Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
Chapter 10, Lesson 1, Europe After the Roman Empire (pp. 256-261)
I. Rise of the Germanic Kingdoms
B. After Odoacer took Rome, other Germanic invaders established
kingdoms all over Europe.
C. In 481, Clovis became king of the Franks. He extended the Frankish
kingdom to include most of what is now France and Germany, and
led his people into Christianity.
II. Charlemagne's Empire
B. While most of Europe's libraries had been destroyed, Charlemagne
promoted scholarship and learning throughout his empire.
C. After Charlemagne's death, his empire divided and eventually
disintegrated into small areas ruled by local landowners.
III. Medieval England
B. In a fight over the sucession, the Norman king William
the Conqueror invaded England and took the English throne in 1066.
C. Under the Normans, a social and political system called feudalism
eventually grew.
D. With feudalism, classes of people were ordered by rank and authority,
exchanging services for protection.
Lesson at a Glance Outline
A. The period from the fall of Rome to the beginning of more modern times
(A.D. 476 to about 1450) is called the Middle Ages, or the Medieval Period.
A. In 768, Charlemagne, a Frankish king supported by the Roman Catholic
Church, began 48 years of empire-conquering.
A. During the 800s, Viking attacks on England were countered by
Anglo-Saxon kings.
Copyright © 1999 Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.