christianity |
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Which empire or kingdom oversaw the development of decentralized political institutions? |
The Frankish empire |
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The economy of the Frankish empire was based upon what? |
The agricultural resources of continental Europe |
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What was the relationship like between the Frankish empire and the Catholic Church?
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Very positive; they were close allies |
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When did the Franks develop a group identity? Was this earlier or later than the other Germanic peoples? |
During the third century C.E., much later than the other Germanic peoples |
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Who was the first strong military and political leader of the Franks? |
Clovis |
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What years was Clovis the ruler of the Franks? |
481 to 511 C.E. |
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Who was Clovis? |
First strong political and military leader of the Franks who ruled from 481 to 511 C.E. |
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In 486, Clovis led the Frankish forces on a campaign that __________________________ in Gaul. |
wiped out the last vestiges of Roman authority |
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Which Germanic people did not convert to Christianity immediately after settling in and around the former Roman empire? |
The Franks; they converted to Roman Christianity around 500 C.E. |
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Who was Clovis's wife? |
Clotilda |
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What was Arian Christianity? |
Eastern branch of Christianity condemned by the Catholic Church as being heretical |
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Why did the Frankish empire have the relationship that it did with the Catholic Church? |
The Franks were Roman Christians, instead of Arian Christians like most Germanic peoples |
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Who were the Carolingians originally? |
An aristocratic clan who displaced Clovis's line as rulers of the Franks in the early eighth century C.E. |
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Who was the founder of the Carolingian dynasty? |
Charles Martel, who had great victory in the Battle of Tours at 732 |
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When was the Battle of Tours fought? |
732 |
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Who was the Battle of Tours fought between? |
Muslim forces from Spain vs. Frankish forces led by Charles Martel |
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Who won at the Battle of Tours? |
The Frankish forces led by Charles Martel |
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What does the name "Charles Martel" mean? |
Charles the Hammer |
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Who was the first Carolingian ruler of the Franks? |
Charles Martel's son, who was Charlemagne's father |
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When did the first Carolingian become ruler of the Franks? |
751 C.E. |
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What years did Charlemagne rule the Franks? |
768 to 814 C.E. |
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Under Charlemagne's rule, what were relations like between the Frankish empire and the Abbasid Caliphate? |
Diplomatic and friendly |
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Under Charlemagne's rule, what were relations like between the Frankish empire and the Byzantine empire? |
Diplomatic and friendly |
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Who was Abu al-Abbas? |
An albino elephant gifted to Charlemagne from the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid in 802 C.E. |
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Who was Harun al-Rashid? |
Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate in Charlemagne's time |
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What lands comprised the Frankish Empire when Charlemagne inherited the throne? |
Belgium, the Netherlands, southwestern Germany, and most of France |
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What new lands did Charlemagne add to the Frankish empire during his rule?
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Northeastern Spain, Bavaria, and Italy as far south as Rome |
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What does this image depict? |
The baptism of Frankish ruler Clovis |
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Charlemagne campaigned for thirty-two years to impose his rule on the ______s of ___________, but was ultimately unsuccessful. |
Saxons of northern Germany |
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What does this image depict? |
Charlemagne riding a horse and carrying an orb symbolizing his Imperial authority |
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Charlemagne established the capital of the Frankish empire at what city? |
Aachen, which was in Germany |
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Though Charlemagne established his capital at Aachen, he constantly traveled throughout his empire. Why? |
The Frankish empire lacked funds to set up an elaborate administration. Charlemagne relied on his counts, and he had to make sure that they were doing what they were told. |
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Who were the missi dominici? |
A group of imperial officials who traveled annually to all local jurisdictions within the empire and reviewed the accounts of the local authorities |
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Which Frankish ruler created the missi dominici? |
Charlemagne |
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Why didn't Charlemagne want to use the title of Emperor? |
He feared that the Byzantine empire would see that as an affront to their claim as the legitimate heirs to the Roman empire |
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How did Charlemagne maintain control of his vast empire when the Franks lacked funds to set up a bureaucracy? |
He set up the missi dominici and also traveled throughout the empire personally |
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When and where was Charlemagne officially crowned the Emperor of the Franks? |
In the year 800, while visiting religious services in Italy conducted by Pope Leo III |
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Who was Charlemagne's only surviving son? |
Louis the Pious |
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What years did Louis the Pious rule the Frankish empire? |
814 to 840 C.E. |
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Louis the Pious's lack of strong will and military skills led to what? |
Loss of control over counts and local authorities, who pursued their own interests and ignored the central government |
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Which of Louis the Pious's sons inherited the throne of the Frankish empire?
