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Dr.
Richard Baldwin, Gulf Coast State College.
This page last updated 3/17/12
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HIGH MIDDLE
AGES (1000-1270) CRUSADES AND THE RISE OF TOWNS I. Normans in France
[Gradually the political and military goals of the feudal nobility become
aggressive and expansionist. The
growth of trade and commerce brake up the manorial system, and the society of
the West becomes changed in the process.]
1. resisting expansion of Muslims: Vikings
had invaded Europe with the Danes raiding Britain, Germany, France and Spain.
In 911 Rollo, a Norwegian chieftain, signed a treaty with a weak
Carolingian king (Charles the Simple) to form Normandy with Rollo as a duke and
vassal of the French king. By llth
c. Normandy was a powerful duchy and the Viking spirit of the Normans was
producing the most vigorous crusaders, conquerors and administrators in Europe. 2. Powerful by 1100: By 1100 the Normans had pushed the Muslims, out of Sicily and Italy. Italian city-states in the North of Italy (Venice, Genoa, Pisa) were also successful against the Muslims. Muslims would remain in Spain (destroyed Visigoth kingdom in Spain by 8th c.) with a brilliant civilization that would especially flourish during the Umayyad rulers (756-1031). “The Umayyad dynasty of caliphs had established Damascus as the center of an Islamic empire created by Muslim expansion in the seventh and eighth centuries. A revolt led by Abu al-Abbas, a descendant of the uncle of Muhammad, led to the end of the Umayyad dynasty in 750 and the establishment of the Abbasid dynasty which lasted until 1258. The Abbasid caliphs brought political, economic, and cultural change to the world of Islam. While stressing religious fundamentalism, at the same time they broke down the distinctions between Arab and non-Arab Muslims. All could now hold both civil and military offices. This helped to open Muslim life to the influences of the civilizations they had conquered. In 762, the Abbasids built a new capital city, Baghdad, on the Tigris River far to the east of Damascus. The move eastward allowed Persian influence to come to the fore, encouraging a new cultural orientation. Under the Abbasids, judges, merchants and government officials, rather than warriors, were viewed as the ideal citizen. “The new Abbasid caliphate experienced a period of splendid rule well into the ninth century. some of these caliphs are well known, even in the west. Harun-al-Rased (786-809) was know through the exotic tales of the Arabian Nights, which possibly portray the luxurious life at Baghdad during his reign. His son al-Mamun (813-833) was a patron of learning who founded an astronomical observatory and created a foundation for translations of classical works. This was also a period of tremendous economic prosperity. After all, the Arabs had conquered many of the richest provinces of the Roman Empire. Baghdad now became the center of an enormous trade empire that extended into Europe, Asia, and Africa, greatly adding to the wealth of the Islamic world. “The late ninth and tenth centuries were a period of political disunity for the Abbasid caliphs, however. By awarding important positions to court favorites, the Abbasids began to undermine the foundations of their own power and become figureheads. Provincial rulers broke away from their control and established independent dynasties. Even earlier, in the eighth century, Spain had been lost when Abd al-Rahman of the Umayyad dynasty had escaped execution and fled there from North Africa. In 756, he seized control of southern Spain and then expanded his power into the center of the peninsula. He took the title of emir, or commander, and set up the emirate of al-Andalus with its center of Cordoba. Under Abd al-Rahman’s successors, a unique society developed in which all religions were tolerated. The court also supported writers and artists, creating a brilliant and flourishing culture” (Spiel. 273-4). “By the mid-tenth century, the Islamic empire led by the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad was in the process of disintegration. An attempt was made in the tenth century to unify the Islamic world under the direction of a Shi’ite dynasty known as the Fatimids. Their origins lay in North Africa, but they managed to conquer Egypt and establish the new city of Cairo as their capital. In establishing a Shi’ite caliphate, they became rivals to the Sunni caliphate of Baghdad. Although the Fatimids did move into Syria and Arabia, they were unable to overcome the Abbasids in Mesopotamia, and the Islamic world remained divided. “As Egypt grew into an important center of eastern trade, the Fatimid dynasty prospered and surpassed the Abbasid caliphate as the dynamic center of the Islamic world. From their luxurious court in Cairo, the Fatimids pursued a religious policy based on toleration and created a strong military by using nonnative peoples as mercenaries. One of these peoples, the Seljuk Turks, soon posed a threat to the Fatimids themselves. “The Seljuk
Turks were a nomadic people from central Asia who had been converted to Islam
and flourished as military mercenaries for the Abbasid caliphate.
