Ars Bellica

EARLY MEDIEVAL

In the first posthumous Roman-barbarian kingdoms Europe we can observe one transformation that will drastically change the history in Europe as in part of the entire Western world: the spread of Christianity as a "religion of the state". In fact, the first part of spreading of the Christian religion had touched mostly the eastern areas of the Roman Empire than the western ones, but the contact of some of the tribes that occupied the larger areas of Western Europe, such as the Franks and Visigoths just to make two examples, with some pockets of Christian worship opened new political and strategic prospects in the old continent. The conversion to Christianity of many of the Germanic kings who occupied areas of the former Roman Empire, were not only formal, but were also practical proclamation of that power. Since its origins, in fact, the leaders of Germanic tribes had not only their warriors characteristics, necessary to dominate populations so undisciplined, but also a kind of magical aura that surrounded them, so that grown, over the centuries, the belief that the components of some royal families (for example the Frankish one) had even miraculous powers. Adding to this, the crowning by an "otherworldly" element, as it was considered to be the Pope, who invested in command the king in the name of God, the regent have a dimension that must have been seemed as completely incontestable, as the pope have a potential power, from economic point of view, due to the rich gifts which arrived in Rome, out of the ordinary. But the reality was very different. The lack of state organizations that would ensure order and security in the territories, as Rome had been previously, narrowed the scope of the rulers who were going to lean on so that pyramid of vassal links who became the real leitmotif of Early Medieval Europe. The economy and social life were now dominated by the "curtis" and in fact the power so divided, distributed and applied to the land not directly from the king, but by his vassal, replaced a strong figure, almost ethereal, with the direct ruler's one. Few personalities in this period were able to impact so deep in the society of its territory such as to take control of all its territories. Charlemagne is certainly one of the most important, not only in internal control: the greatness of Charlemagne lies in the fact that, in a period of great "local contractions", the king of the Franks was one of the few to have succeeded in the expansion of his kingdom on realities with an important demographic-military situations such as Italy and Germany. Along with Charlemagne and with the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, were developed, during the early medieval period, other state that will be political leaders, over the centuries, not only in Europe. The State of the Church was forming with the support of many European rulers and increasing more and more its political-strategic influence, much of the Holy Roman Empire was shifting to become a German Empire, and realities as that of the Franks beyond the Alps, and later the Norman one in England laid the groundwork for the formation of unitary states. In short, although not yet completely unified geographically within them, were forming the future great European powers.

Battles

Hastings

Battle of Hastings

14 October 1066

Harold II is defeated by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy so the throne of England passed to the Norman dynasty.

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