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Section III. Middle Ages (800 AD to 1500 AD) »
The Medieval Age began with a bang as the Carolingian dynasty under Charlemagne began a rapid Christian expansion across the whole of Western Europe. Replacing the Merovingian kings, Charlemagne rose above the previous years of sibling rivalry and created a united realm. The lords of Genève, devout followers of the Christian faith and supporters of the new Carolingian king, swore fidelity to Charlemagne and sent their armies to join the Frankish soldiers marching across Western Europe.
Despite his success, however, Charlemagne's empire slowly dissolved as his successors continually divided the kingdom among their many heirs. Civil war would engulf the region, providing an opening for the Genève to expand territorially and independently. In the ensuing warring period, under the leadership of King Alphonse IV, Genève would pray on its weaker neighbors as Vikings raided the northern Frankish shores and Magyar assaults intensified on eastern borders. During this time Genève would consolidate power and territory, and the capital was moved from Geneva to Montereau as military forces were focused on conquest in the western portions of the former Carolingian realm.
In the 11th century, after years of endless war, the territorial landscape of Genève remained largely unchanged. Focusing on defense, the capital had been transformed to center of Christian culture and art. In 1095, the First Crusade began. Responding to the call, the Genèvan king organized an elite force of knights to accompany the European armies heading to the Holy Land. A savage fighting force, the le Chevalier Rouge as they were known sacked and pillaged wealthy Muslim cities and sent the spoils of war back to Genève. This new found wealth expanded the influence and power of the state and would serve to protect Genève in the coming tumultuous years.
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Several centuries after the unsuccessful and bloody Crusades, a period of great upheaval and crisis engulfed Europe. Famine and the Black Death swept from nation to nation, killing nearly one third of the population and leaving feudal lords struggling to maintain power. In Genève, wealth and prosperity gained in the previous centuries had not been squandered, and while the population was greatly affected, the king and his lords were able to maintain the reigns of power over the serfs. In exchange for the loyalty and committment of neighboring states, Genève propped up failing and revolting economies with its own wealth. Though it drained the royal treasury, it enslaved other kingdoms to the Genèvan crown.
As the authority of the Popes in Rome fell to in-fighting and treachery during the Western Schism, a new center of Christian authority would rise in the form of the Bishop of Montereau. Supported by King Bertrand IV, Bishop Damien of the Catholic church in Genève would declare himself the rightful Pope. Damien found a great deal of support and demanded allegiance to his new order from the economically dependent neighboring states. Within a decade, the new Catholic power structure at Montereau rivaled the influence of Rome. Elected Pope Damien I in 1378, he was recognized by Genève, France, Burgundy and Savoy, placing this collection of nations immediately at odds with the supporters of the Avignon and Roman claimant to the Papal title. The decisions reached by the Council of Constance in 1414, in which the Roman pope was the only one to be officially recognized, were denied in Genève. When France abandoned support of the Genèvan claimant and supported Rome, the power of Pope Damien I was greatly diminished. Nevertheless, despite being written off as an antipope, the Genève church would continue to thrive and exert its power militarily and culturally in the coming age.
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