May 23

This is a new society
This new society has roots in:
classical heritage of Rome
beliefs of the Roman catholic church
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

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 3000 of his warriors become Christians
The church in Rome like this
by 511 the Franks are united into one kingdom, with Clovis and the Church working as partner

Church = Frankish rulers = rise in Christianity

In 520, Benedict writes rules for monks
they operate schools, maintain libraries, copy books

Clovis rules the Franks in Gaul until his death in 511
Most of the rest of Europe consists of smaller kingdoms
Clovis descendants include Charles Martle, know as Charles the Hammer
Charles most important point is that he 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
Son #1 - Carloman - dies in 771
Son #2 is Charles, known as Charlemagne, meaning Charles the Great
His intent was to build the greatest empire since Rome

Charlemagne's grandsons can't decide who will rule so his grandsons split it up into 3 pieces