i brought grapes to class but i was scared to eat them

Today in Western Civ we had to take notes on a lot of stuff, here are the rest of the notes on Christianity:

Conversion of Constantine (AD 312)

• Roman emperor Constantine has a vision before a key battle 
• sees an image in the sky of a cross and words meaning "in this sign, conquer" 
• orders troops to put a cross on shields and they win 

Edict of Milan in AD 313 

• christianity becomes a religion which is recognized/approved by the emperor 
• continues to gain strength and by 380 becomes the empire's official religion

Decline of the Roman Empire 

• while Christianity strengthens, Rome weakens
• military too weak to defend huge area 
• economy: taxes too high, widening gap between rich and poor, trade disrouted 
• social: disloyalty, population decreases 
• political: division of the empire 
• the last Roman emperor was in 476 (14 year old boy named Romulus Augustulus)
  

Now the rest of the notes:

Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne 

Main Idea: many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne's empire 

Why it matters now: Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout northern Europe which many of us our from 

Setting the Stage 

• middle ages = medieval period 
• AD 476-AD 1453 
• from the end of the Roman Empire to the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks 
• medieval Europe is fragmented
• new society 
• has roots in: 
• classical heritage of Rome
• beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church 
• customs of various Germanic tribes
• 5th century Germanic invaders overrun the western half of the Roman Empire 
• causing: 
• disruption of trade 
• downfall of cities 
• population shifts to rural areas

Effects of Invasion 

•  decline of learning 
• tribes had oral tradition, songs, but couldn't read Greek or Latin 
• Romance languages evolve (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian) 
• few besides priests were literate 
• Germanic Kingdoms emerge: AD 400-600 
• Germanic warriors' loyalty is to the lord of the manor 
• he provides them with food, weapons, treasure 
• result: 
• no orderly government for large areas 
• small communities rule

Clovis and the Franks 

• Clovis rules the Germanic people of Gaul, known as the Franks
• in 496 he has a battlefield conversion, he and 3000 of his warriors become Christians 
• the church in Rome likes this 
• by 511 the Franks are united into one kingdom, with Clovis and the Church working as partners 

Spread of Christianity 

• Church and Frankish rulers=rise in Christianity 
• in 520, Benedict writes rules for monks: 
• vows of poverty (live in monasteries simply) 
• chastity (no marital relations) 
• obedience (listen to church superiors) 
• his sister Scholastica writes similar rules for nuns 
• they operate schools, maintain libraries, and copy books 

Pope Gregory and Papal Power Play 

• Pope Gregory 1 (Gregory the Great) goes secular (worldy power) 
• church revenues are used to help the poor, build roads, and raise armies 
• this is a theocracy 
• Gregory's spiritual kingdom (Christendom) extends from Italy to England, from Spain to Germany 

Running Europe 

• Clovis rules the Franks in Gaul until his death in 511 
• most of the rest of Europe consists of smaller kingdoms (seven in England alone) 
• Clovis' descendants include Charles Martel, known as Charles the Hammer 
• Hammer defeats a Muslim raiding party from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732 
• if he hadn't won western Europe could have become part of the Muslim Empire
• Charles Martel's son is Pepin the Short 
• he works with the Church and is named "king by the grace of God" by the Pope 
• Pepin the Short dies in 768 leaving two sons 
• first son Carolman dies in 771 
• second son Charles or Charlemagne aka Charles the Great 

The Crusades 

background information: 

• its the Age of Faith 
• The Holy Roman Empire is the strongest kingdom in Europe 
• the Church has considerable spiritual and political power 
• over 500 massive Gothic cathedrals are built throughout Europe between 1170 and 1270 

Jerusalem 

• in the late eleventh century, Jerusalem was controlled by the Muslims 
• it was Islam's 3rd holiest city (after Mecca and Medina) 
• Holy City to the Jews and Christians 

The Holy War 

• Pope Urban II put out the call for Christians to recapture Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim Turks 
• began 200 years of religiously sanctioned military campaigns from 1095 to 1291
• crusade means "taking of the cross" (crux) 
• Crusades (almost) entirely supported throughout the Holy Roman Empire 
• these "soldiers of the Church" took vows to take back the Holy Land 
• Pope promised those who died in the endeavor would receive immediate remission for their sins 
• How it Went 
• 1st Crusade (1095-1099) Christians take Jerusalem, Muslims take it back in 1144
• 2nd Crusade (1147-1149) Muslims keep Jerusalem, but Christians take Lisbon Portugal 
• 3rd Crusade (1187-1192) Richard the Lionheart and Saladin work a deal: Muslims couldn't control Jerusalem but Christians can worship there
• 4th Crusade (1202-1204) Crusaders get distracted and sack Constantionople creating a huge rift between the eastern (Byzantine) Church and the western Catholic Church, and then there's the Children's Crusade 
• 5th Crusade (1217-1221) Muslims beat Christians in Egypt 
• 6th Crusade (1228-1229 ) Christians take Jerusalem, let Muslims have Dome of the Rock, Muslims take it back in 1244 
• 7th Crusade (1248-1254) Muslims fight off Christians 
• 8th Crusade (1270) no resolution 
• 9th Crusade (1271-1272) any remaining Franks in the Middle East are either massacred or enslaved 

Effects of the Crusades then and now 

Then 

• Byzantine Empire is weakened
• Pope's power declines 
• Power of feudal nobles weakens 
• Religious intolerance grows 
• Italian cities expand trade 
• Muslims increasingly distrust Christians 
• Trade grows between Europe and the Middle East 
• European technology improves as Crusaders learn from Muslims  

Now 

• far reaching political, economic, and social impacts lasting into the present day 
• "nothing more than a long act of intolerance in the name of God" Sir Steven Runciman 
• "it would be a sin for muslims not to try to possess the weapons that would prevent the infidels from inflicting harm on Muslims" Osama bin Laden
• "an eye for an eye for an eye for an eye ends in making everybody blind" Gandhi