Download WHAP Teacher Copy The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages
WHAP/Napp
Cues:
Objective: To identify and describe feature of
Medieval life in Western Europe
Do Now: Define feudalism and describe the
medieval class hierarchy.
Notes:
I. Collapse of the Western Roman Empire
A. Internal decay in combination with external pressures
1. Sheer size of the empire and the huge expense of maintaining it
2. A succession of weak, inefficient, and corrupt leaders
3. A series of epidemics
4. On its borders, Rome faced external pressuresGerman invaders
a) In defense, Roman authorities put Germanic peoples such as the
Visigoths (had adopted Roman law and Christianity) on the borders
b) But in the early fifth century, Attila and his Huns began to press on
the Germanic tribescrossed the border into Roman territory
c) The Visigoths sacked Rome in 410 CE
d) By 476 CE, the Roman emperor had been deposed
e) West collapsed/East survived as Byzantine Empire
II. Comparison to fall of Gupta and Han
A. Romans, Gupta, Han faced invasions by or conflict with nomadic invaders
B. Romans, Gupta, and Han also experienced difficulties regarding taxation
III. After the Fall of Rome
A. Most of Germanic tribes converted to Christianity relatively quickly,
though politically they continued to act independently
B. The Medieval Church
1. Provided a sense of unitythe only Christian Church in western Europe
during the Medieval period
2. Yet Germanic tribes often came into conflict with each other though
sometimes they formed alliances and expanded
3. Frequent fighting among Germanic tribes made the early Medieval
period a difficult time for people
IV. Franks Most significant of early kingdoms
A. Germanic tribe-united under leadership of King Clovis in late fifth century
1. Clovis converted to Roman Catholicism and established capital in Paris
2. After he died, his empire was divided among his sons
3. Yet the empire did help the various peoples of western Europe solidify
under a common culture
a) Made it easier for them to unify against Muslim invasions, which in
the eighth century took over parts of Spain and Italy
b) Charles Martel led the revolt against the advancing Muslim armies
1) In 732, defeated them at the Battle of Tours, not far from Paris
2) Martel then founded the Carolingian Dynasty
3) Son, Pepin, chose to have succession certified by pope, a clear
signal that an empire’s legitimacy rested on Church approval
Summaries:
Cues:
4) In the centuries following the breakup of the Roman Empire, no
true empire existed in western EuropeThe Franks had built a
large kingdom, but it could hardly be considered an empire
B. Charlemagne (“Charles the Great”)
1. Pepin’s son, Charles (747-814 CE), revitalized concept of empire
2. Was crowned by the Pope in 800 and became known as Charlemagne
V. The Holy Roman Empire
A. The empire Charlemagne builtcalled the Holy Roman Empire
upon the coronation of Otto the Great in 962
B. However, had little in common with the original Roman Empire,
other than the fact that power was once again centralized
C. Size of the Holy Roman Empire, in comparison to its namesake, was
relatively smallNorthern Italy, Germany, Belgium, and France
D. Under Charlemagne, a strong focus on arts/education but religious
emphasis  centered in monasteries and under direction of church
E. But as strong as Charlemagne was, his rule was not absolute
Society was structured around Feudalism Empire was divided
among his three grandsons after death of his son
VI. Feudalism
A. At topking, who had power over an entire territory called his kingdom
B. Beneath him were the nobles, who in exchange for military service and
loyalty to the king were granted power over sections of the kingdom
1. Nobles divided lands to lesser lords called vassals
C. Below the vassals were peasants, who worked the land
D. For this system to work, everyone had to fulfill obligations to others at
different levels in the hierarchy
E. The estates that were granted to the vassals were called fiefs, and these later
became known as manorsself-sufficient
F. As manorial life evolved, an increasing number of peasants became tied to
the land literally  needed protection which lord provided  became serfs
G. Advances in agriculture Three-field system with rotation of three fields:
one for the fall harvest, one for the spring harvest, and one not-seed fallow
harvest (the latter allowing the land to replenish its nutrients)
H. Most lords followed the code of chivalry, an honor systemAnd the feudal
system was male-dominatedLand equaled power, and males inherited
land, so women were pretty much powerless
I. When a lord died under the feudal system his land and title passed down via
primogeniture to his eldest son
1. Women could inherit a fief, but they could not rule it
2. But religious opportunitiesNuns
J. The Vikings
1. developed highly maneuverable multi-oared boats around 800
2. They raided well beyond their bordersfrom Scandinavialimited
resources and population pressures led to their periodic raiding of lands and
monasterieseven raided as far as Constantinopleconverted to Christianity
Summaries:
Questions:
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Why did the Western Roman Empire collapse?
