Taking the Test

Hello,

So today we took the final test of the year in West Civ. I thought that it was a bit hard and I didn't know some of the things. I thought that I didn't do that well on it but I actually got an A! I was really excited now I have an 89 so I hope that this week's blogs and class participation bring me up to a 90! Exam is Wednesday I believe so I hope I do well!

Things to Know for Test

Hello,

Today in class we went over the notes for the Test we will be taking tomorrow. Here are some things we NEED to know for the Test (Possible Test Questions):

Middle Ages = Medieval Period

The New Society has roots in:
- Classical Heritage of Rome
- Beliefs of the Roman Catholic
- Customs of Various Germanic Tribes

Overrun the Western Half of the Roman Empire
Causing:
- Disruption of Trade
- Downfall of Cities
- Population Shifts to Rural Areas

Decline of Learning
-Tribes had Oral Tradition, Songs, but Couldn't Read Greek of Latin
- Romance Language Evolve (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian)
- Few Besides Priests Were Literate

Germanic Warriors' Loyalty is to the Lord of the Manor he Provides the w/ Food, Weapons, Treasure
Result:
- Nor Orderly Government for Large Areas
- Small Communities Rule

Clovis Rules the Germanic People of Gaul, known as the Franks (Which is Where "France" Comes From)
In 496 He Has a Battlefield Conversion - He and 3,000 of his warriors become Christians
By 511 the Franks are United into One Kingdom, with Clovis and the Church Working as Partners

Church + Frankish = Rise in Christianity

Benedict Wrote for Monks
His Sister Scholastica Writes Rules for Nuns
Bede Wrote a History of England

Church Revenues are Used to Help the Poor, Build Roads, and Raise Amies
This is a theocracy  - When Government is in State of Worshipping ONE God

Clovis Rules the Franks in Gaul until his Death in 511

Clovis' descendants include Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer)

Hammer Defeats a Muslim Raiding Party from Spain at the BATTLE OF TOURS in 732

Charles the Hammer's Son Known as Pepin the Short who Died 762, leaving 2 Sons

1 Son Died and Other was Charlemagne, meaning Charles the Great (6 Foot 4 of Ruling Power!)
- Built Greatest Empire Since Rome
- Fought the Muslims in Spain
- BECAME MOST POWERFUL KING IN EUROPE (KNOW!)
- Charlemagne Kept Close Watch of his Huge Estates
- His Son, Louis the Pious was ineffective, His Sons, Lothair, Charles the Bald, Louis the German- Split up the Kingdom at the Treaty of Verdun- 843 AD

Notes.

Hello,

Today in class we took notes, such naturally this class was boring, which isn't a surprise. I wish that we would do more than just take notes like play games on the subject or make power points like we used to in the beginning of the year, instead we have to take notes, no lie, EVERY CLASS. So boring. 

Here are the notes that I took in today's class:

-Many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne's empire
-Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout northern Europe, which is where many of uscame from
-Middle Ages - medieval period
-500-1500 AD
-Medieval Europe is fragmented
A-Invasions trigger changes in Western Europe
     1-Invasions and constant warfare spark new trends
           a-Disruption of trade 
                  1-Europe cities are no longer economic centers
                  2-Money is scarce
           b-Downfall of cities
                  1-Cities are no longer centers of administration
           c-Population shifts
                  1-Nobles retreat to the rural areas
                  2-Cities don't have strong leadership
     2-Decline of learning
                  1- Germanic invaders are illiterate but they communicate through oral tradition
                  2-Only priests and church officials could read and write
                  3-Knowledge of Greek (literature, science, philosophy) is lost
     3-Loss of a common language
                  1-Dialects develop in different languages
                  2-By the 1800s French, Spanish, other Roman based languages are evolving from Latin
B- Germanic kingdoms emerge
     1- The concept of government changes
            a-Roman society: loyal to public government
            b-Germanic society: loyal to family
                  1-Germanic chief led warriors
                  2-During peace he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to live (the lord's hall)
                  3-During wartime warriors fought for the lord
            c-"The King? Who's that? You want to collect taxes from me? Who the heck are you?"
            d-Franks live in the Roman province of Gaul- their leader is Clovis
     2-The Franks under Clovis
            a-Another battlefield conversion
            b-Clovis and 3000 of his warriors are baptized by the bishop
            c-The Church in Rome approves of this "alliance"
            d-Clovis and the Church begin to work together
-Clovis' military expertise + the Church's support and money = A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BETWEEN TWO POWERFUL FORCES
C-Germanic peoples adopt Christianity
      1-511 AD- Clovis unites Franks into one kingdom
      2-600 AD- Church + Franks rulers convert many 
      3-Fear of Muslims in southern Europe spur many to become Christians
      4-Monasteries and convents
            a-520 AD-Benedict wrote the rules for monks and monasteries
                    1-Poverty, chastity, obedience, study
            b-His sister Scholastica did the same for nuns in convents
            c-731 AD-The Venerable Bede wrote a killer history of England
            d-Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books (Bibles, Greek texts)
      5-Pope Gregory expands papal power
            a-Papacy = popes power
            b-Secular power = worldly power
            c-So...under Gregory the Great...
PaPal Power(Power of the Pope) is Political Power Presented from the Pope's Palace
            d-The church can use church money to:
                     raise armies
                     repair roads
                     help the poor
            e-Gregory the Great began to act as mayor of Rome and as head of an earthly kingdom(Christendom)

