Download MIDDLE_AGES_NOTES

THE PERIOD OF HISTORY BETWEEN
THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
AND THE BEGINNING OF THE
MODERN WORLD IS KNOWN AS THE
MIDDLE AGES.
MIDDLE AGES 400-1400 AD
AFTER THE FALL OF THE ROMAN
EMPIRE, CITIES AND TOWNS IN
EUROPE WERE NOT SAFE
ANYMORE BECAUSE THERE WAS
NO GOVERNMENT TO PROTECT
THEM.
CITIES AND TOWNS ALL
ACROSS EUROPE BEGAN
GETTING INVADED.
THE PEOPLE OF EUROPE NEEDED A
FORM OF GOVERNMENT, A LEADER,
AND SOME FORM OF PROTECTION.
WITH NO STRONG
CENTRAL
GOVERNMENT,
FEUDALISM GREW AS
THE MAIN FORM OF
GOVERNMENT DURING
THE MIDDLE AGES.
IT WAS A STRUCTURED CHAINOF-COMMAND UNDER A KING.
LORDS
THEY GOVERNED
ONLY THE PEOPLE
ON THEIR LAND.
THEY WOULD
UNITE UNDER THE
KING IF ATTACKED.
VASSALS
LOCAL LORDS
DIVIDED THEIR
LAND AMONG
LOWER NOBLES
CALLED VASSALS.
VASSALS WERE
RESPONSIBLE FOR
THE SALE OF
MERCHANDISE IN
THEIR LAND.
KNIGHTS
VASSALS
DIVIDED THEIR
LAND AMONG
THEM.
KNIGHTS WERE
RESPONSIBLE
FOR DEFENSE
OF THE LAND.
SERFS
THESE ARE THE
“COMMON”
PEOPLE. THEY
WORKED THE
LAND IN TRADE
FOR PROTECTION.
LORDS
KING
S
E
R
F
S
VASSALS
KNIGHTS
CASTLES WERE DESIGNED TO
PROTECT THE NOBLES AND
THEIR FAMILIES.
OVER TIME, THEY USED
STONE INSTEAD OF WOOD.
THE KEEP WOULD
CONTAIN THE KITCHEN
AND BANQUET HALL.
THERE MAY HAVE BEEN
A CHURCH ON THE TOP
FLOOR.
CASTLES WERE OFTEN
SURROUNDED BY LARGE MOATS.
YOU ENTERED THE CASTLE
THROUGH A DRAWBRIDGE.
•The main job of a
knight was to protect
the nobles and their
land.
Three Stages to Become a Knight
• Stage 1 - Page
– Became a page at age 7
– Servant in a household
– Learned weaponry, courtesy,
religion, etc.
• Stage 2 - Squire
– Became a squire at age 14
– Personal aide to a knight
• Stage 3 - Knight
– Age 18-21
– If he can master the skills he is then
knighted
Arthurian Legends
There are many legends about
knights, castles, and the Middle
Ages. The most famous legends
are about King Arthur and his
Knights of the Round Table.
Camelot
• Castle
Round Table
• Mystical Table in
Camelot
• Symbol of Unity
Excalibur
• King Arthur's
mythical sword
• Sword in the stone
only drawn by real
king.
Famous Characters from
Arthurian Legends
•
•
•
King Arthur
Drew the sword in the stone
Married to Guinevere
Sir Lancelot
Greatest of King Arthur’s
Knights
One of the most trusted knights
Falls in love with Guinevere
Merlin
Wizard in Arthurian legends
King’s Advisor
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH PROVIDED A
SENSE OF UNITY, OR TOGETHERNESS,
ALL THROUGHOUT EUROPE.
MOST PEOPLE DURING THE MIDDLE
AGES SUPPORTED THE CHURCH.
THE CHURCH HELD GREAT
POLITICAL POWER IN
EUROPE.
EVERYONE MUST OBEY THE RULES OF
THE CHURCH!
CATHEDRALS BECAME THE CENTERS
OF LEARNING (SCHOOLS) DURING
THE MIDDLE AGES.
FROM THE EARLY 1300’S UNTIL
AROUND 1400, A PLAGUE
SPREAD ACROSS MUCH OF
EUROPE.
IT WAS SPREAD BY RATS AND FLEAS
COMING FROM CHINA ALONG TRADE
ROUTES.
AT ONE POINT IN PARIS, OVER 800
PEOPLE WERE DYING PER DAY BECAUSE
OF THE PLAGUE!
LACK OF UNDERSTANDING AND
UN-SANITARY CONDITIONS WERE
A REASON THE PLAGUE SPREAD.
BY THE END OF THE MIDDLE AGES,
BETWEEN 30-50% OF THE POPULATION
HAD DIED. OVER 25 MILLION PEOPLE.
IN 768,
CHARLEMAGNE
BECAME KING AND
TOOK OVER
GERMANY AND
ITALY.
HE HELPED LAY THE
FOUNDATIONS FOR FEUDALISM.
HE ENCOURAGED AND HELPED
IMPROVE EDUCATION AND
THE ARTS.
HE ALSO ENCOURAGED THE
SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY.
CHARLEMAGNE WAS ONE OF THE MOST
SUCCESSFUL KINGS DURING THE
MIDDLE AGES AND WAS EVENTUALLY
CROWNED AS EMPEROR OF THE WEST.
HE HELPED
ESTABLISH
FEUDALISM, AND HE
HELPED RESTORE
ORDER AND PEACE
TO EUROPE.
The city of Jerusalem
is significant to 3
different religions:
1. Judaism
2. Christianity
3. Islam
• In 600, Muslims entered the city
and took control.
• At first it was very peaceful
between the Muslims, Christians,
and Jews. The Muslims allowed the
other religious groups to visit and
live in Jerusalem.
The First Crusade
The Cause
Around 1095, a new group of
Arabs took control of
Jerusalem. They closed the
city to Jews & Christians.
The Effect
The Pope acted. He called for
a crusade - a volunteer army
whose goal was to retake
Jerusalem. Many people
volunteered. About 30,000
men left Western Europe to
fight in Jerusalem.
The Sign of the Crusades:
The Red Cross
Each crusader had a
huge red cross, made
out of fabric,
stitched onto their
shirts or armor. It
made all crusaders
appear to be a unified
army. It reminded the
crusaders that they
were fighting a holy
cause. The red cross
was added to flags
and banners.
The First Crusade
The Result
• After about two years of harsh traveling, hunger,
disease, freezing weather, and quarrels amongst
themselves, the crusaders finally arrived in
Jerusalem.
• After a two-month siege of the city, the city fell.
The crusaders had won back Jerusalem.
• Some men stayed. Some headed home. Those who
returned brought back new foods and new forms of
culture.
More Crusades
• It was a short victory. Less
than 50 years later, Muslims
once again conquered
Jerusalem. Again the pope
called for a crusade to take
back the city.
• There were a total of 9
crusades fought between the
Christians and the Muslims.
By 1291, 200 years after the
first crusade, European
leaders lost interest.
Black Death
Definition:
A plague that spread
through most of Europe
due to rats and fleas
Category:
Cultural
Charlemagne
Definition:
One of the most successful
kings of the Middle Ages; he
helped establish feudalism
Category:
Political
Crusades
Definition:
Series of wars led by the Pope
to regain Jerusalem from the
Muslims
Category:
Religious