Download World History and Geography Study List

World History and Geography Study List
Middle Ages
Pages 193-194 reading
1. Reasons the Carolingian Empire Declined - They were causes of the breakup of
Charlemagne's empire. They were the lack of an effective tax system so the
central government didn't have enough money, poor communication making it
hard to enforce laws in the empire and, most important, the German practice of
dividing landholdings among sons causing quarrels and constant small wars that
weakened the kingdom.
2. Treaty of Verdun - It was the division of Charlemagne's empire into three parts
by his grandsons in A.D. 843. None of the three brothers was strong enough to
rule with any real authority.
3. Vikings - They had a saying. "Cattle die, kinfolk die, and we ourselves must die.
One thing I know will never die--the dead man's reputation." Their reputation was
of great explorations, raiding, and as settlers. They explored then settled in
Russia, Sicily, France, Britain, Iceland, Greenland, Vinland, etc. They deserved
their reputation as feared raiders of Western Europe from the 800s until well after
the 1000.
4. Normans - They were Vikings who repeatedly raided the coast of West
Frankland. In 911 they made a deal with the Frankish king to accept territory for
settlement and to adopt Christianity. They eventually developed a well-governed
Christian state.
Viking Sagas
5. Leif Erikson - He was the son of Eric the Red. He sailed from Greenland to
North America around the year A.D. 1000. He sighted new lands including
Flatstone Land, Forest Land and Vinland. He brought a supply of wood and
grapes back to Greenland after wintering in Vinland.
6. Bjarni Herjulsson - He is the first identified discoverer of North America. He
was a Viking who was blown off course while going from Iceland to Greenland.
In A.D. 985, he sighted Vinland and several other lands while trying to find his
way back to Greenland.
7. Thorfinn Karlsefni - He led the first Viking settlement of North America by
sailing to Vinland with 65 settlers to start a permanent settlement. After two years
of repeated battles with Indians he and the other settlers were forced to abandon
the colony.
8. Erik the Red - He was a Viking who left Iceland in 982 and spent three years
exploring the southwest coast of Greenland and founded of the Greenland Viking
colony in 985. He named it Greenland to make it attractive to colonists.
9. Vinland - It was the land in North America sighted first by Bjarni Herjulsson and
where a few years later Leif Erikson over wintered. Indians killed Thorvald,
Leif’s brother here in another expedition. Next Thorfinn Karlsefni set up what
was to be a permanent settlement, which lasted but two years because of Indian
clashes. Snorri was born here. Lastly Leif's sister Freydis co-led the last
expedition. Here she arranged the murders of some of her fellow Vikings and
personally killed five women before returning to Greenland.
10. Snorri - He was the first recorded white child born in North America. His father
was Thorfinn Karlefni and mother was Gudrid.
Handout: Vikings and Their Ships
11. Olaf the Holy - He was the early 11th century Norse King of Norway. He was a
Christian king who fought against the traditional Viking gods of Thor, Woden,
etc. and won. He Christianized Scandinavia.
12. Viking Burials - They were the funeral arrangements made for Viking chieftains
when they died. They were often entombed in their own ships with all their
possessions inside a mound.
Handout: Vikings and Their Ships
13. Longship - It was a narrow and lengthy ship built for speed and maneuverability
by the Vikings. They used it for raiding and war.
14. Knorr - It was a heavy cargo ship used by the Vikings for exploration across the
Atlantic Ocean. It was powered by sail or by oar. It was a wide, stable ship with
plenty of storage space.
Page 192, 195-198 and related
15. Knight - It is a mounted man-at-arms serving his feudal lord. In return for
military service he was granted landholdings. He usually developed his land into
farming estates and built a castle to live in and for protection from enemies.
16. Church - It was the Western Christian organization of believers. It was the great
unifying force of the Middle Ages. Its influence was so strong that most
Europeans believed eternal salvation could only come through the Church. It held
vast areas of land and its clergy were involved in the feudal rivalries.
17. Feudalism - It is the system that developed from the remains of the Roman
Empire and Charlemagne's empire. Under this system private lords hold the ruling
power. These lords had contracts of responsibility to their lords and vassals.