If We Take Notes One More Time...

Hello,

Today, guess what! We took notes, I know so shocking. So here they are:

Feudalism - a political, military and economic system based on land-holding and protective alliances

Rich Dude (Lord) - "I own land; I need people to help me work it and defend it"
Tough Dudes (Vassals) - "There are a lot of us, we can help the rich dudes hold on to their land"

Feudal Pyramid:
-King
-The Most Powerful Vassals (Nobles and Bishops)
-Knights: Mounted Warriors who Received Fiefs for Defending Their Lord's Land
-Peasants (Mostly Serfs): Landless, Powerless, Moneyless, Right-less, Just Working the Land for "the Man" (Their Lord)

Manor: the Lord's Estate
-The lord's manor house
-A church
-Some workshops
-15-30 families
-All on a few square miles

Good News: It's self-sufficient community
Bad News: It's harsh if you're a peasant

Peasant are poor AND pay high taxes
-Tax on grain
-Tax on marriage
-Church Tax (tithe=10% of their income)
They live in crowded colleges
Live with animals and insects

Test Day

Hello,

Today in class we took the test. I got a 90 on it which was pretty good, but here are the notes we had to take for tonights blog with the extra credit Chrono

• The first two early medieval centuries set the patterns for how this renewal would later take place in western and eastern Europe. 
• The Germanic kingdoms had taken over the western half of the Roman Empire.
• Roman institutions gradually stopped working.
• Cities ceased to be centers of trade and social life.
• Warfare became more important than education and culture. 
• Missionary-monks brought Christianity and Roman traditions to peoples beyond the empires's old frontiers.
• Both the missionaries and the Frankish rulers created precedents for spectacular later renewal in western Europe.
• The Roman Empire's surviving eastern half contributed to westerns Europe's chaos by efforts at reconquest.

Chronology:

Fifth century:

• Angles and Saxons invade Britain.
• 486
• Clovis leads Frankish confederacy against Romans and rival Germanic invaders in Gaul
• 527-565
• Reign of Emperor Justinian in the Eastern empire
• 542
• Plague hits Egypt, then spreads throughout the Mediterranean area and much of western Europe.
• 568
• Lombard's conquer most of northern Italy
• 570-632
• Life of Muhammad
• 595
• Missionaries sent by the pope begin to convert the pagans of England
• 711
• Muslim invasion of Spain
• 800
• Slavs occupy almost all of eastern Europe

Free Mod!

Hello,

Today in class Mr. Schick let us have a free mod! We couldn't leave the room, but we could work on anything that we wanted so I took the time to work on English and Spanish homework. Anyway we will be taking the test tomorrow so I hope I do well!

Taking More Notes in Class.. Shocker.