Discuss similarities between Roman, Han, and Gupta.
Discuss the class hierarchy of the medieval period.
Discuss the status of women during the medieval period.
What impact did the Vikings have on the medieval period?
What impact did the Franks have on the medieval period?
1. Which group was most likely to be
literate in the period of European
history often called the Dark Ages?
(A) Aristocrats
(B) Peasants
(C) Monks
(D) Knights
(E) Monarchs
2. Which of the following terms
matches this definition: “agricultural
laborer tied to an estate with rights
including military protection,
heritable ownership of a plot of land,
and owing obligations to share crop
yields each season with his or her
lord.”
(A) Peasant
(B) Slave
(C) Proletarian
(D) Serf
(E) Plebeian
3. Which of the following possessed the
greatest unified organizational
capacity across the largest land area
in Western Europe in the centuries
immediately following the fall of the
Roman Empire?
(A) Holy Roman Empire
(B) Islamic caliphates
(C) Catholic church
(D) Carolingian monarchy
(E) Mongol Empire
4. Which of the following regions of
Western Europe remained most
insulated from the general trend
toward disorder following the fall of
the Roman Empire?
(A) France
(B) England
(C) Germany
(D) Spain
(E) Italy
5. Which best characterizes the impact
of the Magna Carta?
(A) The principle of limited
monarchy and representative
bodies was established.
(B) More accurate maps were
produced.
(C) Universal manhood suffrage
became the norm in feudal
societies.
(D) Parliamentary rule replaced
monarchy across the West.
(E) Increasingly, females came to
wield political power.
6. By which route would medieval
women have been most likely to find
an alternative path in life outside of
marriage?
(A) Practicing witchcraft
(B) Joining a crusade
(C) Becoming a nun
(D) Entering banking
(E) Joining the priesthood
Excerpt from csupomona.edu
…Those from the nobility or wealthier classes were sometimes educated either privately,
or in the home schools that were established for male members of the family. In the 9th
century C.E. Charlemagne established a palace school that was directed by the English
scholar Alcuin….With the rise of the Medieval University, households were able to employ
poor university students as tutors and on such occasions girls were sometimes permitted to
join the tutoring sessions of their brothers.
The subject of education for women, however, was a hotly debated issue throughout the
Middle Ages. As education was directly connected with the church it was inevitable that the
church's views of women should have predominated. St. Thomas of Aquinas,1225-1274,
who was perhaps one of the great teachers of the period declared…:"The woman is subject
to man on account of the weakness of her nature . . . Man is the beginning of woman and
her end, just as God is the beginning and end of every creature. Children ought to love
their Father more than they love their mother."
Medieval society, and particularly the powerful domains of church and state, clearly had
no place for well-educated women. What "education" women did receive was likely to be
one with a view of their future roles as wives and mothers. In his treatise De educatione
liberorum written in 1440 Matteo Veggio advocated that girls "be raised on sacred
teachings." He enjoined them to lead "regular, chaste, and religious lives and to devote all
[their] time to female labors." If girls were allowed to learn to read and write, it was not for
the purpose of making them literate. Vincent of Beauvais, writing in 1256, advises noble
parents to allow their daughters to learn to read and write so that in "keeping busy they
will escape the harmful thoughts, the pleasures and vanities of the flesh." For Vincent and
other clerics with advice on the education of young girls, the inculcation of good morals was
of the first importance….
For girls wishing to become nuns, learning to read and write was part of the training.
Some even studied Latin. For the most part, marriage, motherhood and child rearing were
the principle goals for most girls. As transmitters of morality and religious dogma, they
were to be "raised on sacred teachings to lead a regular, chaste, and religious life."
Furthermore, according to clerics such as Francesco Barbaro and Maffeo Vegio, they were
to devote their time primarily to "female labors" and prayers. Despite the restrictive social
codes a number of women did assert their talents in as writers, poets, composers and
artists. One of the most remarkable women of the time was the poet Christine de Pizan. Not
only was she able to earn her living as a writer, but her arguments with the leading clerics
of her day on the rights of women represent one of the first declarations of feminism to be
articulated.
Thesis Statement: Change Over Time: Status of Women from 476 C.E. to Present
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