18. Serfs - They were like slaves. They were at the bottom of the social hierarchy in
Europe during the middle Ages. They were the vast majority of the population
who were agricultural laborers.
19. Vassal - It is the term for a person who received land from a lord. The feudal
contract layed out this person's rights and duties to his lord.
20. Fief or Feud - It is their term for a parcel of land granted by a lord.
21. Nobles - They were kings, vassals, and lesser lords. Some common names of their
ranks include baron, count, duke, prince and king. Their status was inherited.
22. Clergy - They were the church officials. In the Middle Ages they were generally
the only group educated in subjects other than warfare. Bishops lived like wealthy
lords. Village priests usually came from the lower classes and often had little
education.
23. Peasants - They were the vast majority of the population and at the bottom of the
social ladder. Most were serfs and bound to the land they worked. A serf could
never become a noble. They could become a priest and rise in status within the
Church.
24. Villeins - They were a very small group who worked the land but had higher
status than serfs, but lower than nobility. They rented land from the lord. They
could hire someone to work the land for them and could leave the land to work
elsewhere if they found a tenant to replace them.
25. Manorial System - It was the economic system of the Middle Ages. It was an
agricultural system centered on self-contained estates. Most goods and services
were produced on these estates, which were run by nobles. The peasants worked
the farmlands in return for protection by the noble and his knights.
26. Demesne (di-main) - It is the manorial land actually legally possessed by the lord
and not by tenants. Its heart was the manor house, often a fortified castle. Nearby
were various building such as the lord’s barns, stables, mill, bake house, and
cookhouse. The peasant’s village was usually nearby along with the fields,
meadows, woodlands and pasture.
27. Three Field Planting System - It was the agricultural plan that kept the land
from being overworked. It consisted of the spring planting ground, the autumn
planting ground and the fallow ground. The three fields were rotated each year so
that the land remained fertile. The fields were further divided into long narrow
strips that were allotted to various people.
28. Steward - It is the term the official with the highest rank who did the day-to-day
running of the estate for the lord. He was the legal adviser to the lord and traveled
from one manor to another, checking on conditions, reviewing accounts and
holding court.
29. Bailiff - It is the term for the official who supervised the peasants and farm work.
He was responsible for getting the crops harvested plus collecting rents, dues, and
fines owed by the peasants.
30. Reeve - It is the term for the assistant to the bailiff. He helped supervise the work
on the manor. He oversaw the growing and storage of hay, the care of bees and
herds, plus the harvesting of the crops. He also told the lord of any complaints
that peasants had about manor officials.
31. Medieval Hut - They were simple shelters with dirt floors, poles and branches
daubed with river clay making the walls. Their roofs were either rounded igloo
like tops or thatch. Life in these shelters for the peasants of the Middle Ages was
one of grime, disease, hunger, cold, and endless hard work.
32. Condition of Medieval Women - It was the life of women in the Middle Ages.
Peasant women took care of the home, raise large families, did most every kind of
farm work and even thatched roofs. Noble women managed the estate in the
absence of the lord and performed medical services since doctors were few.
Women of all classes married young, often by age.
33. Dowry - It was the amount of money, land or goods that the daughter of a noble
took to her marriage. Her father provided it and he also arranged the marriage.
Without it, it was almost impossible for a girl to marry.
34. Castles - They consist of major fortified sets of buildings constructed of stone
with in-depth barrier defenses. The nobles of the middle ages built them as
combination defensive military sanctuaries and places to live in.
35. Keep - It was the great stone tower that provided safe shelter during a siege.
36. Burning Oil - It is a liquid often poured on the enemy by a castle’s defenders.
37. Moat - It is one of a castle’s defensive barriers. It is the traditional water filled
ditch around a castle’s outermost walls.
38. Drawbridge - It is the movable plank that controlled the entrance to a castle.
39. Castle Living Conditions - They are examples of life in a medieval castle.
Rooms were cold, dark, musty and smoky. Meals were at tables made of boards
placed on sawhorses. The straw on the floor became filthy with the foul smelling
garbage that fell in it. Beds had canopies on top with heavy curtains for privacy
and protection from drafts. Dogs, falcons and even farm animals slept in the same
room as the family. Jesters, clowns and wandering musicians entertained the
nobles.