Hello,

I don't think we have had a day for 2 weeks where we haven't had to take notes. Here are the notes for today:

Diocletian:
- Ruled from 284 - 303
- It's cool to persecute Christians
- Rome needs a big army (400,000 strong)
- Rome needs a big government (20,000 officials)

Constantine:
- Ruled from 306 - 337
- It's cool to BE a Christian
- Conversion into Christianity via a cross in the sky
- 313: his Edict of Milan proclaims freedom of worship
- Built a new capital in the East
     - Byzantine, soon to be known as Constantinople

The significance of the Edict of Milan is that it gave Christians the freedom to not be persecuted by people. It was a proclamation that gave religious toleration to Christians in the Roman Empire.

Life in the Fourth Century:
- Country dwellers are getting bankrupted by endless tax collections
- New farming system: peasants work for elite landlords on large farms
- Peasants can avoid paying taxes, but they are getting hit just as hard by the landlords
- Paying off debts and being "allowed" to live on the land, in exchange for endless back-breaking work
- Landowners hold local power as counts and bishops, wielding more real power than the faraway empire
- Foreshadowing feudalism
- Rome's power is decreasing, while nomadic barbarians gain power
- Western Empire is too poor, begins to be neglected
- Huns migrate from China to eastern Europe
- Visigoths take over Spain, and actually capture and loot Rome itself in 410
- Vandals control Carthage and the western Mediterranean
- Other barbarian tribes:
     - Ostrogoths in Italy
     - Franks in Gaul
     - Angles and Saxons in Britain

End of an Era:
500 BC - the monarchy is abolished
450 BC - the Twelve Tables are established

... Through the glory days...
44 BC - end of the line for Julius Caesar
27 BC - 180 AD - the Roman Peace (Pax Romana)

...To the bitter end...

- Constant fifth century invasions by barbarian tribes left the western Roman Empire shattered and crumbling
- The last emperor was a teenage boy installed in 475 by his father
- Barbarians deposed Romulus Augustulus without bothering to kill him

Taking Notes.. Again.

Hello,

Today, like we have for about 5 straight days, we are taking notes... yay. Here they are:

- Jesus' followers believe he is the Messiah and Savior who has risen from the dead
- Christianity evolved from cult status to established, official structure
- Christians and Jews were monotheistic
- Conflicted with Roman beliefs
- Christianity appealed to the poor, and since there were many poor, their numbers grew
- As it grew, even some Roman leaders embraced Christianity
- By Constantine, not only no persecution, but actual approval of Christianity, eventually making it the official religion of Rome
- AD 180: Rome has problems
- Economically and Military

More Notes for Test

Hello,

We took notes on the test today in class.

Tarquin the Proud
- Last of the Roman Kings, ran out of town because his son raped a woman and Tarquin did nothing

Describe how Rome moved from a monarchy to a republic
- Ruled by Etruscan kings (monarchy) who were advised by rich patricians (the Senate- and aristocracy)
- After Tarquin, the gov't became res public  or republic (like the Greek democracy)

Describe the difference between a patrician and a plebeian
Patrician: upper-calls, landowning, established, connected, powerful
Plebeian: Common people, Workers, Small-time farmers, some wealthy non-patrician

Senate: Gov't assembly of 200 (unpaid) patricians, appointed for life, first by kings, the consuls
Consuls: In-power for 1 year, two senators who led the gov't and military, could veto echo other
Tribunes: Leaders of the plebeian assembly, first rather powerless, gaining ground over the years

What are the 12 tables?
12 Laws that were posted in the forum and were made on bronze or wood, Set up to protect plebeians who were getting pushed around by patricians, first laws written down in Rome

The Roman Republic servers as a model for what modern document, and what modern government?
The Constitution of the U.S.

Senate/Assemblies - US Senate/House of Reps
Consuls/Dictator - President of the US
Senate could act like judges - like our Supreme Court

Why only the rich could server in the Senate
Members were not paid, but worked their way up from low-ranking magistrates to higher ones. They needed to spend a lot to look good, popular, and powerful, making them electable. Plebs couldn't afford to do that.

The kings who rules between 600 and 500 BC ordered the building of the Forum, Rome's political center

Paterfamilias - The man is in charge of the family

Pax Romana - a period of peace and property in Rome

Notes for Test

Hello,

Today we just took a bunch of notes on the test that we will be having soon. 


