Seventh Grade: Early World HistorySS070605
Unit 6: Patterns of Adaptation: Reorganizing and Restoring Order
After the Fall of Empires (500 CE – 1000 CE) Lesson 5
Graphic Organizer
(Internal power struggles weaken and divide the empire, but also
lay the foundation for future nations.)
Word Cards
28
ancestor
one from whom a person is descended and who is usually more
remote in the line of descent than a grandparent
Example: Your great, great grandmother is an ancestor.
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29
descendant
coming from an ancestor or source
Example: Descendants of Charlemagne, his grandsons, fought for
control of the Carolingian Empire.
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30
court
the extended household of a ruler, including his family, his
advisors, and even close friends or allies.
Example: The Duke was a member of the king’s court.
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31
expansion
when something increases or grows in size or amount
Example: The expansion of the Roman Empire occurred over an
extended period of time.
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32
Pope
In Era 4, the Pope was the Bishop of Rome and the religious
leader for all Christians in central and western Europe. Today the
Pope leads the Roman Catholic church.
Example: A blessing from the Pope could help a king have more
influence over his people.
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33
cavalry
soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback
Example: The army of the Huns was primarily a cavalry force.
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34
standardize
to change things so that they are similar and meet an agreed
upon set of rules or standards
Example: The king standardized the weights people used so that
everyone used the same units of measurement and fewer people got
cheated.
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35
renaissance
a period of rebirth or renewed interest in literature, science,
and the arts of earlier ages
Example: Charlemagne promoted a renaissance of cultural
activities that focused on the achievements of ancient Greeks and
Romans.
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Student Handout #1 - The Carolingian Empire and Charlemagne
As you read, Stop and Jot as directed. Be ready to share your
thinking with a partner when you are done.
When Rome finally fell in 476 CE, different Germanic tribes such
as the Goths, Vandals, and Franks took control of Western Europe,
often fighting with each other for power over certain areas. Two
centuries later, their descendants came into conflict with Muslim
armies connected to the Umayyads who had moved into what is now
Northern Africa and Spain.
(Stop and Jot: When Rome fell, how did that affect the politics
(power and decision making) in western and central Europe?)Western
and central Europe, the area around what is now France and Germany,
ended up being ruled by a Frankish family dynasty called the
Merovingians (the Franks were a group who lived in the area around
the Rhine River in Western Europe). The Merovingian kings grew weak
over time, and other political leaders in their courts actually
gained more power than the king, even though they allowed the kings
to rule in name only. Pepin the Middle was one such man. He held
lots of power even though he wasn’t king, and he passed this power
on to his sons. His son, Charles Martel, took on this role and
became even more powerful when he defeated a Muslim army trying to
enter the kingdom through Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732 CE.
Charles Martel is often credited with stopping the expansion of
Islam in this part of Europe and uniting different parts of Europe
under one rule.
Charles Martel had a son, Pepin the Short, and this Pepin
officially took the throne and removed the Merovingian king from
power with the support of the Pope, the leader of the Christian
religion in Rome. Pepin the Short then passed on the throne to his
sons, Carloman and Charles, also known as Charlemagne, in 771 CE.
The kingdom was divided in two, but Carloman died mysteriously
after a few years, and Charlemagne became king. Over time, he
became the most famous Frankish king of all, and the empire he
helped build became known as the Carolingian Empire. Charlemagne
ruled until 814 CE. At the height of his rule, there were between
10 and 20 million people living under his reign.
(Figure 1: Coin showing the image of Charlemagne )
He tried to expand the area under his control and also spread
Christianity by forcing people in conquered areas to convert. He
was a great military leader and was often at war as he tried to
maintain this empire. The military success of Charlemagne and other
Carolingians was in part due to their use of advanced cavalry
techniques (fighting on horseback). Under Charlemagne, Germanic
tribes who had been a problem for the Romans were defeated and the
Carolingian kingdom extended its area of control to the east.