40. Smoke - It is one of the living conditions in castles before the 14th century. It is
the asphyxiation fumes in castle rooms before the invention of exit channels for
these combustion produced fumes.
41. Outercurtain - It is the outermost wall of a castle.
42. Master James - He is both a modern literary character and a real person who
lived during the Middle Ages. He built castles. He was the master engineer who
headed up the building project for the fictional Aberwyvern Castle on the video.
“The Heroes” Article
43. Pope Sylvester II – Gerbert of Aurillac combined classical and theological
learning with practical and scientific skills. He invented the pendulum clock,
learned to tell time from the stars at night, mastered the science of the astrolabe,
and believed the earth was a sphere. He was also a master of politics and became
Pope in 999 until he died in 1003. Despite being rumored by his enemies as a
sorcerer and dabbler in the black arts, he was actually a “universal man” of the
Renaissance type but several centuries early.
44. King Olaf Trygvesson – He was the King of Norway who renounced the Norse
gods and spread Christianity by gentle words and bribery, but when those
methods failed he used brutal methods. He tried to unite Norway against Sweden
& Denmark and ruled for 5 years before being ambushed in 1000.
45. “London Bridge is Falling Down” – Around the year 1000 London Bridge was a
huge wooden structure built on pilings driven into the Thames River. It was so
wide that two wagons could pass over it. At this time the Danes controlled
London so Olav II and his Vikings attacked by rowing their longships to the
bridge, attaching grappling hooks then pulling mightily on their oars causing the
bridge to topple into the river. This was the origin of the English folksong.
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46. Sacraments - They were the seven sacred acts the Church of Middle Ages. They
were 1) baptism- ritual use of water taking the person into the Christian
community; 2) confirmation- the child became an adult member of the Church; 3)
penance- the person confessed sins to a priest, atoned for sins and was forgiven;
4) the Holy Eucharist- communion or reenactment of the Last Supper; 5) extreme
unction- a priest anoints a dying person and person and prays for salvation; 6)
matrimony- the marriage ceremony of a man and woman; and 7) holy orders- men
officially given a position of priesthood in the Church.
47. Heresy - It is the holding of religious opinions contrary to established Church
doctrines, and the worst of all crimes in the Middle Ages, as it was considered a
crime against God. The Church actively looked for and punished this crime.
Those who refused to give up their beliefs were burned at the stake.
48. Excommunication - It was removal of a member from the Church. This former
member could no longer receive the sacraments, and therefore could never be
saved. It was used as a weapon against heretics.
49. College of Cardinals - It was one of the Church reforms of the 11th century to
prevent kings and nobles from having any control over the pope. It was created in
1059 to elect the successor to the pope as a choice of the Church and is still used
today.
50. Pope Innocent III - He may have been the most powerful pope in history. He
became supreme overlord of Europe during his reign from 1198-1216. He claimed
that his authority was above all other rulers and that the word of the Church was
final. He forced King John of England to become his vassal and also the rulers of
Denmark, Portugal, Poland, Hungary and Aragon.
51. Saint Francis of Assisi - He was the founder of the Franciscan religious order,
which stressed poverty and gentleness to all creatures.
52. Saint Dominic - He was the founder of the Dominican religious order in the
Catholic Church. He stressed vows of poverty and missionary work among the
common people.
53. Byzantine Empire - It was the continuation of the eastern half of the Roman
Empire after the fall of western part. In the1090s the capital Constantinople was
threatened by Muslim Seljuk Turks and in danger of falling. It’s emperor asked
the pope for help in fighting the Muslims.
54. Crusaders - They were marked with the cross. Pope Urban II first called them, in
1095, to their goal of fighting the Muslims and regaining the Holy Land for
Christianity.
55. “Peasant Crusade” - It was the crusade of mobs of lower class people inspired
by preachers urging them to help rescue the Holy Land. They killed lots of Jews
because they were not Christian. When they reached Constantinople, in 1096, the
mob burned and looted the city. They were attacked by the Turks, massacred and
sold into slavery. Few ever reached Jerusalem.
