Medieval Europe: Society, Politics, and Religion

Posted on Dec 10, 2024 in Geography

**Topic 1: Population Density and Demographics**

Population density is the relationship between the number of inhabitants of a place and the space they occupy. It is calculated by dividing the total population by the area occupied (in km2). The result is expressed in inhabitants per km2.

  • Natural Movement:
    • Birth: The number of people born in one year. The birth rate is calculated by dividing the number of births in a year by the total population and multiplying it by a thousand. It is expressed in per mil (‰).
    • Mortality: The number of people dying in one year. The mortality rate is calculated by dividing the number of deaths by the total population and multiplying it by a thousand. It is expressed in per mil (‰).
    • Natural Growth: The difference between the number of births and deaths in a population. The natural growth rate is calculated by subtracting the mortality rate from the birth rate. It is expressed in percent (%). Since the result is going to be given in per thousand, to put it in percent do this: 1000 —–( put what you have in) 1000 —– X, then x = what you have X 100 / 1000 =___%.

**Topic 2: Muhammad and the Precepts of Islam**

Muhammad: The prophet of Islam. Born in the city of Mecca in 570, he was dedicated to trade. According to legend, the archangel Gabriel appeared and ordered him to preach the religion of Allah. Allah’s religion is Islam, a word which means submission to God, for Allah (al-lah) means “the god.” A person who practices this religion is called a Muslim.

**The Precepts of Islam**

Muhammad’s teachings are contained in the Koran, the Muslim holy book. It has 114 chapters, called suras, and is written in Arabic. The Koran contains the obligations or precepts of the Muslim believer:

  1. Shahada: Belief in one God (Allah), in Muhammad, his prophet, and professing the faith.
  2. Zakat: Giving alms to the needy.
  3. Salat: To pray at least five times a day.
  4. Ramadan: Fasting from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan, which coincides with the ninth month of the Arabic lunar year.
  5. Jihad: The pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life.

**Political Organization**

In the days of Muhammad, Arabia was inhabited by nomadic tribes. They were warriors and engaged in looting, but also valued hospitality. Muhammad united the tribes under his rule, although it was the caliphs who succeeded him that created the political and administrative offices. The most important were these:

  • Caliph: Initially the religious leader, he soon became the highest authority in the Islamic world, as he organized central and territorial administrations.
  • Vizier: The prime minister, managing the central administration and finance.
  • Emirs or Walis: (Had military and political powers) were the governors of each of the provinces into which the conquered territory was divided.
  • Judges or Qadis: Were responsible for enforcing the laws that were drawn from the Koran.
  • Royal Treasurers or Diwans: Were officials who were responsible for collecting taxes.

**Topic 3: Political Developments in Al-Andalus**

Al-Andalus passed through several phases from the invasion of the peninsula (711) until the end of Muslim rule (1492).

**Damascus Dependent Emirate (711-756)**

In this stage, the emir of Al-Andalus was dependent on the Umayyad caliphate, with the capital in Damascus. During these years, the Muslims were occupying the peninsula, except some areas in the Northern Peninsula. In their advance, they crossed the Pyrenees and confronted the French army of Charles Martel, who defeated them at the Battle of Poitiers (732).

The Muslims were few in the peninsula compared with residents of Hispanic-Visigoth origin. They made pacts with some people who paid taxes, while others were conquered by force. They divided the territory into provinces and occupied the top jobs.

**Independent Emirate of Baghdad (756-929)**

In the year 750, the Abbasid dynasty took over the Umayyad caliphate, murdered most of the family, and moved its capital to Baghdad. A member of the Umayyad family, Abderraman I, escaped and settled in Al-Andalus (756), where he declared himself politically independent of Baghdad, but continued to recognize the religious authority of the caliph. During this time, the emirate was a time of economic prosperity.

**Caliphate of Cordoba (929-1031)**

The Amir Abderraman III proclaimed himself caliph, as Al-Andalus became a separate caliphate from Baghdad with its capital in Cordoba.

**Taifa Kingdoms and North African Dynasties (1031-1212)**

In the early eleventh century, the Caliphate was in crisis and Al-Andalus broke into small kingdoms, called Taifa, ruled by local princes. This weakness was exploited by the Christian kingdoms in the North to conquer the territories of Muslims. They sought help from the Almoravids (1086), a town in northern Africa, who from the late eleventh and early twelfth century seized power and unified Al-Andalus again. In the mid-twelfth century came the invasion of the Almohads (1145), also a people from North Africa. However, in 1212 the Christian kingdoms defeated the Almohads in the battles of the Navas de Tolosa.

**Nasrid Kingdom of Granada (1232-1492)**

After a new period of taifas (between 1212-1232), Al-Andalus was reduced to the Nasrid kingdom of Granada. In 1492, Boabdil, the last Nasrid king, surrendered the city to the Catholic Monarchs after a long siege, which ended the Muslim rule in the province.

**Topic 4: The Manor and Feudal Society**

**The Manor**

It was formed by the castle, the houses of farmers, the amount of land surrounding the castle, and some buildings: church, mill, furnace, forge, etc. In the manor lands were also pasture (where livestock was fed), forestry, for fuelwood and hunting, and land devoted to crops.

**The Land**

It was divided into:

  • The Demesne: The part of the land directly farmed by the lord. The working serfs, who were peasants who owed obedience and could not leave the manor.
  • The Manses: Parcels of land which the Lord gave to free peasants, and they put their homes there. In return, they were obliged to give part of the harvest and perform other tasks for him.