(Stop and Jot: What do you notice about the names of the kings?
Why do you think they did this?)
Charlemagne also helped bring about many cultural advances and
development in Europe during his rule, so much so that this time is
called the Carolingian Renaissance. Charlemagne helped to establish
regional governments, he standardized weights and measures to help
with trade across this region, and he also improved the legal
system. He invited scholars to his court and had a library created
as well. Charlemagne strengthened Christianity as well and is
considered by some to be a founder of modern Europe.
In 800 CE, Charlemagne was actually crowned Roman Emperor by
Pope Leo III of Rome. Pope Leo had been facing a rebellion, and
when Charlemagne came to his aid and put down the rebellion, he was
rewarded with this honor. With this added title, Charlemagne added
in the top half of Italy to his empire, which also included
present-day Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and part
of Germany.
(Stop and Jot: What do you think was Charlemagne’s most
SIGNIFICANT achievement? Why do you think this?)
At the end of Charlemagne’s rule, different members of his
family were given power over different parts of the empire. The
Carolingians, as you may have noted, believed that power and
control of land should be inherited from father to son (along with
certain names like Pepin and Charles!). This caused problems when
more than one son wanted to rule. As a result the kingdom got
divided and weakened. This is what happened when Charlemagne’s son,
Louis the Pious, died, and the empire was split between his sons.
They fought each other in a civil war until they signed a treaty in
843, the Treaty of Verdun, and divided the empire up. The treaty
divided the empire into the Central Frankish Realm, the Eastern
Frankish Realm, and the Western Frankish Realm (sometimes called
East Francia, Middle Francia, and West Francia). The names of all
these areas changed over time, but Germany and France were
basically formed in this process.
Conflict over power and land didn’t end though, and regional
rulers continued to fight for more territory and try to extend
their new borders. Vikings attacked from the west and north,
causing further problems in the region and weakening the kingdoms
even more. In 881, Charles the Fat (a great-grandson of
Charlemagne) managed to get control over a large part of the
kingdom and again unite these different regions under one rule.
However, in 886 he was forced to pay off Viking raiders to prevent
them from destroying Paris, and this made him look weak in the eyes
of his political opponents. He fled the capital when a rebellion
broke out, and conflict developed again with more divisions of the
empire taking place.
Over time, the kingdoms were divided up even further.
Descendants of Charlemagne ruled parts of the old kingdom for a
time, but all were out of power by 987 CE. The modern nations of
France and Germany have their origins in this time, with some of
today’s borders even being established during this time as the
larger kingdom was divided up. In addition, the medieval system of
kings and lords controlling land, with knights as an important
group, all ruling over poor farmers working the land, really began
in this time period.
(Stop and Jot: What do you think was the biggest problem faced
by the Carolingian rulers?Turn and Talk: How do you think the
Carolingians affected the future of Europe, for better and for
worse? )
Student Handout #2 – Mapping the Changes in Europe
For the first part of your map work, you will need a textbook
with maps, a world atlas, or a computer and website that shows
modern Europe such as:
·
http://www.kidsmaps.com/geography/Europe/Political/Modern+Political+Map+of+Europe
or
· http://www.yourchildlearns.com/europe_map.htm.
Label the countries listed below on the map of Europe:
Spain
France
Italy
Germany
United Kingdom
Belgium
Switzerland
the Netherlands
Luxembourg
Austria
If it makes it easier, you can use a numbering system to
identify where each country is. There are several nations you will
NOT be labeling.
(Map 2:) (Map 1:)Use the information in Student Handout #1 - The
Carolingian Empire and Charlemagne to help you complete the next
set of map exercises and questions. For each map, use the
information in the article to help you develop a title and labels
for the highlighted areas. Your title should include a date and it
should describe what the map shows. Write the title in the textbox
at the top of the map. Label the shaded areas on the map by
creating a key, or map legend, that includes the names of the
shaded regions.
Stop and Jot, then Turn and Talk: What is the larger pattern of
how the control of territory in Europe changed over time after the
fall of the Roman Empire?