56. First Crusade - They were the first organized army led by Frankish princes and
nobles to muster at Constantinople and attempt to fight their way to Jerusalem.
They besieged Jerusalem for a lengthy time before managing to storm the city’s
wall and sack it. They were successful in their seizure of the Holy Land.
57. Other Crusades - They were the 2nd Crusade which in 1147 failed to stop the
Muslims from retaking Jerusalem; the 3rd Crusade in 1189 which also failed in the
attempt to retake Jerusalem, but won the right for Christians to visit Jerusalem;
the 4th Crusade which instead of fighting Muslims captured and sacked
Constantinople in 1204 and ruled it for 57 years. This left Constantinople
weakened thereafter.
58. Importance of the Crusades - They were the effects the Crusades had on
Europe. They were enduring hatred by Muslims against Christians and
persecution of nonconformists in Europe. They were also new products and
learning which came into Europe. Demand among nobles for perfumes, spices,
sugar, silk, and other items stimulated trade. This in turn caused growth of cities,
banking and a money economy.
59. Saladin – Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub became know as “The Victorieous”
because he defeated the Crusader knights and retook Jerusalem. This sparked the
Third Crusade. Richard III and Saladin after much fighting agreed to preserve the
remaining coastal Crusader states and for pilgrims to be allowed to visit
Jerusalem. He died in 1193 ruling an empire stretching from Syria to Egypt and
Sudan.
60. Richard Lion-Heart – King of England from 1189-1199 who was away from
England for much of his reign. He was one of the most important Crusade leaders
and succeeded in retaking the city of Acre from the Muslims, during the Third
Crusade. He made a treaty with Saladin to protect Christian pilgrims and was
captured and imprisoned while attempting to return to England. Holy Roman
Emperor Henry VI exacted from Richard a huge ransom and made England a fief.
Richard was killed a few years later during a minor battle in France.
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61. Medieval Towns - They were a new style of living arrangement re-invented
during the Middle Ages during the 10th and 11th centuries. They were encouraged
by the revival of trade especially after 1200. Improvements in farming technology
that provided food for those who chose not to grow it themselves enabled their
growth. They also became safe havens for escaped serfs.
62. Examples of Europe’s Economic Revival - They were an increase in
Mediterranean trade by Italian city states after 1204, development of cities,
increased use of money at the annual fairs set up for trade use, creation of banks
for safe keeping of money, loans from banks charging interest, use of credit by
travelers, increase in farming technology with the tandem harness, horse collar
and horseshoes helping food production and transportation, etc.
63. Credit - It is the promise of an amount of money available to a person’s disposal
by a bank. It is also the promise to pay later for the purchase of goods or services
without the actual transfer of money.
64. Interest - It is the fee the borrower must pay the lender for the use of the
borrowed money.
65. Black Death - It is a disease carried by fleas living on rats. It first appeared in
Europe in Messina, Sicily in 1347. Spreading quickly during the next five years, it
killed at least 25 million people in Europe that was roughly one-fourth the whole
population and possibly more. For the next few centuries repeated outbreaks
killed even more people. This disease still exists and still kills several people each
year, even in the United States.
66. Effects of the Black Death - Suffering and grief by survivors. Food became
scarce because so many serfs died. Education, commerce, and crafts declined
because so few people were left to work, plant and harvest. Since laborers became
scarce those who survived could and did demand higher wages and gain
independence from the manors.
67. Bourgeoisie - They were “people of the town.” They were people who gained
wealth through business rather than war or farming. They ranked higher than serfs
but lower than the nobility on the social scale. They were middle class.
68. Guilds - They were organizations of merchants or artisans by skill, craft or
business. Examples included carpenters, weavers, bankers, etc. Their purpose was
to monopolize trade and prevent competition. They also regulated their members
and helped needy members.
69. Prejudice Against the Jews - It was the reaction against the Jews because of
their differences. The hatred was whipped up by the fact they were not Christians
during the Crusades. The Black Death, which some blamed on the Jews,
heightened this hatred. This hatred caused Jews to be banned from the guilds,
violent attacks on Jewish towns, expulsion from England, France and parts of
Germany. Poland and other areas welcomed immigrant Jews.