Moving gradually into Iran and Armenia, they grew in number until by the
eleventh century they were able to take over the eastern provinces of the
Abbasid empire. In 1055, a Turkish
leader captured Baghdad and assumed command of the Abbasid empire with the title
of sultan. While the Abbasid caliph
remained as the chief Sunni religious authority, the real military and political
power of the state was in the hands of the Seljuk Turks.
By the last quarter of the eleventh century, the Seljuk Turks were
exerting military pressure on Egypt and the Byzantine Empire.
When the Byzantine emperor foolishly challenged the Turks, the latter
routed the Byzantine army at Manzikert in 1071. In dire straits, the Byzantines turned to the west for help,
setting in motion the papal pleas that led to the crusades.
1. economic and agricultural: Leather
goods, weapons, glass tapestries. Water
power harnessed to drive mills; new crops introduced (rice and sugar cane);
wine, olive oil.
3.political: Tolerance was
granted to all--incl. Christians and Jews!
Many Jews would move here from Christian Europe.
Problem = no strong central government after 1031 when the Umayyads were
overthrown. Seljuk Turks will gain
control over the Arabs in the 11th c. with Mongol threats until the Ottomon
Turks grow in power from the 15th (esp. 16th) on. III. Crusades ("taking the cross"): 1096-1248. Pilgrimages to the Holy land had been occurring for hundreds of years. By the 10th c. bishops organized mass pilgrimages. The Turks took over Jerusalem from the Abbasid Muslims. “The immediate impetus for the crusades came when the Byzantine emperor Alexius I asked pope Urban II (1088-1099) for help against the Seljuk Turks. Alexius’s request was for financial aid to enable him to recruit mercenaries, but Urban II took a different perspective. Christian forces had recently captured Toledo in Spain, and the Normans had completed their conquest of Sicily. The Pope saw a golden opportunity to provide papal leadership for a great cause: to rally the warriors of Europe for the liberation of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the infidel. Urban also perceived an opportunity to reunite the Christian church under Rome’s leadership. At the council of Clermont in southern France near the end of 1095, Urban challenged Christians to take up their weapons against the infidel and participate in a holy war to recover the Holy Land” (Spiel. 344). 1. events: First Crusade (1096-1099) The crusaders, mainly Frenchmen and Normans, left in 1096 and were actually able to capture Jerusalem in 1099. “The crusading army probably numbered several thousand cavalry and as many as 10,000 foot soldiers. After the capture of Antioch in 1098, much of the crusading host proceeded down the coast of Palestine, evading the garrisoned coastal cities, and reached Jerusalem in June 1099. After a five-week siege, the Holy City was taken amidst a horrible massacre of the inhabitants, men, women, and children. As executed by the crusaders, ‘God’s judgment’ on the infidel was indeed a frightful one...After further conquest of Palestinian lands, the crusaders largely ignored their promises to the Byzantine emperor and proceeded to organize four crusader states” (Spiel. 346). Second Crusade (1147) Jerusalem was endangered and Pope Eugenius II calls for another crusade, though it was Bernard of Clairvaux who convinced kings of France and Germany to lead another crusade--they never reached Jerusalem but attacked Damascus and were routed.
