Download Middle Ages Study Guide Key

Middle Ages Study Guide
What are the approximate dates of the Middle Ages?
500-1400 A.D.
Why is the Middle Ages referred to as the” Dark Ages”?
The time period following the fall of Rome in Europe
Europe was in a state where it:
Did not support learning
Created very little culture (art, literature, architecture,
etc.)
Was repeatedly invaded
Had no central government
Had a bad economy
Was basically a miserable place to live
What are the three reasons the Eastern Roman Empire
fell?
1-ECONOMICS-EMPIRE TOO LARGE
2-POOR LEADERSHIP, MORALS and VALUES
3-INVASIONS FROM BARBARIANS
What was the name of the Frank ruler that was one of the
best known Medieval kings?
Charlemagne
What was his(answer from above) empire called?
Carolingian Empire
What two things did Charlemagne emphasize as
important?
Education and Christianity
What happened to Charlemagne’s empire after his death?
It was split between his grandsons and eventually fell apart
due to constant warfare and invasions.
What was the cause of feudalism?
Lack of government and no security
Define feudalism.
a rigid social hierarchy in which a vassal served a lord and
received protection and land in return. LAND FOR LOYALTY
How was your class determined in feudalism?
You were born into your class-could not change
Define social hierarchy.
any system of persons or things ranked one above another
in a class system.
What did the feudal system provide?
The feudal system provided order and stability. Everyone
knew their place and what they had to do.
What did the manorial system provide?
The manorial system provided for an economy that was
based on farming and being self-sufficient on the manor.
Put the following in order based on feudalism from highest
importance to lowest importance:
Kings, Lords, Vassals, Knights, Peasants
Knights, Peasants, Kings, Lords, Vassals
A large fief owned by a Lord. It had a large house or castle,
pastures, fields, and forests.
What is a manor?
What is a fief?
A piece of land
Who worked the land for a lord?
Knights and Serfs
In feudalism land=_________________
power
What did kings give lords? In exchange what did lords give
kings?
Kings gave lords land
Lords gave kings their money and military support
What did lords give vassals/knights? In exchange what did
knights give lords?
Lords/Noble gave out smaller fiefs to Vassals/Knights in
exchange vassals/knights protected the kingdom and
served in the military.
What did knights give serfs/peasants? In exchange what
did serfs/peasants do?
Vassals/Knights allowed peasants (serfs) to work their
land. Majority of the population.
Serfs/Peasants provided food and other services to
Vassals/Knights when demanded.
Kings start to produce kingdoms
A. Eventually powerful kings combined the military
power and created nation-states.
B. Nation-States started in France and England and
spread to Spain and Russia.
Serfs/peasants
How did manors become more powerful?(discuss nationstates)
Who did most of the work on the manor?
In the 11th century what two churches developed due to a
split in the Christian Church?
Greek Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church
List and briefly describe the four roles the Roman Catholic
Church played in the Middle Ages.
1-Unifying Force-lasted for 1000 years
2-Diffuse (spread) Christianity-through monks and the
monastery
3-Preserved Christian writings after the fall of Rome-Wrote
copies of the Bible (also the Book of Kells)
4-Education-monasteries first served to educate boys to
become priests and became the first known universities
(example is Notre Dame Cathedral in France)
Who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church?(give title)
Pope
____________ and _____________ fought each other for
political power throughout Europe.
Kings and Pope
The Pope was seen as God’s ______________________
___ __________________
Representative on Earth
What is the spiritual center of the Roman Catholic Church
called?
Vatican City
What is a monk?
Where does a monk live?
a member of a religious community who separate
themselves from society and live a life of isolation in their
dedication to God.
- spent their time in prayer, work, and meditation
Monasteries
What was the primary role of a monastery?
To influence people to become Christian
Define Benedictine Rule.
A set of rules for monasteries created by a monk named
Benedictine
Name two books that the monks were known to write in
their scriptorium.
Bible
Book of Kells
Monasteries were centers for learning. What two
purposes did they serve in education?
1-Trained boys to become priests
2-became Europe’s universities
Define Crusades. Who was involved?
Be sure to be familiar with the routes of the Crusades. Did
the Christians come from the east or the west?
Where was the Holy Land?
Long series of wars between Christians and Muslims
over the Holy Land.
Christians came from the west and headed towards the
Holy Land
Region called Palestine near the city of Jerusalem that
Jews, Christians, and Muslims make pilgrimages too. It
is located in the Middle East.
Who urged the Christians to go on the Crusades?
Pope Urban II
List three reasons to go on a Crusade.