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70. Universities - They were the institutions of higher learning started during the
1100s to train people to work in scholarly fields such as law, theology and
government. The earliest ones had no set courses of study, no permanent
buildings and few rules.
71. Saint Thomas Aquinas - He was one of the most famous scholars of the Middle
Ages. He lived from 1225 to 1274. He joined the Dominican order as a youth and
became a brilliant lecturer and writer. His answer to the controversy of his day
about the true source of knowledge was that both reason and faith are gifts of God
and cannot contradict each other. He believed that certain truths can be
understood only by reasoning, but other truths can be only understood by faith.
72. Examples of Greek and Arab Influences - They are Euclid’s Geometry. Arab
works on algebra, geometry and trigonometry added to the knowledge of math.
The compass, which was invented by the Chinese, was introduced by way of the
Arabs. The advance of medicine was aided by Greek, Persian and Arab writings
on biology.
73. Roger Bacon - He was an English monk of the 1200s and possibly the first true
scientist of the Middle Ages. He wanted learning to be based on observation and
experience, not just faith like the Church taught or pure reason like the ancient
Greeks taught. He argued that experimentation could lead to the invention of
machines that would make life better. He was attacked for such ideas and spent 15
years in prison because of them.
74. English - It was one of the popular languages, which replaced Latin. This one was
a Germanic language brought to the island of Britain by the Anglos and the
Saxons. It also took in lots of Latin words because of contact with the Roman
world.
75. Literature of the Middle Ages - They were writings done after the fall of the
Classical world. “Beowulf” was the Anglo-Saxon epic poem of the 8th century.
Stories about Robin Hood, Reynard the Fox animal stories, and Dante Alighieri’s
“Divine Comedy.” The Divine Comedy reflects a religious journey through hell,
purgatory and paradise. It had great influence on how afterlife in hell is imagines,
even today.
76. Geoffrey Chaucer - He was the son of a wine merchant who is best known for
his work “The Canterbury Tales.” It tells the story of 30 pilgrims traveling in
England in the 1300s. One is about the plague. This author used the Midland
dialect from which modern English developed. You can read, with difficulty, his
work straight even today--yes it is still in print.
77. Middle Ages Art - They were music written for Church services, dramatizations
of Bible stories and religious teachings, statues and paintings in churches showing
events from the life of Jesus and the saints, plus Bible events and the finely
crafted stained-glass windows in Churches.
78. Gothic Cathedrals - They were the new style of Church construction starting
round 1150. This archecture used flying buttresses to take weight off the wall
making huge, airy buildings possible. You can still see many of these buildings in
modern France. Washington, D.C. has one built in modern times.
Video Connections: Faith in Numbers
79. Water Wheel - It was a waterpower generator. Because of its action, such
technologies of the Middle Ages as mill stones, trip hammers, pumps, blast
furnaces, saw mills, wine presses, etc. could be operated without animal or human
labor.
80. Waterpower - It was the use of swiftly moving or falling water to generate the
force to move machinery.
81. Loom - It was a new technology that reached Europe from China in the 12th
century. It vastly increased the weaving of new cloth and in the process caused a
yarn shortage.
82. Spinning Wheel- it was the answer to the yarn shortage caused by a machine that
increased weaving production. This machine, which also came from China to
Europe, increased yarn production so the weaving of new cloth would not suffer
from repeated shortages.
83. Underwear - It was introduced to use for the first time in the Middle Ages. It
came about because for the first time in world history there was a surplus of cloth
for use. It is the clothing worn next to the skin and under other clothing.
84. Paper - It was made from linen and wood that was pulped, placed between
woolen cloths in layers, pressed to remove water and then dried. During the 1400s
for the first time in history this material became common enough that it was easily
available for ordinary use.
85. Printing Press - It was the mass production and publication of information of
paper. Johann Gutenberg invented it by making individual letters using molds and
thus making moveable interchangeable letters. The linen press was also adapted
for use in this process. Bookshops, standardized spelling, and the spread of
knowledge resulted from it.