The Middle Ages
How long did the Middle Ages last?
1000 years
What is the Black Death?
a pandemic of the bubonic plague which resulted in the death of half the population of Europe
Define excommunication. Why was this so feared during the Middle Ages?
Exile from the Catholic Church.
People believed they could not enter heaven if they were excluded (they couldn't receive last rights or Communion).
Who was at the very top of the social pyramid, who was the ruler who claimed ownership of all lands?
The Monarch
What was chivalry?
The code of conduct that a knight was expected to live by during the Middle Ages.
What is a manor?
a large piece of land owned by a lord during the Middle Ages that included peasant villages, farm land, animals, forests, etc.
Where did bubonic plague originate?
The Gobi Desert in China
How did the Catholic Church benefit Europe during the Middle Ages(identify at least 3 ways)?
1) acted a unifying force across Western Europe
2)Educated and converted the barbarians (brought them the Roman alphabet).
3)preserved Greco-Roman culture and classical literature
4) served the religious and social needs of the people
5) maintained the libraries and education used to found the first universities of Europe.
The monarch often granted the land to important ____________who pledged their loyalty by swearing to serve and protect the king.
Lord
There are two types of Peasants during the medieval period. What was the difference between a free peasant and a serf?
Freedmen could move around while serfs were bound to the land.
What were the Lord's main duties toward the people that pledged allegiance to them?
To protect them and their land, and to provide a fief to his vassals.
Using the Medieval Europe map you did for homework, name 2 rivers of Western Europe.
Rhine, Seine, Danube, Po
How was the Catholic Church corrupt during the Middle Ages?
1)People could pay money to have their sins forgiven (indulgences)
2) some monks/nuns lived in luxury even though they took vows of poverty.
3)the Inquisition-torture and forced conversion of heretics
4)misuse of excommunication
a local servant who worked on feudal lands or manors and was "bound to the soil"
serf
Why were many knights considered "landless nobles"?
because of inheritance laws, all lands and wealth went to the eldest sons. Most knights were second or third sons who needed to receive land from another lord besides their family
the Pope
What were the Middle Ages?
The period of time from the collapse of the Roman Empire (476 CE) to the Age of Discovery (1476).
***Use the Medieval Europe map you did for homework***
Identify the three mountain ranges added to your map.
Alps, Carpathian, Pyrenees
Why was the Catholic Church such a powerful force during the Middle Ages?
1) the majority of people in Europe were Christian
2) most people were uneducated and superstitious. They believed if they did not follow the Church's teachings they could not get into heaven.
During the Middle Ages, power and position were determined by what?
the amount of land possessed by a person and their birth.
What does the term self-sufficient mean? Why did the manor house have to be self-sufficient?
******Double Jeopardy******
-the ability to provide for ALL of your needs.
-Because of the long distance between manor houses and the threat of danger from fighting outsiders.
Why did the system of feudalism develop in Western Europe?
constant invasions and chaos caused people to seek out safety above all else
Using the Medieval Europe map you did for homework, What geographic feature do most major cities of the Middle Ages develop around?
Rivers
How did the Black Death contribute to the Catholic Church losing power and influence?
The Church claimed they were God's representatives on Earth. People saw the Black Death as punishment, yet all the prayers and efforts of the Church did nothing to stop it. God did not protect clergy members either, they died along with everyone else. Europeans began to doubt the Church's teachings as the Church was not able to protect or stop the disease.
How did the Black Death contribute to the decline of feudalism?
the Black Death killed millions of people, causing labor shortages which made it possible for the remaining peasants and laborers to demand wages, privileges, and the ability to leave their manors for the first time.
What are three theories about the cause of the Black Death?
Punishment from God, fleas on rats, miasma theory