From the migrations of the Germanic tribes to the dawn of the Renaissance, a comprehensive history of the Western Middle Ages in one volume.

The "Reading Western History through Historical Documents" series presents a wide range of historical materials, including not only commonly thought of literature but also sermons, wills, letters, inscriptions, and official documents.
For readers who wish to read Western history in depth and vividly, this book will serve as a guide, informing them of the resources available for studying Western history and how to approach them.
Furthermore, if used as teaching material for students, it will elevate the current Western history education to a new level.

It could be said that this series was created to arouse this kind of interest and curiosity.
Readers will realize that history is made up of historical materials, and will also learn how to handle these materials, allowing them to experience historical thinking.
In that respect, I am confident that the materials presented here will heighten the intellectual interest of the general public and serve as a source of historical insight and reflection.

Justinian I (527–565) succeeded his uncle Justin I as emperor.
Empress Theodora once worked as a dancer in a circus.
When Justinian was about to resign in fear of the riots, she dissuaded him and effectively suppressed the riots by mobilizing troops, allowing him to remain on the throne.
Therefore, if there had been no Theodora, there would have been no Emperor Justinian.
--- p.112

Source 01 Theodora's Persuasion _Procopius Caesarensis, History of Wars
The new concubine's opinion is as follows.
I'm not sure if it's safer to run away now than at any other time.
It's a bad time for that.
Once you are born as a human and see the light, it is inevitable that you will die.
But it is difficult to bear that the Emperor becomes a fugitive.
Please don't let me live any longer in a day when I will not be separated from the purple garment and when those who meet me will not call me Mama.
Your Majesty, if you wish to save yourself, it is not difficult.
Because we have a lot of money, we have the sea, and we have many ships.
But do you think that after His Majesty is safe, he will feel that it would be better to die?
As a concubine, I like the old saying, 'The throne is a good garment to wrap a corpse.'
---p.116

Works of Procopius Caesarensis: Procopius (500-565) was from Caesarea in present-day Israel. He served as a legal advisor to Justinian's general Belisarius and participated in several wars. He is considered the last great historian of antiquity, having left behind the works "History of Wars", "Secret History", and "The Architecture of Justinian".
In particular, he explained that the church was called ekklesia, meaning assembly, which was unfamiliar to classical Athens.
In particular, he viewed Justinian as a representative of God.
He also tried to write a history of the church, but failed.
---p.119

Muhammad, the founder of Islam, came from a prominent family in Mecca, but was extremely poor.
So, after managing the object of the older widow's love, he married her.
As a merchant, he was quite familiar with Judaism and Christianity, and it is said that he received the words of God Allah from the archangel Gabriel in a vision and wrote down the Quran. | Data 01 | Although he was illiterate to begin with, he wrote down the words under the archangel's instructions, creating the most beautiful piece of Arabic literature.
---p.122

Data 01 Muhammad Receiving Revelation in Medina _Quran, Surah 47
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Gracious.
Allah will nullify the deeds of those who disbelieve and turn others from His path.
As for those who have faith, do good deeds, and believe in what was revealed to Muhammad—for it is the truth from their Lord—Allah will forgive them their sins and ennoble their hearts.
This is because the disbelievers follow lies, while the believers follow the truth from their Lord.
(……) ---p.128

《Quran》: This name means 'the reading'.
The official name is 'Al-Quran al-Karim', which means 'The Noble Quran'.
The Quran was revealed to one person in one place over a period of 23 years in one language (Arabic).
Originally, the Quran was preserved through oral tradition and written records.
Muhammad's revelations continued in Mecca and Medina for 13 and 10 years respectively.
It was first compiled during the reign of the first caliph, Abu Bakr (reigned 632–634), after his death.
As variant manuscripts multiplied, Caliph Uthman ibn Affan had a precise manuscript made and the variants burned in 651.
It consists of 114 chapters and 6,200 verses.
Each chapter is called a "Sura." ---p.134