**Feudal Society**

It was classified into strata (closed groups that had well-defined functions): the nobility who were engaged in war, the clergy to pray, and farmers to work the land. In a class society, there were two groups:

  • The Privileged Few: Composed of the nobility and the clergy, whose members enjoyed a series of privileges, such as not paying taxes and being judged by special laws. The nobles were not required to perform any work, and those who were feudal lords could collect taxes and administer justice among his peasants.
  • The Underprivileged: The group was integrated into the rest of society: the lower clergy, free peasants, serfs, artisans, soldiers, and small traders, none of them had privileges.

**The Nobility**

This establishment was formed by:

  • The Feudal Lords: They came to have so much power in their fiefdoms that they acted like kings, charging fines and taxes for the use of mills and furnaces, and the right to cross bridges or crossing its territory. They dispensed justice and imposed penalties and sanctions. They organized their own armies. Many feudal lords fought among themselves in order to expand their territories. This circumstance favored the fiefdoms that were to become hereditary (passed down from father to son).
  • The Knights: Warriors who were put at the service of a feudal lord to live, as they only had their arms and his horse. They became vassals of the feudal lord and became part of his entourage. The Knights played a series of obligations: protecting the property of his master, helping them fight the war or other fiefs.

**The Clergy**

The church maintained its structure and hierarchy despite continued encroachment. For much of the ninth century, Europe lived in fear of the arrival of the year 1000, by which they meant the end of the world. Passing this date and nothing happened was interpreted as a rebirth, a chance, which was reflected in a new spirituality. The monasteries increased their territories and properties, and they concentrated on culture, technology, and art. To belong to the ecclesiastical establishment was enough to be a free person. Within the clergy, it is divided into two groups:

  • The Secular Clergy: Priests not belonging to any religious order and answering to the bishops.
  • The Regular Clergy: Composed of various religious orders. They lived in monasteries headed by a superior and engaged in work and prayer. His job was to pray several times a day, helping the poor by feeding them, caring for the sick, working in the garden, and copying texts of ancient Greece and Rome in the library of the monasteries, who came to become genuine centers of culture.

**The Peasants**

About 90% of the population was formed by medieval peasants who, in turn, were part of the non-privileged estate. Among the peasants, there were two groups:

  • The Free Peasants: Could not leave the manor without the permission of the lord. The Lord gave them a manse in return for working the land and giving part of the harvest or paying rent.
  • Serfs: Could not leave the manor. They used to work in the reserve and lived in the castle or nearby buildings. Some were domestic servants and cleaners were performing all over the castle, or working in crops, others succeeded Mr.’s stayed in a cottage with garden and a small plot for their livelihood.

**Relations of Personal Dependence**

The feudal system was based on relations of personal dependence, a person is placed under the protection of another, more powerful, so that all were united by ties which involved engagement. These could be:

  • Between the King and the Feudal Lords: The link established between them was called a vassalage relationship: the lords providing military aid and advice to the king and obtained fiefdoms in exchange. Thus, the lords became vassals of the king.
  • Among the Feudal Lord and Gentlemen: Serving feudal lords armed knights to help the king in war and defend their own fiefdoms. Thus, the knights became vassals of the feudal lords in exchange for sustenance.
  • Between Feudal Lords and the Peasants: Feudal lords promised to protect farmers in exchange for the peasants to work the lands of the lord and pay taxes.

**Technology**

The Stirrup: Became known in Europe from the eighth century. It was a small piece of metal, wood, or leather, allowing the rider to support the full weight of his body, enhancing posture and preventing falls.

Water Mills and Windmills: Had many uses: grind wheat, extract olive oil, raise water from wells and waterways, reduce oak bark powder for dye, expand seed, or grinding and polishing metals.

**Topic 5: The Medieval City**

Cities were almost always small, full of corners, streets were narrow and surrounded with high walls to fend off attackers. The dirt or cobblestone streets were narrow and dirty, as they were throwing in all the garbage. The wealthy merchants built their houses in stone, but most people lived in wooden houses with thatched roofs, so that fire was always a danger. Inside the city were built modest dwellings, which alternated with palaces, convents, churches, or craft workshops. Outside the walls were the cemeteries, hospitals, orchards and, due to population increase, new neighborhoods had to be built.

**Topic 6: The Christian Kingdoms**

**The Kingdom of Asturias-Leon**

The head was Don Pelayo, who around the year 722, confronted and defeated the Muslims at the Battle of Covadonga. Alfonso I (7239-757) was the first king of Asturias. Later in the tenth century during the reign of Alfonso III, the kingdom extended to the Douro Valley and occupied the areas of current Galicia, Asturias, and León. Thereafter it was renamed the Kingdom of León. Castile was a county of the kingdom of Leon. In the mid-tenth century, the Castilian count Fernan Gonzalez succeeded in unifying several areas and transmitting them to their descendants, achieving the independence of Castile. In the eleventh century, Castile was established as a kingdom with Ferdinand I, during his reign Castilla and Leon were united in 1038. After several periods of separation, they finally joined in 1230 by Ferdinand III.

**The Kingdom of Navarre**

This territory was under the Frankish kingdom. In the ninth century, a local family achieved independence and created a kingdom in Pamplona.

**The Kingdom of Aragon**

Aragon territory fell under the rule of Navarre until the eleventh century. With Ramiro I, it became independent, became a kingdom (1035), and began its expansion.

**The Catalan Counties**

They were part of the Hispanic March until the Count of Barcelona, Wilfred the Hairy, got to rule the rest of the Catalan counties (ninth century) and transmit them to their descendants. In the twelfth century, the county of Barcelona became one with the kingdom of Aragon.

**The Kingdom of Portugal**

It was a county belonging to the kingdom of Castile and Leon. In the twelfth century, Alfonso Henriques was proclaimed king.