Baldwin IV (Baldwin the Leper), c.1161–1185, [your illustrious professor Dr. Baldwin's ancestor], Latin king of Jerusalem (1174–85) was constantly engaged, except for a truce (1180–82), in defending his kingdom against Saladin. In 1183 his leprosy began to spread very rapidly; he appointed Guy of Lusignan as his regent, but in the same year he withdrew the commission and had his five-year-old nephew crowned king as Baldwin V (d. 1186). Jerusalem fell to the Muslims (Saladin) in 1187. Third Crusade (1189) Richard I the Lionhearted signed a truce with Muslims to allow free access to Jerusalem for Christians. Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) “The death of Saladin in 1193 and the subsequent disintegration of his empire had created new opportunities. Innocent judged the moment auspicious and encouraged the nobility of Europe to put on the crusader’s mantle” (Spiel 350). The Venetians were the transporters of the crusaders and demanded payment in advance. The crusaders struck a deal to raise the money that resulted in attacking Constantinople in 1204. “Christian crusaders took gold, silver, jewelry, and precious furs while the Catholic clergy accompanying the crusaders stole as many relics as they could find. “The Byzantine Empire now disintegrated into a series of petty states ruled by crusading barons and Byzantine princes. The chief state was the new Latin Empire of Constantinople led by Count Baldwin of Flanders as emperor. The Venetians seized the island of Crete and secured domination of Contantinople’s trade” (Spiel. 350). This sack of Contantinople resulted in the destruction of many ancient texts (Hipponax, much of Callimachus, Gorgias, Hyperides, many historians) (Lesky 5). NOTE: “Despite the cynical diversion of the fourth crusade to Constantinople, the crusading ideal and the religious enthusiasm that inspired it were not completely lost. In Germany in 1212, a youth known as Nicholas of Cologne announced that God had inspired him to lead a ‘children’s crusade’ to the Holy Land. Thousands of young people joined Nicholas and made their way down the Rhine and across the Alps to Italy where the pope told them to go home. Most tried to do so. At about the same time, a group of about 20,000 French children, also inspired by the desire to free the Holy Land from the Muslims, made their way to Marseilles where two ship-owners agreed to transport them to the Holy land. Seven ships packed with hymn-singing youths soon left the port. Two of the ships perished in a storm near Sardinia; the other five sailed to North Africa where the children were sold into slavery” (Spiel. 352). Fifth Crusade “The fifth crusade (1219-1221) attempted to recover the Holy Land by way of the powerful Muslim state of Egypt. The crusade achieved some early successes, but its ultimate failure marked an end to papal leadership of the western crusaders” (Spiel. 353). Sixth Crusade (1228) “The sixth crusade, which was led by the German emperor Frederick II, took place without papal support because the emperor had been excommunicated by the pope for starting late. In 1228, Frederick sailed to Palestine where his army paraded around while the emperor negotiated with the sultan of Egypt. The sultan finally caved in and agreed to return Jerusalem to the crusaders. Frederick marched into Jerusalem and accepted the crown as king of Jerusalem. The Holy City had been taken without a fight and without papal support” (Spiel. 352-3). In 1244 the Muslims reconquored Jerusalem. Seventh Crusade (1248) “The last two major crusades were organized by the saintly king of France, Louis IX. In 1248, Louis attacked Egypt, pursuing a plan to regain Palestine by first seizing Egypt” (Spiel. 353-4). Louis IX ended up getting captured and had to be ransomed for a high price. Louis tried and failed again in 1270. “This was the last major attempt to regain Jerusalem, and the era of the crusades ended in 1291 when Acre, the last stronghold of the Christians in the Holy Land, fell to the Muslims” (Wallbank 228). “All in all, the crusades had failed to accomplish their primary goal of holding the Holy Land for the Christian west” (Spiel. 354). 2. causes: The immediate cause was the Byzantine emperor’s appeal to the pope against the Turks, but there were at least four fundamental causes. 1)mass pilgrimages fed and interest in the conquest of the Holy Land. 2) the promotion of unity” Urban II dreamed of uniting all classes of Christians in support of the Church. If it didn’t finally unite East & West, he hoped it would at least make Western Christians forget their differences and rally behind the pope. 3) attempt to divert the noble’s pillaging to the east (warring nobles often endangered clergy and peasants as they burned villages and religious edifices). 4) greed of the nobles. Urban II had told nobles that since they needed more land because of increasing population and desired more wealth, they should take the land of the infidels as they freed Jerusalem. 