The+Holy+Roman+Empire

AP World History WIKI Project; The Holy Roman Empire Zahra A., Isamar R., Kiara M. __Culture:__ Treatment of Women- The Christians believed in equality of all souls and the importance of women’s monastic groups. But women in the West were compared to Mary and Eve on the source of human sin. Though the women had higher status than the women in Islam, women’s voice were unseen. Even if women played important roles in local commerce and operating craft guilds, they would notice themselves in a male dominated organization. ( pg. 232-233) Art- Many of the West artists drew or painted religious pictures usually on wooden panels. They would draw Christ’s birth, suffering, and lives of the saints.(pg. 227) Architecture- Stained glass for churches that represent biblical stories and Gothic architecture got very popular. Gothic architects would build tall arched windows for churches as well as soaring spirals. Palaces also got the vibe of the Gothic style. (pg. 227) Literature- Latin writing was mostly composed of philosophy, law, and political theory. Though it came to the development of vernaculars, or the growing literature in the spoken languages of western Europe. Vernacular helped translate the language so people focused largely on secular themes such as; religion, comedy, mythical creatures, and love. (pg. 227-228) __Religion:__ Spreading of the religion and Church Structure- The Catholic church was the only example of organization during the recovery centuries after 500 C.E. The church duplicated the Roman Empire’s government to manage the Christian world. Though the popes were considered top authority in Rome, the monarchs and local lords appointed bishops. The Christian faith believed in spreading the religion. They brought their religion to northern Germany, eastern Germany, and beyond the borders of the previous Roman Empire. Sometimes they had to compete with the Orthodox missionaries. Though, they converted some leaders in to Christianity, which made the leaders even more powerful. (pg. 217) Changing the Church- The church was very wealthy. It was tempting for many monks and priests to act like feudal lords in search of great power. Many movements fought this secularism such as the Francisons, named after St. Francis. St. Clare of Assisi showed this action of purity and dedication to the church. She was influenced by St. Francis who was also from the city Assisi. She didn’t want to get married. So instead she founded a woman’s Francisan order, which many women joined. People believed that she made two invading armies turn away from Assisi with her prayers. Another religious reformer and monastic leader is a pope named Gregory VII. He tried to purify the church by freeing it from conflicting feudal lords. One technique he used was to make all priests remain unmarried, so they are not interfering their priesthood with the ordinary world. He also tried to free the church from any state control. After fighting viciously with the Empire, he won his point. (pg. 223-224)



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 * This is a pair of shoes and gloves that was made for Emperor Friedrich II. **
 * MLA Citation **
 * This is a map of the religions of the Holy Roman Empire. **
 * MLA Citation **

__The Ruler: Charlemagne__

“He was six feet four inches tall, and built to scale. He had beautiful white hair, animated eyes, a powerful nose...a presence ‘always stately and dignified.’ He was temperate in eating and drinking, abominated drunkenness, and kept in good health despite every exposure and hardship.”

- EINHARD (the King's secretary) describing Charlemagne



**Charlemagne's Bust:** made out of gold and contains his skull. (as pictured above)

Charlemagne was born on April 2, 742. Before he started to take over lands, Europe was falling apart. But Charlemagne was determined to expand the land he ruled and to bring stability to Europe. In 772, he started a 30-year military campaign to reach his goal. By 800, Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His rule included what is now France, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, half of present-day Italy and Germany, and parts of Austria and Spain. By forming a central government over Western Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire and started the development of modern Europe.

On Christmas in 800, while Charlemagne knelt praying in Saint Peter’s in Rome, Pope Leo III placed a golden crown on Charlemagne's head. He was supposedly surprised by the coronation, and insisted that he wouldn't have gone to the church if he had known what was going to happen. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared to act without Charlemagne knowing his plan. This crowning was the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire, although it was officially established later in the century, it is obvious in the title taken by Charlemagne in 800: 'Charles, most serene Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, governing the Roman empire.'


 * Charlemagne's Empire ** (as pictured above)

Charlemagne knew how to read Latin and some Greek but never learned how to write. When he ate, instead of having performers entertain him, he listened to visiting scholars read from famous books. Charlemagne thought that the government should be for the benefit of the people. He was a reformer who tried to improve his people's lives. For example, he set up money standards to support the economy and commerce and pushed for the discovery of better agricultural methods. As the 10 th century began to develop under the Holy Roman Emperors, communication with Europe and Asia led to agriculture innovations that made it easier to crop. Population growth created markets in city states that also helped the economy. However, there are different views when it comes to Charlemagne's ability as a ruler. Because Charlemagne wasn't out trying to conquer more lands, the revenue decreased and he didn't have much to pay his good supporters with. Enemies from the outside were advancing, such as the Vikings and the Saracens, and the capability of the political structure in the Holy Roman Empire was lacking. Because of this, there was a constant need for resources, and as people noticed that the resources came from their own lands and not others, they started to hold out. On the other hand, Charlemagne's concern for the helpless showed that he really did care about the people under his rule, and active diplomacy, the maintenance of religious reformation, and support of cultural pride were seen up to his dying years. After Charlemagne’s empire split, other royal houses from other countries took over and called themselves the Holy Roman Emperors, merging Christian and classical claims.

Works Cited "Charlemagne | King of the Franks." //Lucidcafé Interactive Café and Information Resource//. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. . "Charlemagne Biography - Facts." //Biography.com//. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. . <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">"HISTORY OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE." //HistoryWorld - History and Timelines//. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. <http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa35>. __The Holy Roman Empire:__ __Interactions Trading and Technology__

This empire lasted from 800-1806, it also represented the idea of political unity throughout the empire. it was a group of states in Western Europe such as The Netherlands, Germany , Northern Italy , Southern France , Bohemia , and Switzerland.

A while after the 10th viking raids began and small Christian states had stayed the same until they began to attack the Muslim government that held most of the peninsula. Many local battles gave way into larger wars for example In the 14th century a war broke out between France and England called the hundred years of war. During the period of political development and economic advance western Europe began to show population growth in the western expansionist impulse, the most concrete expansion took place in east central Europe. (Spain had a different kind of expansion) The improvement in agriculture after 800CE brought important new ingredients to rural life, gains in agriculture promoted larger changes in medieval economic life, urban growth promoted specialized manufacturing and commercial activities also trading. Noble landlords served mainly military functions for ownership of horse and armor Feudalism created a second limitation for aristocrats still had a powerful independent voice and often their own military forces. Gun powder and crossbows were used in the military forces as a source of weapons. later on

Byzantine Empire (east) 300-600CE:

In 324 CE the Emperor of Rome, chose the Greek city of Byzantium to build a great European city. With its location it was a prime trading city and grew in population, wealth and power. It had access to the resources, material and education of the world. All trading roads led to Constantinople allowing it a supply of grain to feed its people and gold from taxes. By the end of the 4th century the Roman Empire stretched from the western edge of Europe to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Even though Rome was famous for its roads and travel, it still took quite a bit of time to get from one area to another. As trade routes between Europe and Asia expanded so did the threat from outsiders, which is leading to the cause of the decline of the roman empire.

Roman Trade Routes:

Largest trading in Italy southern Germany and low countries France Britain etc. A Mediterranean trade redeveloped, mainly in the hands of Italian merchants in which European cloth and some other cloths were exchanged throughout the east **MLA Citation:** Stewart, James Kingston. // Roman Trade //. Digital image. // Http: //www2.rgzm.de/Navis2/Harbours/Guernsey/Function%201.htm //. Web. 29 Jan. 2012.