Honor
Power
Diffusion of Christianity
Give a summary of the 1st Crusade.
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1096-1099
5000 nobles, knights and peasants joined Crusade
they met in Constantinople
peasants fought first and many died
nobles and knights took Jerusalem
Christians held on to Jerusalem for 50 years
Give a summary of 2nd Crusade .
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1147
After 50 years, Muslims started to regain land they
had lost in the First Crusade.
French and German kings started the Second
Crusade to win back these lands.
It was a failure with the Crusaders having heavy
losses.
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Give a summary of the 3rd Crusade.
 1189
 Muslim leader Saldin took Jerusalem-permitted
Christians to go free
 King Richard I the Lion Heart, a French king, and a
German king led an army to retake Jerusalem.
 King Richard I the Lion Heart captured some land
and Saladin allowed Christians pilgrims safe travel
to the Holy Land.
 Jerusalem stayed in control of Muslims.
Give a summary of the 4th Crusade.
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What was the Reconquista?
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List three “successes” of the Crusades.
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1201
French knights arrived in Italy to sail for the Holy
Land.
However, they had no money to pay for their
travel.
Instead, they conquered a trade city and
Constantinople and took many treasures.
Effort by Spanish Christians to retake Spain from
Spanish Muslim Moors.
By the year 1000, southern and Central Spain was
controlled by Muslim Moors.
Christian warriors fought to drive the Muslim
Moors from Spain.
By the 1250's, Christian armies had pushed the
Moors almost completely out of Spain.
Christians were able to control the Holy Land for a
little while.
The Reconquista and Crusades stopped Muslims
from invading Europe.
TRADE BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA INCREASED.
Due to increased trade, it led Europe towards the
Renaissance and European Exploration.
Power of the kings increased.
List three “failures” of the Crusades.
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Muslims continued to control the Holy Land.
Due to the Crusades failing, the power of the
Pope and Roman Catholic Church weakened.
Due to increased trade with Asia, Europe was no
longer isolated, and Feudalism was weakened.
Many nobles and knights lost their fortunes and
lives.
Tensions rose between Muslims and Christians.
True or False: Due to the Crusades trade between Europe
and Asia increased.
True.
What weakened feudalism after the Crusades?
Due to increased trade with Asia, Europe was no
longer isolated, and Feudalism was weakened.
List four things that the Magna Carta did.
1. It stated that the king must follow the law.
2. He could not simply rule as he wished.
3. The Magna Carta gave nobles the right to declare war
on the king if he did not follow the document.
4. It formed the Great Council.
What did William the Conqueror introduce to England?
feudalism
What did feudalism do in England?
Feudalism weakened the power of the nobles (Lords)
and strengthened the power of the monarchy.
Who was King John and what did he do to the people of
England?
Was considered a tyrannical, oppressive king.
He was an absolute monarch (ruler).
He raised taxes on the nobles without their consent to
fight his wars.
He would throw people in jail without a trial.
Define Rule of Law.
the idea that all people follow the law, and law is applied
and enforced fairly.
What are Representative Assemblies?
a person who represents others and meets with other
representatives to make laws.
What is Due Process?
a citizen gets fair treatment in the court system.
What is Trial by Jury?
group of citizens that judges court cases.
What is the Great Council? What was their role in
government?
Great Council (A group of nobles that advised the
king) eventually became the English Parliament years later.
English Parliament - England's representative government.
English Parliament - Eventually became the first
democratically, legislative body in Europe.
List three effects of the Manga Carta.
1-The Great Council eventually became the English
Parliament
2-Weakened feudalism and social hierarchy
3-Inspired United States’ Constitution
What was the bubonic plague? Include dates
a deadly plague that swept through Europe between 13471351
Where did the bubonic plague originate and where did it
spread to?
Originated in Asia-spread to the west to Europe
It followed trade routes like the Silk Road from Asia,
through Constantinople into Europe.
What did doctors do to treat the bubonic plague? Did it
work?
Bloodletting and herbs
No
How was the bubonic plague spread?
A flea bit a rat and then the flea bit a human
It was also spread in the air
Approximately how many people died in Europe from the
bubonic plague? (give percentage)
33% or 1/3 of the population
What effects did the bubonic plague have on feudalism?
Due to so many dead-> there were less workers (serfs)
->they realized they should be paid for their services->left
manors to get jobs in the city
This weakened the feudal system and eventually ended it
Power of the Roman Catholic Church declined since the
church could not stop the plague.
What effect did the bubonic plague have on the Roman
Catholic Church?