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Trick question; none of them did. The empire was divided into three equal parts and each son inherited a part. |
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How was the Frankish empire dissolved? |
Louis the Pious and his sons could not come to an agreement over who would ascend to the throne, so they split the empire into three equal parts. |
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Which three groups of invaders began pillaging the Frankish realm in the late eighth century C.E.? |
The Muslims, the Magyars, and the Vikings |
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What parts of the Frankish empire were invaded by the Muslims in the late eighth century C.E.? |
Mediterranean Europe, including Southern Italy and France |
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What parts of the Frankish empire were invaded by the Magyars from the late ninth century C.E.? |
Germany, Italy, Southern France |
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How was the Carolingian military? How did they defend against invaders? |
They had no navy and relied upon local forces that could respond rapidly to invasions |
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How did the Carolingian emperors respond to invasions? How successful were these tactics? |
They were unable to counter them on an imperial scale and relied on local militias to defeat the invaders. |
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Which battle effectively ended the Magyar threat against the Frankish empire? |
The Battle of Lechfield |
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Which of Louis the Pious's sons inherited the red area on this map? |
Charles the Bald |
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Which of Louis the Pious's sons inherited the yellow area on this map? |
Lothar I |
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Which of Louis the Pious's sons inherited the blue area on this map? |
Louis the German |
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Who had sons named Lothar I, Louis the German, and Charles the Bald? |
Louis the Pious |
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Why did the Vikings want to invade the Frankish empire? |
Gold! They thought they would get rich. |
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Norse expansion was absolutely dependent on what skills and technology? |
Shipbuilding and seafaring |
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Where did the Vikings originate? |
Norway and Denmark |
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In about 1000 C.E., a small group of Vikings established a colony at ___________ in northern Canada. |
Newfoundland |
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Vikings explored the Atlantic coast of North America as far south as _______. |
Maine |
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When did the Viking colonies in North America disappear? |
No more than a few decades after they were founded. |
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When did the Viking colony in Greenland disappear? Why? |
About 1500 C.E., because global cooling made it hard to farm there. |
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Who were most Norse seafarers? |
Merchants and migrants. Very few were actually pirates/raiders. |
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Who were the Vikings? What's the difference between the Norse and the Vikings? |
The Vikings were Norse mariners who invaded and plundered settlements throughout Europe. "Norse" is the ethnic group, and "Viking" is the profession. |
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What made the Viking ships so special? |
They were shallow-draft boats that could navigate both on open sea and on rivers |
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What was a big factor in determining when a Viking raid would occur? |
Tides. Viking sailors used the tides to invade quickly and take advantage of the element of surprise. |
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When did the Vikings begin raiding the rest of Europe? |
790s C.E. |
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In 845, a fleet of 800 Viking vessels besieged what major European city? |
Hamburg |
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In 885, a fleet of 700 Viking vessels besieged what major European city? |
Paris |
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In 994, a fleet of 100 Viking ships besieged what major European city? |
London |
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During the ninth and tenth centuries, the Vikings raided this city on the Black Sea at least three times. |
Constantinople |
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How did the kingdoms of England react to Viking invasions in the ninth century? |
They merged into a single large realm, ruled by King Alfred (871-899) |
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How did King Alfred of England respond to Viking invasions? How successful were these tactics? |
He built a strong navy and constructed fortresses. They were successful -- by the mid tenth century, Alfred's descendants ruled all of England. |
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What does this image depict? |
Danish vikings preparing to invade England |
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Who was the first King of England? What years did he reign? |
King Alfred, reigned 871-899 |
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What factions fought at the Battle of Lechfield? |
The Saxons, led by King Otto I, who were technically under Frankish rule at that time, vs. Magyar invaders |
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Who won at the Battle of Lechfield? What results did this bring to the rest of Europe? |
The Saxons led by King Otto I won the battle. This effectively ended the Magyar threat to the Frankish empire. |
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When Lombard magnates and the Papacy clashed, King Otto I sent armies to Italy to support who? |
The Papacy |
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What happened between King Otto I of Saxony and Pope John XII in 962 C.E.? |
John crowned Otto as an emperor, officially creating the Holy Roman Empire |
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Who was the first Holy Roman Emperor? |
King Otto I of Saxony |
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Why are historians abandoning the term "feudalism" to describe medieval Europe? |
It distorts and oversimplifies a complicated society |
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What does it mean to say that Europe was becoming a decentralized society? |
Local nobles were taking control of their territories. Even though most of them had a nominal allegiance to a higher authority, they took care of their own affairs. |
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What were retainers? |
Individuals who were given payment ("grants") by a lord in exchange for loyalty, obedience, respect, counsel, and military service |
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The grants given by lords to their retainers usually consisted of what? |
Parcels of land |
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Grants were not just payments to make retainers happy, but also directly allowed retainers to serve their lords better. How? (2 ways) |
Enabled them to devote their time and energy to serving the lord instead of worrying about providing for their families Gave them resources to maintain horses and other equipment used to serve the lord |
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Most lords after the dissolution of the Frankish empire owed at least a nominal allegiance to... |
... Carolingian descendants of Louis the Pious |
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What were Louis the Pious's sons named? |
Lothar I, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German |
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Sometimes, retainers would want to leave their lands to their heirs when they died. How did their lords react to this? |
The lords recognized the retainers' rights to leave their lands to their heirs |
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How did lords' close relationships with retainers affect the larger social order? |
Retainers got more power over their areas, including administration of justice and organization of public works projects
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Retainers eventually evolved into... |
a hereditary noble class. Such nobles might have their own retainers in a complicated web of relationships |
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Why did the complicated system of lords and retainers create instability? |
Powerful retainers would sometimes decide to pursue their own interests rather than the interests of their lord |
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What does this image depict? |
Military retainers receiving swords that indicate their close relationship with a local lord |
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In post-Carolingian France, lordslords _______ at controlling their retainers, which led to ___________________________________________. |
failed; local authorities ignoring central authorities and pursuing their own interests |
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In tenth-century England, lords _______ at controlling their retainers, which led to ___________________________________________. |
succeeded; the eventual creation of a powerful centralized monarchy |
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In tenth-century France, lords _______ at controlling their retainers, which led to ___________________________________________. |
succeeded; the eventual creation of a powerful centralized monarchy |
