The influence of the early and high middle ages
The late middle ages were highly influenced by the early middle ages due to the massive changes in their system caused by disease and cultural changes. After the fall of Rome; the kings gained allot of power during the early middle ages. The fall of Rome caused smaller countries to develop and increase in power. However, with the flourishing influence of christianity; this caused the church to gain power as time went on. The church gained a decent amount of power in the high middle ages, and the culture continued to be centered around the church. Disease was also a large factor, it deeply affected the feudal system. It also caused the general culture to change due to the widespread diseases.
The powers of the kings started in the early middle ages, and caused smaller kingdoms to develop, causing culture changes and a division of power. In the early middle ages, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne the “king of the romans.” He influenced the culture and protected the Papal states. However in about 1215 AD, the European territory was divided into smaller states. Each state was given a king by the pope and was allowed to reign the kingdom. The kingdoms each had their own individual king which influenced culture among their kingdom. During this time the feudal system became popular, this caused a difference in wealth among several categories. The pope would typically be the height of the power, while the king would be the same or a rank below it. Lords would control the land and give land to knights which swore an oath to the lord which that owned it.
During the high middle ages, the Magna Carta was put into law; this caused the kings and popes to have a limitation on their power as a monarch which, in addition caused cultural changes in the society. The Magna Carta provided laws and statements that the kings must abide from. This alone caused kings to decrease in their power. Examples of this are “no freeman will be imprisoned or punished without first going through the proper legal system” this states that a king cannot punish a non-serf individual without he or she going through the legal system. The Magna Carta is also part of the legal system of the time, and has caused kings to struggle with flexibility. For example, a king cannot go against the Magna Carta without being at risk to be judged himself. In some cases, the Magna Carta has been the downfall for some kings and popes such as Pope Innocent III. He declared the Magna Carta invalid and “plunged” the kingdom into “civil war.” Overall the Magna Carta caused a leaders in Europe to be limited on their flexibility and power.
In 1215, Pope Innocent III immersed England into civil war by declining the Magna Carta. When the Magna Carta was also written in 1215 by the “barons,” this put hesitation on King John when he was obliged to sign it. His subjects put pressure on him to sign it because it would deeply takeaway his power. When King John signed it, the barons gave King John new oaths of protection. Shortly after the barons left London however, King John and Pope Innocent III rejected the Magna Carta. This caused an uprising of the barons and they caused the civil war, which is currently known as the “First Baron's War.”
When the “First Baron's War” began around 1215, they uprised against England and caused a civil war. The barons were the lords that controlled a plentiful amount of land. They rose up against Pope Innocent III and declared that the king of England should be removed. The barons sent “messengers” to the king of France to help aid them in the fight. The barons offered to crown Philippe II as the king of england if they helped remove King John from power. He replied his approval and sent massive forces to help aid in the fight. The French took some major cities, and forced King John to retreat his headquarters to a castle. Despite King John’s best efforts, during his last campaign, he died after “not feeling well.” This stirs up controversy on whether his death was by poison or “overeating.” After his death, England installed an alternate king. Philippe II was unable to take the english throne due to the defeat of his major army. Overall the revolt in England caused further chaos including King John’s life.
In the early middle ages, after the fall of Rome in around the 5th century the popes were given more power to rule due to the fact the Magna Carta wasn’t in effect. Popes in the Early middle ages controlled the land by classic “feudalism,” where they could be the height of power and kings, lords and other below them. Although feudalism didn’t flourish until the high middle ages, the system was influential at this time. During this time, the popes had legal powers over the king. The popes were given the power to excommunicate kings, nobles, and lower ranks. In some cases however, the kings would deny the pope and would cause a civil war. The popes were also a religious influence in the early middle ages, sense christianity flourished during this time; the popes would have less in “intensity” among the people.
The black death was a minor factor in the early middle ages, it was not fluential and not an excessive disease during this time. The black death may have started to invade europe from constantinople and southern Italy. There are some controversial reports that the black death originated in the Mongolian Empire and was used for biological warfare. This could have been one of the key factors of the spread of it to Europe.
The black death was a major factor in the high middle ages and was very influential and caused an excessive amount of death throughout Europe. At this time, the black death manifested into many of the major cities in Europe. This caused some later religious interpretations of the reasons of the black death to emerge. It affected the feudal system deeply, as serfs and peasants began to die off, the lords and knights would generate less income. Causing them to be less economically stable, and less power on the land. This also made them susceptible to invaders which would sometimes attack the land. Some historians took the black death into account and recorded the history into parts of the bible and general books. Artists also illustrated the chaos of the death inside the books. They normally depict the death and destruction or things pertaining to the afterlife.
In conclusion the high middle ages were greatly influenced by the society, culture and diseases that were part of the early middle ages. Kings would have a neutral amount of power, they were able to manage the lands of the nobles by having them grant them an oath to the king. The popes would have an excessive amount of power in the early and late middle ages. This is because of their religious influence and militaristic attributes. The kings were also deeply affected by the Magna Carta, which took away much of their power. Some popes would not normally agree with the Magna Carta and one led into direct civil war causing the death of King John. The black death was also a key attribute in the early and high middle ages. Although the black death did not influence Europe as much in the early middle ages, there are controversial events such as the black death in the Mongolian empire that may have taken place. Overall, the high middle ages were definitely influenced by the early middle ages.
