Geography & Rome
In what modern country is Rome located?
Italy
List the four main groups in the feudal hierarchy from highest to lowest.
Rulers (Kings or Queens)
Nobles/Lords
Knights
Peasants/Serfs
Who is the worldwide leader of the Catholic Church?
Pope Leo XIV
What was a medieval guild?
An organization of people working in the same craft or trade.
What was a major way people contracted bubonic plague?
Bites from infected fleas (who rode around on rats)
What are the three stages of training to become a knight, in order?
Page → Squire → Knight.
What body of water lies south of Europe, between Europe and Africa?
The Mediterranean Sea
What did knights usually provide their lords in exchange for land or support?
Military service and protection.
Which Church leader oversees priests and teaches the faith in an assigned area?
Bishops
How did the growth of towns weaken the manor system?
Towns offered paid trade and skilled work, making some peasants less dependent on working for a lord/noble.
What happened to Europe’s workforce after the Black Death killed so many people?
There were major labor shortages.
Which two kingdoms fought the Hundred Years’ War?
England and France
What body of water is west of Europe?
The Atlantic Ocean
What did peasants provide and receive in the feudal system?
Provided = Labor, crops, or rent
Received = Farmland and protection
What does excommunication mean?
Being excluded from receiving the Church’s sacraments (basically not being able to get into heaven).
Why would a young person join a craft guild?
To train with experienced workers and learn the standards of a trade.
How could surviving peasants benefit from the labor shortage?
They could demand higher wages, better working conditions, or fewer required days of labor.
How did English longbows challenge mounted knights?
Able to attack them from a distance.
Why is 476 CE sometimes not considered the end of the entire Roman Empire?
That is when the Western Roman Empire fell, but the Eastern Roman Empire continued until 1453 CE.
What is a manor, and how is a serf different from other peasants?
A manor is a lord’s estate with farmland and a village. A serf was legally bound to the land.
Give two ways in which the Catholic Church provided stability or influenced daily life in the medieval period.
Monasteries preserved learning
The Church provided aid
Worship and celebrations shaped routines
It provided religious leadership.
What did Magna Carta do in 1215?
It placed limits on King John’s power, including certain taxes and actions affecting justice; however, it did not grant equal rights to everyone.
Put these events in order: higher wage demands, population loss, weakened aristocratic control, and labor shortage.
Population loss
Labor shortage
Higher wage demands
Weakened aristocratic (lords/nobles) control
Name two ways Joan of Arc helped the French war effort.
She inspired soldiers and boosted morale; she helped the relief of Orléans; and/or she supported Charles VII and his coronation.
Name two Roman engineering achievements that influenced later societies.
Aqueducts Sewers
Concrete Heated Floors
Roads Arches
Bridges
Why could powerful nobles challenge a medieval ruler?
Power was divided among rulers and landowning nobles. Knights were often most loyal to the lord.
How did Charlemagne and Pope Leo III each benefit from their alliance in 800 CE?
Charlemagne gained religious approval for his authority; Pope Leo III gained military protection.
Name one principle shared by Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution.
Limits on government punishment, taxation, or the timely administration of justice.
A student claims the Black Death gave peasants more power. Give one supporting fact and one limitation to this claim.
Labor shortages increased workers’ bargaining power, but nobles still owned much of the land, and peasants were not immediately equal or completely free.
Which was more important to the French cause: Joan of Arc’s battlefield contributions or her ability to inspire belief?
Defend your choice with evidence.
Either answer is correct, but it needs evidence, including evidence of helping Orléans, improving morale, and supporting Charles VII’s coronation.