The movement to found convents was closely linked to the advancement of women's status.
From around 900 AD, it was common for sisters, widows, and daughters of kings and princes to become nuns without marrying.
In these cases, there were cases where a nun entered a convent with land and precious metals, lived there, and became the abbess, or founded a convent and gained social fame through good deeds.
The monastic movement can be seen as combining aristocratic tastes with religious training, with devotion, some learning, and discipline.
But the time has come to move beyond such passive evaluation.
In 2011, a German film titled “Vision” was produced that highlighted Sister Hildegard and was introduced in Korea under the title “The Great Revelation,” and research on her is also active.
He displayed his genius in many fields, not only creating and composing the first opera, but also showing outstanding talent in understanding the celestial bodies. |Data 06| The will is a testament to this woman's consciousness.
This allows us to examine medieval human relationships related to property.
---p.155

Material 06 A Medieval Nun Preaching _ Hildegard, "The Book of the Works of God"
The preface to the book 'On the Works of God' begins.
There were wonderful and true visions, which tormented me for five years, and in the sixth year after they had passed, a true vision of indescribable light presented to me, a very ignorant man, various customs.
It was a strange vision in its first year, and when I was sixty-five years old I had a vision so mysterious and powerful that I wish to tell you all about it.
… … For seven years I was almost exhausted writing about what such a great illusion was.
So in the year 1163 when the Lord was incarnated… …a voice was made from heaven.
(……) ---p.162

Material 07 The Will of a Medieval Woman _Joel T.
Rosenthal, ed., Understanding Medieval Primary Sources, 2012
Testator: Anastasu, widow of Nicolaus Carabello
Location: Crete, Venetian territory
Date: July 30, 1328
In the name of the everlasting God, Amen.
… … in Candia, Crete.
Since the time of life's end is unknown to all and nothing is more certain than the knowledge that we cannot escape death, we must all be careful to dispose of our earthly possessions.
Therefore, I, Anastasu, widow of Nicholas Garabello, a resident of Candia, being in good health and mind, and not wanting to die without making a will, I have called my secretary, Andrea de Bellamor, to write my will, in order to leave my estate in order.
I appoint as executors of my will Johannes Secreto, son of Lorenzo Secreto and my beloved nephew Rosa Secreto, and my beloved niece Anizza Fontarella, both of whom are inhabitants of Candia, to carry out my wishes after my death.
First, I leave fifty ephemeras for my soul, which I will give to those who are in prison for debt, five or six ephemeras to each prisoner.
(……)
I demand and command that the legacies mentioned above be distributed within nine days after my death.
I also demand that all my Massaria (household goods), that is, my blankets, linens, large pots, and everything else in my house, except gold and silver or money, be divided equally between my nephews, John the Secretor and Marcus the Secretor.
… … [I give my executors the power to act on my behalf after my death, and I stipulate that this will is final.]
… … I, Nicholas de Alexandrio, as a witness, have signed this [with the sign of the cross].
… … I, Johannes Alexander, as a witness, have signed this [also making the sign of the cross].
[Notary Public Signature] I, Andreas de Bellamor, have completed and notarized this [document].
---p.164

Hildegard's works: Hildegard (1098-1179) was of noble birth, educated at the Benedictine convent in Bodenberg, and became abbess.
Having had visions since childhood, she was allowed to reveal them and record them at the age of 43.
He left behind three books: Scibias (1141-1152), The Responsible Man (1163-1173), and The Book of the Works of God (1163-1173).
---p.167

Medieval Wills: These wills have been in use since the 13th century.
Church jurists and government authorities allowed legally independent people to make wills, which became common in the 14th and 15th centuries.
A will not only reveals the inner desires of an individual testator, but also reveals the relationship between the testator and his or her family and friends.
It is especially important to read it in the context of the times.
---p.167

Broadly speaking, the relationship between a lord and a vassal was a bilateral contractual relationship.
Entering into a bilateral contract confirms that the contracting parties are free persons and share the same status as warriors.
Therefore, it is necessary to recognize that the relationship between a lord and his vassal is not the Eastern monarch-subject relationship, but rather a contractual one. | ​​Data 04 | ---p.171
Material 04 Letters of Fulbert of Chartres: The Duties of the Vassal and the Lord _ James Harvey Robinson, edited, Selected Sources of European History Vol.
1,
Those who swear loyalty to their lord must always remember six things.
That is, what is harmless, safe, honorable, beneficial, easy, and practical.
Non-harmful means that the vassal must not personally harm his lord.
The safe thing is that a vassal must not harm his lord by revealing his secrets or by betraying the defenses upon which his lord relies for safety.
Honor means that one should not harm one's lord in his lawsuit or in any other matter that concerns his lord's honor.
(……)
The lord must also act in all these matters in return for his loyal vassal's actions.
And if the lord does not do this, it is justly to be held that the lord is guilty of perjury, just as if the vassal were found to have shied away from his duty, or consented to shied away from it, he would be considered unfaithful and perjured.
---p.171

