Peter Paul Rubens – European art history
Rubens (self-portrait), 1620 AD Peter Paul Rubens was born in Germany in 1577. At that time, the Holy Roman Emperors were weak and there were a bunch of civil wars going on. His [...]
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08, 2017
Tithes – medieval Church taxes
Medieval tithe barn (Germany) In the Middle Ages, the Catholic church in Europe collected a tax of its own, separate from the kings' taxes, which was called a tithe. Tithe means "one-tenth", because people were [...]
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08, 2017
Medieval religions in Europe
Mary window at Chartres Cathedral People think of the Middle Ages as a very religious period, when the Christian Church was the most important institution and everybody prayed all the time. Certainly [...]
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08, 2017
Francis of Assisi – Medieval Europe
Francis of Assisi gives his father back his clothes (Giotto, in Assisi) Who was Francis of Assisi? By 1200 AD, the Catholic Church was very powerful. Bishops and popes were often rich men. They cared more about [...]
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Gregory of Tours – Medieval historian
Gregory of Tours: This reading desk belonged to a nun, St. Radegund, who was Gregory's friend. Do you see the chi-rho symbol near the top? Who was Gregory of Tours? [...]
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High Middle Ages – European history
St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, Italy (about 1100 AD) The Seljuks destabilize Europe's neighbors In 1071 AD, the Byzantine Empire lost most of Anatolia (modern Turkey) to the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert. [...]
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The Reconquista – Medieval Spain
Roland blows his horn for help and tries to break his sword on a rock (Chartres Cathedral) As soon as the Moors had conquered Spain in 711 AD, the descendants of the Visigoths and the Romans [...]
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Who were the Visigoths? Early Middle Ages
Gold coin minted by King Euric,with the name of the Roman Emperor on it The Visigoths established a kingdom for themselves within the collapsing Roman Empire in 418 AD. They took over most of [...]
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08, 2017
Early France: the Franks and the Merovingians
Early France: A Merovingian fibula (a pin to hold a cloak on) from the 500s-600s AD Early France: the Franks invade Gaul Who were the Franks? The Franks had been [...]
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The Lombards – Early Medieval Italy
The Lombards: a Lombard Christian altar (700s AD) (University of Alabama) Where did the Lombards come from? In 568 AD, a Turkic people, the Avars, pushed the Indo-European Lombards out of their home in Central [...]