3: results: Political- 1) hastened the emancipation of the common people. Nobles were hard pressed for money and sold privileges to townsmen and to communities of serfs. In the absence of the nobles peasants took advantage to break away (remember, they were free after escaping from the manor for a year and a day). 2) strengthened the monarchies of France and England with the death of many powerful nobles. Economic- 3) stimulated trade: increase in the demand for products of the east with the reopening of eastern Mediterranean to western commerce). 4) growth of banking (Constantinople was eliminated as the middleman and Venice, Genoa, and Pisa had a monopoly that made them rich). Religious- 5) loss of prestige of the papacy (at first it would seem popes would increase in power, but as the true character of the expeditions become more and more transparent, the papacy actually seems to have suffered a loss of prestige--people realized the popes were using the crusading ideal to expand their power) 6) persecution of the Jews ( result of the increase in religious fanaticism ; Jews were beaten, killed, expelled from cities NOTE: Jews were the chief money lenders and so some of this was economic fury against them) IV. Rise of Towns “The traditional description of medieval European cities as overcrowded is often an exaggeration, though space within the city walls soon came to be at a premium. Beyond the walls there was open space adjacent to the city where residents could farm or build homes. Some cities erected new walls as necessary, but wall construction and maintenance consumed a considerable portion of the urban budget. It was also possible to expand vertically, and medieval builders typically made each successive story wider than the one below, with the result that many streets received little sunlight. Pollution was common, as refuse of all types, including human excrement, was routinely dumped in the streets. Horses, dogs, and oxen added their own dung. The popularity of ale was no doubt partly due to the prevalence of contaminated water (a phenomenon sometimes blamed on the Jews because of the myth that thief shadows polluted wells). fires were a severe hazard wherever buildings were made of wood. In the absence of urban planning, medieval cities were like mazes, their winding streets and narrow alleys a bizarre mixture of fortified houses, shops, and the ramshackle shanties of the poor” (Greaves 219). 1. trade Trade had been expanding in the 10th c. and receives great impetus from the Crusades from the Norman and Italian attacks on the Muslims in the First Crusade. Towns arise because of trade and trade in turn stimulates the growth of towns (towns provide better markets and also produce goods for sale by merchants). Towns begin to arise on 1) rivers (natural highways), 2) strategic geographic locations such as feudal castles erected by nobles), 3) fortified abbeys or cathedrals. 2. growth of population The end of invasions as the feudal system provides peace and stability led to less deaths. In addition, population increased from an increase in food production as Europeans cultivated wastelands, cleared forests, drained marshes and introduced innovations in agricultural methods, such as a new plow, the 3-field system, watermill, windmill. 3. decline of serfdom After living a year and a day in a town the serf is considered a free man. By 1500 serfdom has died out in England and France (persisted in E. Europe until 19th c.) V. New Middle class: merchants & craftsmen 1. guilds Guilds usually controlled the towns in the MA. There were two kinds: merchant guilds were organized in the 11th c. and protected the interests of members by 1) restricting membership, 2) limiting competition, 3) setting prices. They had their own code to solve their own disputes, they tried to keep merchants honest by checking weights and measures and the quality of goods as well as fixing a “just price.” In addition, guilds helped any members that fell into poverty (victims of fire or flood and widows and orphans), and provided financial assistance for burial expenses. Craft guilds formed by artisans by the 12th c. They too attempted to form a monopoly in their town and enforced a set of trade rules (regulated the quantity and quality of goods and set a “just price”). There were 3 classes of workers: apprentices (youths were taught a trade and only given room and board), journeymen (could receive wages and were hired by a master), master craftsmen ( at least 23 years of age and had to prove ability to become master craftsmen). 2. contributions to the rise of towns Guilds would take the lead in acquiring charters for towns from kings. Townspeople would 1) revolt, 2) purchase from lord, 3) found a new town. Although the 12th and 13th centuries were a boom period, the 14th and 15th would be centuries of stagnation: Black Death (1348 when 1/3 of the population is wiped out) and the Hundred Years’ War bet. France and England (1337-1453). |
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