Letter of Fulbert of Chartres: A letter sent in 1020 by Bishop Fulbert of Chartres to Duke William of Aquitaine reveals the general rules of feudalism.
According to this letter, the relationship between lord and vassal was bilateral. ---p.179

The first full-scale crusade was the expedition to Palestine.
The Byzantine Empire lost major parts of Asia to the Seljuk Turks.
The Byzantine emperor, growing anxious, requested that relief troops be sent to Western Europe.
Although relations with Western Europe were not smooth, the Byzantine emperor regarded Islam as a common enemy and proposed that they fight together.
In 1095, the Pope of Rome preached the necessity of a crusade at a council held in Clermont. |Data 01| After this, many preachers traveled around and encouraged the crusade.
---p.318

Data 01 Urban II calls for a crusade at Clermont _François Guizot, 《Collected Documents on French History》 24:3-9
Dear brothers, Jim Urban, by God's permission, has received the Papal Triple Crown and the title of spiritual leader for the entire world, and has come to you, God's servants, to bring you God's warning in this time of great crisis.
… … Oh, sons of God, you who have been newly stirred by this divine correction still have a very urgent task ahead of you, for you have promised the Lord more earnestly than before to keep the peace and to uphold the rights of the Holy Church with loyalty.
… … We must urgently provide aid to our brothers in the East who need your help.
That's what they often asked for.
The [Seljuk] Turks, as some of you already know, attacked them.
… … Therefore, Jim asks you to pray the following with reverent sincerity:
… … That is, as heralds of Christ, you must frequently exhort people, urging all classes of people, knights and soldiers, rich and poor, to expedite the extermination of the vile race from your brother’s lands and to assist the [Orthodox] Christians accordingly.
… … If those who set out there lose their lives on the way, on land or sea or in battle with the pagans, their sins will be forgiven.
I grant this through the power God has given me.
― Chapter 17, page 323 (Reading Materials)

Urban's Sermon: A sermon by the Pope recorded by Fulcher of Chartres in 1095.
In this sermon, the Pope argues that the feudal states should overcome their conflicts and join forces to attack Islam.
---p.336

Despite the diverse origins of urban development, medieval cities shared some fundamental common characteristics.
It was a group that enjoyed autonomy and freedom.
The most representative way to enjoy autonomy and freedom in the city was to buy freedom.
There were ways to buy freedom by giving a large sum of money at once or by paying a certain amount of taxes, and there were also cases where lords developed cities to regularly raise tax revenue.
And there were cases where medieval townspeople joined forces to attack weaker lords and forcefully win their freedom.
Therefore, the freedom of the city was not something that was simply obtained, but was exchanged for life, and because it was bought with money, it could be seen as the most precious thing.
The city's charter is what confirms the city's status. |Data 02| - Chapter 23, page 450 (main text)

Data 02 Loris's Freedom Patent _John L.
Beatty Oliver A.
Johnson, The Heritage of Western Civilization
1.
Anyone who owns a house in the parish of Loris will be required to pay a tax of six deniers on their house alone.
And let him do so for every acre of farmland he may have in this parish, and let that amount be the immunity zone of his house if he acquires it.
2.
No resident of the parish of Loris shall pay any entrance fee or any tax on his provisions.
And he shall not pay taxes on the grain he obtains by his own labor or by the beasts he possesses.
And he will not pay taxes on the wine he produces from his vineyard.
3.
No one among the inhabitants shall go on foot or on horseback to join the army unless he can return home on the same day if he so desires.
5.
Anyone who has property in the parish of Loris shall not lose it if he commits any illegal act, unless it is done to himself or his guests.
9.
No one shall receive taxes, donations, or extortions from the people of Loris, whether we or others.

(……) ---p.461

Charter of Liberty of Loris: This charter was granted to Loris, a small town in north-central France, by Louis VII in 1155.
Historically, this document is important.
Because it has served as an exemplary role model for numerous city patent offices since then.

---p.472