Student Handout #3 – Charlemagne through a Primary Source
Document
Einhard on the Life of Charlemagne
Charlemagne [i.e. Charles the Great] is one of the most famous
rulers of the 8th and 9th centuries. He controlled a large portion
of western Europe and took the title of Roman Emperor, even though
his territory came nowhere near the extent of the original Roman
Empire. His friend and associate Einhard wrote extensively about
his life and his rule. The excerpts below are from Einhard’s
accounts of Charlemagne (or “Charles the Great” in
translation).
Why do you think Einhard included these details in this section?
What do you think his purpose was? How did he want Charlemagne to
be remembered?
Excerpts describing Charlemagne
What is most surprising or interesting to you in this
section?
Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not
disproportionately tall (his height is well known to have been
seven times the length of his foot); the upper part of his head was
round, his eyes very large and animated, nose a little long, hair
fair, and face laughing and merry. Thus his appearance was always
stately and dignified, whether he was standing or sitting; although
his neck was thick and somewhat short, and his belly rather
prominent; but the symmetry of the rest of his body concealed these
defects.
His gait was firm, his whole carriage manly, and his voice
clear, but not so strong as his size led one to expect. His health
was excellent, except during the four years preceding his death,
when he was subject to frequent fevers; at the last he even limped
a little with one foot. Even in those years he consulted rather his
own inclinations than the advice of physicians, who were almost
hateful to him, because they wanted him to give up roasts, to which
he was accustomed, and to eat boiled meat instead.
In accordance with the national custom, he took frequent
exercise on horseback and in the chase, accomplishments in which
scarcely any people in the world can equal the Franks. He enjoyed
the exhalations from natural warm springs, and often practiced
swimming, in which he was such an adept that none could surpass
him; and hence it was that he built his palace at Aixla-Chapelle,
and lived there constantly during his later years until his death.
He used not only to invite his sons to his bath, but his nobles and
friends, and now and then a troop of his retinue or body guard, so
that a hundred or more persons sometimes bathed with him.
Charles had the gift of ready and fluent speech, and could
express whatever he had to say with the utmost clearness. He was
not satisfied with command of his native language merely, but gave
attention to the study of foreign ones, and in particular was such
a master of Latin that he could speak it as well as his native
tongue; but he could understand Greek better than he could speak
it. He was so eloquent, indeed, that he might have passed for a
teacher of eloquence. He most zealously cultivated the liberal
arts, held those who taught them in great esteem, and conferred
great honors upon them. ... The King spent much time ... studying
rhetoric, dialectics, and especially astronomy; he learned to
reckon, and used to investigate the motions of the heavenly bodies
most curiously, with an intelligent scrutiny. He also tried to
write, and used to keep tablets and blanks in bed under his pillow,
that at leisure hours he might accustom his hand to form the
letters; however, as he did not begin his efforts in due season,
but late in life, they met with ill success.
Reflection:
What do we learn about life in Carolingian Europe from this
text? What inferences can you make about leadership, education, and
recreation?
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/einhard1.asp
(Visualize!!What did you visualize (see in your mind) when you
read this text? Sketch an image from the text:)
Religion and shared culture
Military and government systems and a strong ruler
a unified Carolingian Empire under Charlemagne
Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 1 of 1
Copyright © 2010-2014 by Oakland SchoolsSeptember 18, 2014
Seventh Grade: Early World History
SS070605
Unit 6:
Patterns of Adaptation: Reorganizing and Restoring Order After
the Fall of Empires
(500 CE
–
1000 CE)
Lesson 5
Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum
Page
1
of
1
Copyright © 2010
-
2014 by Oakland Schools
September 18
, 2014
Graphic Organizer
Religion and
shared
culture
Military and
government
systems and
a strong
ruler
a unified
Carolingian
Empire under
Charlemagne
Internal power struggles
weaken and divide the empire,
but also lay the foundation for
future nations.