First emperor - Caesar Augustus
Began the Pax Romana
Paul tells about Jesus' life, death, resurrection and message
Travels to Cyprus, Anatolia, Athens, Corinth, Macedonia, Rome, Jerusalem, and maybe even Spain and Britain.
Caligula:
In addition to being Germanicus' son, he was Tiberius adopted grandson and great nephew
-putting him next in line for emperor
He started off well; granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trails a thing of the past, and made government spending a matter of public record
All in all, the first seven months of Caligula's reign were "completely blissful" according to Philo
Begins to fight with the Senate
He claimed to be a god, and has statues displayed in many places - including the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (sacrilege)
Other ex: Cruelty and insanity: he slept with other men's wives and bragged about it, indulged in too much spending and sex and even tried to make a horse a consul and a priest (at least that's what his critics said)
Assassinated by his own aides, AD 41 (age 28)

Next in line: Claudius
Ostracized by his family because of his disabilities (limp, slight deafness, possible speech impediment - thought to be cerebral palsy or polio) he was the last adult male in his when Caligula was killed.

He rose to the occasion: he conquered Britain's; he built roads, canals and aqueducts; he renovated the Circus Maximus

Has an awful to Messalina, who was quite often unfaithful to him, plotted to kill him with Silius, he orders for them to be killed .

Religious Troubles:
Christianity and Judaism: monotheistic
Romans had many gods, plus at times the emperor was viewed as a god
AD 66: a group of Jews called the Zealots tried to rebel, but the Roman troops put them down and burned their temple (expect for one wall)
The Western Wall is the holiest of all Jewish Shrines
Half million Jews died

Persecutions of Christians:
Romans were harsh  to those who would not worship the emperor
Especially Christians, who were viewed as followers of a new, upstart religion(cult)
despite the oppression, Christianity grew quickly - by AD 200 around 10 percent of the ppl in the Roman Empire were Christians.



Timeline:
Augustus
Tiberius
Caligula

Ton of Notes

Hello,

Today in class, Mr. Schick wasn't here so we took notes from the book, here they are:

- In 44 B.C. Caesar secured the votes to become dictator for life
- On the ides of March (March 15) Caesar was lured into the Senate house unarmed and was killed
- This death only made things worse for the Senate
- New emperors would be on their way to become leaders of Rome
- Mark Antony a commander under Caesar and Caesars grandnephew Octavian fought each other
- They joined forces in order to fight Caesar's assassins, Brutus and Cassius
- They would defeat Cassius and Brutus in Greece
- They forced Senate to say that Julius Caesar was a "Divine Being"
- Marcus Lepidus was also part of the group working with Mark and Octavian
- Lepidus would rule North Africa, Antony in Alexandria, and Octavian in Rome
- Antony's affair with Queen Cleopatra made him unpopular in Rome
- He would try to make conquests on the eastern frontier but failed
- Octavian would push Lepidus out of power in order to gain that territory and push Rome toward the Danube
- Octavian would defeat Antony and Cleopatra's forces in a naval battle off of Greece
- Rome's art, law, philosophy, literature, architecture were based off of the Greeks
- Latin became dominant language
- Augustus/ Octavian refused  the offer or a long-term dictatorship
- He was made commander and chief of the military so he allowed the Senate to supervise Italy and Rome
- He killed many opponents in the Senate and replaced them with friends and allies
- People's assemblies lost their last bit of power
- Greek cities started to worship Augustus
- Shrines of Augustus and Rome began to jump up in the empire
- When he died the Senate declared him a divine human being like Julius Caesar
- It became customary for emperors to be worshipped
- Augustus got the title Father of the Fatherland
- He was one of many Roman wealthy men making their way up the ranks
- Augustus had a combined army of 600,000 men
- By end of his rule all of his soldiers were volunteers
- He created the worlds first professional standing army
- Augustus added Egypt, lands from Italy to Greece to the River Danube, a wide swath of Germany to the east of the Rhine
- He chose a successor so rule could continue
- Augustus settled on Tiberius, Livia's son
- Augustus adopted Tiberius as well
- Augustus died in 14 A.D.
- Nero was the last descendent of Caesar was overthrown
- After a brief civil war, Vespasian was made emperor
- In the second century Marcus Aurelius son was killed and another civil war
- Septimus Severus was made emperor 
- Augustus' government lasted until the trouble times in the third century