France
Notes
Clovis
Pepin II
Charles Martel
Pepin III
Charlemagne
Hugh Capet (first of the Captien Kings)

Holy Roman Empire
Notes
Otto the Great
Henry IV
Gregory VII (later) pope
Frederick I
Innocent III

Treaty of Verdun
Battle of Hastings
Concordat of Worms
Magna Carta

England:

Alfred the Great: (871-899)
Finally conquered the Danish and re-established Anglo-Saxon law. Actually only part of England was his kingdom but his learned ways spread throughout the island. He was a great scholar forced to become a soldier. After the Danes were finally forced out off the island Alfred began re-educating the priests and monks who had forgotten Latin and also began the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicles" a great historical source.
His sons and grandson, three different Edwards continued to fight with the Danes until the last Edward the Confessor seceded Canute the Dane the last of the Danes in England.

William the Conqueror:(Norman)(cousin to Edward the Confessor)(1066-1087)
Illegitimate son of Robert of Normandy. Claimed a right to the English throne after there were no sons from Edward the Confessor. He named himself king of England after defeating the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The nobles had chosen Edward another nephew to reign instead of William. He altered the feudal system in England by making all the lords and nobles swear allegiance to him thereby going around all the lesser kings and nobles of the land.

Henry I:
Created the Office of Exchequer to handle the kingdom's finances. He sent traveling judges to try cases. These judges superceded the Lord's law which made enforcement of the law more universal and consistent and undermined the power of the Lords.

Henry II: (Sons were Geoffrey (died early), John and Richard the Lionhart)
Married to Eleanor of Aquitaine thereby doubling the size of his territory.
Allowed the nobles to pay him money instead of sending knights. He then hired the knights himself. These knights owed their allegiance to Henry instead of the Lords. He later created a national army by requiring every freeman to serve. He further expanded the power of the circuit judges by creating juries that determine whether or not a case was tried. He sought to decrease the church's authority but failed. His three son's fought over his kingdom after his death.

John:
Forced the nobles to pay high taxes which they considered unjust. They forced him to sign the Magna Carta (1215), a document that reduced the power of the King.

Great Council & Parliament:
First the Great Council was created when the nobles revolted against Henry III in 1260. In this council, knights and burgesses were represented. Later divided into tow houses-House of Lords and the House of Commons. Its key power was that of refusing to agree to new and special taxes. Later called Parliament.

Eleanor of Aquitaine:
Bridged both France and England's history. Married and divorced to the king of France. She controlled Glascony, Aquitaine and other holdings on the continent of Europe. When she married Henry II this territory could be inherited by her sons, Richard, John or Geoffrey. The sons fought over these territories and other English holdings.

France:

Clovis:
Last of the Merovian rulers

Pepin II:
Appointed Mayor of the Palace

Charles Martel:
Mayor of the Palace became and inherited position. Defeated the Moors at the Battle of Tours. The Moors were the Muslims living on the Iberian Peninsula. Halted the spread of Islam into Europe.

Pepin III:
Crowned by the Pope.

Charlemagne: (Charles the Gross, Charles the Great)
United much of Europe by forcing out the Avars and controlling the Bavarian princess. This process took over 30 years but he brought some stability to Europe. He strengthened the hold of the church and returned the Papal States to the church. For his efforts he was crowned "To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, long life and victory!" on Christmas day 800 AD. This actually begins the Holy Roman Empire but Charlemagne never uses the title "Holy Roman Emperor". He built learning centers throughout Europe and left libraries , encouraged learning. Although considered civilized as he often pardoned his enemies on one occasion ordered 4500 Saxon's beheaded after a Saxon uprising. His Grandson's divided his empire after Charlemagne's son's death. With the Treaty of Verdun hopes of a centralized government in Europe were again delayed.

Hugh Capet: first of the Captien Kings)
Chosen king after the last of the Carolinigian kings die in 987. This begins the Capetain dynasty in France that ends in the 14^th century. These Capetain kings set up two new governmental departments the Chamber of Accounts and the Parliament of Paris.

Holy Roman Empire

Otto the Great: (or Otto I)
The first Emperor of the New Holy Roman Empire, called himself Holy Roman Emperor. All of the Holy Roman Emperors, as protectors of the church, had control over the selection of the Pope.

This later sets up a struggle between Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII

The battle was over whether or not a layman, someone outside the church, could appoint a Bishop, a practice called lay investiture. This issue was later settled and is called the Concordat (binding agreement) of Worms.

Frederick I:
Tried to take the rich city-states in northern Italy, which caused the formation of the Lombard League, a defensive league of the Northern Italian city-states, organized to defeat Frederick.

Pope Innocent III:

Led the papacy to the height of its power, dominating almost all of Europe.

Four Major Problems of the Church:
Lay Investiture
Worldly lives of the clergy
Simony
Heresy

Four Powers of the Church:
Excommunication
Interdiction
Taxation
Its own Laws and Courts (it was above the law of the land)