![]() Scholars helped to establish standards for writing in Latin so that it could become the unifying formal language of the realm. Monk-scribes and lay craftsmen were imported into the West from the Eastern Roman Empire and began to create books. ![]() Although unable to read and write himself, he valued culture and began a series of efforts to foster it. But Charlemagne's goals went beyond political position. Pope Leo, seeing an opportunity to reinstate a Western Church, made Charlemagne Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. This government united most of Western Europe for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire. He and his family engaged in decades of military incursions and conquests to acquire territory, and established a strong central government along with a stabilizing control structure-a feudal system-which protected the poorest of citizens through regional land-lords with private militias. Light began to enter the Dark Ages in the late 700s, when Charlemagne, the son of a powerful warlord controlling vast lands in what is now Germany, France, Austria, Hungary, and the Netherlands, became the leader of the Franks, the largest tribe in Europe. Illuminated page from the Book of Kells, "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John," 800 A.D. A few surviving texts, such as the Book of Durrow, the Lindesfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells are wondrous examples of Christian art and craft. Monasteries were the only remaining centers of cultural, educational, and intellectual activity, and consequently they were targets for looting. In Ireland, successive Viking and Norse invasions forced the removal of treasured books from their original locations so that they could be protected and hidden. The clergy held fast to the traditions of reading, writing, manuscript illumination, and panel painting in order to maintain the Christian faith. Western art and culture were virtually non-existent except for what was protected by Christian monks and missionaries. Birth rates dropped, and disease and infections decimated undernourished human and animal populations. Travel was dangerous and trade routes were unused. Farming and mining all but ceased entirely. During the period, Roman roads and water distribution systems decayed. The preceding “Dark Ages,” which lasted for hundreds of years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, had been a time of chaos and poverty without strong central government to maintain order. The Middle Ages were a critically important period for Western Europe. Illustration (detail) above: "Crusader Bible," 1240 A.D. The influence of feudalism can still be seen in modern British land law and in the British class system.Home > History > Time Periods > The Middle Ages The Middle Ages The system of holding land with permission from the local lord finally ended in England in 1661, though not until 1914 in Scotland. By the end of the 14th century many peasants had bought their land and become yeomen (= small farmers). Instead of doing military service peasants paid dues (= money) for working their land. The feudal system started to break down in the 12th century, when the king and the barons began to rely on professional soldiers instead of peasant armies. In 1086 a detailed survey of land was carried out in every village in order to decide its value and who owned it and value, and the information was recorded in the Domesday Book. Villeins or serfs had a lower status than peasants and had to work a specific number of days on the lord's land. In exchange, peasants had to promise to do military service when required. Lords gave peasants several long narrow areas of their land to grow crops in a system known as strip-farming. ![]() An area of land owned by a lord was called a manor and this was the basic farm unit. ![]() Under the Normans, English society was divided into a structure with the king at the top, below him the barons, then less powerful local lords, and finally the peasants. Culture feudalism feudalism Feudalism is a social system that was introduced to England by the Normans in the 11th century and lasted throughout much of the medieval period (1066–1485).
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