Lesson 1.6 · Unit 1 · CED topic 1.6
Europe, c. 1200 to c. 1450
Europe in 1200 was less wealthy and less unified than China or the Muslim world, and it was mostly rural. This lesson covers the three ideas the CED asks about: how Christianity and other religions shaped society, how political decentralization worked and why it developed, and how agriculture and coerced labor organized daily life.
Learning objectives.
- 1K. Explain how the beliefs and practices of the predominant religions in Europe affected European society.
- 1L. Explain the causes and consequences of political decentralization in Europe from c. 1200 to c. 1450.
- 1M. Explain the effects of agriculture on social organization in Europe from c. 1200 to c. 1450.
Historical developments.
- 3.1.III.D.v. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and the core beliefs and practices of these religions continued to shape societies in Europe.
- 3.2.I.B.ii. Europe was politically fragmented and characterized by decentralized monarchies, feudalism, and the manorial system.
- 3.3.III.C. Europe was largely an agricultural society dependent on free and coerced labor, including serfdom.
Religion: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
The CED says Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and the core beliefs and practices of these religions continued to shape societies in Europe. Roman Catholic Christianity was the dominant faith in western and central Europe, and the Church, led by the pope in Rome, was the only institution that crossed political borders. Monasteries preserved learning, parish priests served villages, and the Church owned much land and collected a tax called the tithe. Eastern Christianity under the Byzantine Empire, with its capital in Constantinople, followed the Orthodox Church and spread to Russia and southeastern Europe. Jewish communities lived in many European cities, often under restrictions, and sometimes faced violence. Muslim rule in parts of Spain and Sicily left a lasting mark, and Muslim scholarship helped bring Greek and Arabic learning into European universities, which began to appear in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
The Church also launched the Crusades from 1095, a series of religious wars to take Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim rule. They brought some European contact with the Muslim world and its goods and ideas, though the crusaders ultimately lost the territory they took.
Political decentralization
The CED says that Europe was politically fragmented and characterized by decentralized monarchies, feudalism, and the manorial system. After the Roman Empire collapsed in the west, no state controlled the whole region. Instead, power was spread out.
- Feudalism. A lord granted land, called a fief, to a vassal who in return promised military service and loyalty. Vassals often had vassals of their own, so authority formed a chain from kings to knights. Because the system relied on personal agreements, kings often had less real power than the nobles who held the land.
- Decentralized monarchies. Kings in France, England, and elsewhere existed, but their direct control was limited. In England, nobles forced King John to accept Magna Carta in 1215, which limited royal power by saying that the king had to follow the law.
- The Holy Roman Empire. This was a loose collection of German and Italian states under an elected emperor with limited authority.
Why did Europe stay decentralized? Poor roads, regional languages, and weak money economies made central rule hard, and the Church and nobles competed with kings. Consequences included frequent local wars, protection of local rights, and, over time, the growth of assemblies where nobles and townspeople could advise rulers, such as the English Parliament. By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, some kings in England, France, and Spain began to increase their power, which prepared the way for the stronger states of later centuries.
Agriculture and the manorial system
The CED says that Europe was largely an agricultural society dependent on free and coerced labor, including serfdom. Most people were peasants who farmed. Under the manorial system, a manor was an estate owned by a lord and worked by peasants. Some peasants were free and paid rent. Many others were serfs, who were bound to the land, could not leave without permission, and owed labor and a share of their crop to the lord. In return, the lord offered protection and the use of land. Serfs were not slaves, since they could not be sold apart from the land, but they had few rights.
Farming improved between 1000 and 1300. The heavy plow, the three-field system of crop rotation, and better harnesses for horses raised food output and helped the population and towns grow. This growth ended in the fourteenth century with famines and the Black Death (1347 to 1351), which killed perhaps a third or more of Europe's people. Because workers were scarce afterward, survivors often gained higher wages and more freedom, and serfdom weakened in much of western Europe (Lesson 2.6).
Description of a typical English manorial court roll or survey of the thirteenth century. This is a description, not a quotation.
Such records list the peasants on a manor, the plots they hold, the rent they pay, and the labor they owe on the lord's land. They also record fines for offenses, such as a serf leaving the manor without permission or a woman marrying without the lord's consent.
Sourcing (HIPP). Manorial records were kept by the lord's officials, so the point of view is that of the landholder. Their purpose was to record what the lord was owed and to enforce his rights. The audience was the lord and his stewards. Because the records focus on dues and fines, they tell us a great deal about how the system worked, but little about what peasants thought of it.
Claim. Serfs had limited freedom under the manorial system.
Evidence. The records list labor owed to the lord and fines for leaving the manor without permission or marrying without consent.
Reasoning. A person who needs the lord's permission to leave or marry, and who owes labor on the lord's land, is bound to the estate. A limit is that the records were kept by the lord's officials for the lord's purposes, so they emphasize dues and enforcement and say little about how peasants viewed or resisted the system.
Question. Explain one cause and one effect of political decentralization in Europe.
Model. One cause was the lack of a strong central authority after the Roman Empire, along with poor roads and weak money, which made it hard for kings to control distant regions, so lords held land in exchange for military service. One effect was that nobles could limit kings, as in Magna Carta in 1215, and assemblies such as Parliament developed.
Learning Objectives 1K to 1M ask about religion, decentralization, and agriculture. Define feudalism, the manor, and serfdom, and link each to a cause and an effect. For Europe, remember that the Church was the single unifying institution and that the Black Death began to change labor relations.
- What was feudalism?
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A system in which lords granted land (fiefs) to vassals in exchange for military service and loyalty, creating chains of personal obligation.
- Why was the Church important in medieval Europe?
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It was the one institution that crossed political borders, preserved learning, owned much land, collected the tithe, and shaped daily life.
- What did Magna Carta do?
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In 1215 it forced King John of England to accept limits on royal power, establishing that the king had to follow the law.
- What was a serf?
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A peasant bound to the land who owed labor and a share of crops to the lord and could not leave without permission.
- Name one agricultural improvement of the period.
Show answer
The heavy plow, the three-field crop rotation, or better horse harnesses.
- How did the Black Death affect labor?
Show answer
It killed a large share of the population, so workers were scarce and survivors often gained higher wages and more freedom, which weakened serfdom in much of western Europe.