Barbarian
Highly skilled warriors from the Asian Steppe, known for their nomadic lifestyle, reliance on horses, and hit-and-run tactics. They were greatly feared by Germanic tribes and helped drive the migration of Germanic peoples into the Western Roman Empire.
The Huns
Half of the Roman Empire that became weakened by political problems, economic struggles, and invasions, eventually collapsed in AD 476 to the Barbarian King Odoacer.
Western Roman Empire
A peasant who was bound to the land and required to work for a lord in exchange for protection and the right to live on the manor.
Serf
A fierce Viking warrior known for entering a wild battle rage and fighting with extreme aggression.
Berserker
Ability: I'm finna go berserk!!!!
Description: If someone on your team can do 10 push-ups, your team gets double points.
A period of political instability, economic troubles, military weakness, and invasions that weakened one of the ancient world’s greatest empires.
The Fall of Western Rome
Most successful Crusade.
Fill in the Blanks: In the 13th century, ______ was generally 300 to 400 years behind the ______ world in science, mathematics, and technology
Europe, Muslim.
Where did the Black Plague originate?
China/Vietnam
They settled in Gaul, modern-day Spain, with permission from the Western Roman Empire. Eventually, their descendants had to contend with the rapidly expanding Muslim Caliphate.
Visigoths
Though not an empire, their raids across Europe helped lead to the rise of Feudalism. They were known for their warrior culture, fierce fighting style, and longboats that could navigate shallow waters.
Vikings
A trained warrior who served a lord and fought on horseback, often wearing armor and following a code of conduct called chivalry.
Knight
Special Ability: Lancing Event*
Description: You can choose to challenge the other team to a dice-rolling competition. If your team wins, you steal 200 points. If they win, nothing happens.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church and the highest-ranking bishop. Competed against the king for control, wealth, and power.
(x3 points if you can tell me the current Pope)
The Pope
A document signed by King John of England in 1215 that limited the king’s power, established that the king must obey the law, and inspired modern systems of government.
Magna Carta
Called for the first Crusade.
Pope Urban the II
Name at least two odd things European Plague Doctors used in their recipes to treat patients.
(+100 points for every additional correct answer)
Owls, dogs, birds, fecal matter, mercury, etc.
Constant rain caused crops to rot, livestock feed and salt became scarce, and food prices soared. Desperate people slaughtered farm animals, ate their seed grain, and eventually resorted to eating roots, grass, and tree bark. Some abandoned their children, and accounts even describe cannibalism during the crisis.
Great Famine
These two Danish tribes invaded Britain after the Western Roman Empire abandoned it. They eventually settled and ruled parts of England until 1066, when Harold Godwinson was defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.
Anglo-Saxons
After Rome split into two, this half became wealthy and powerful, eventually becoming the Byzantine Empire. It used political strategies to manage barbarian tribes but later struggled against the growing Muslim Caliphates to the southeast.
Eastern Roman Empire
A large estate where a lord lived and controlled the surrounding farmland, workers, and resources during the Middle Ages.
Manor (Manorialism)
A teenage French peasant girl who said God had called her to help drive the English from France. She inspired French forces and helped lift the Siege of Orléans, becoming a symbol of French resistance. She was later captured, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake in 1431.
Joan of Arc
In 1066, William the Conqueror defeated King Harold of England after Harold was tricked into revealing his position. The Normans had a more diverse army, including infantry, archers, and cavalry, which helped them win.
Battle of Hastings
This Crusade resulted in the sacking of Constantinople and part of Hungary- and the Crusaders never actually got anywhere near Jerusalem.
4th Crusade
They emerged starting in the 1100s because Europeans saw how far they lagged behind the Islamic World in Education.
Universities
The plague was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It spread along trade routes, with infected fleas and rodents contributing to its transmission. Victims could develop fever, weakness, and painfully swollen lymph nodes called buboes. Medieval Europeans had little understanding of germs or how the disease spread, making it extremely difficult to control.
Black Plague
A Germanic tribe that invaded northern Italy in AD 568 after the Gothic Wars weakened the Western Roman Empire.
The Lombards
A loose collection of German states that developed from the eastern half of Charlemagne’s empire. It was ruled by emperors who claimed to be the successors of the Roman emperors.
Holy Roman Empire
A member of the upper class who owned land, held power, and often served as a lord, knight, or government official.
Noble
Fought at Crécy while still a teenager and gained fame for his performance in battle. He was nearly killed, and his father refused to help him, stating that his son “needed to earn his spurs” in battle.
(x2 points if you can guess his REAL name)
Edward of Woodstock/ The Black Prince
A series of wars in the 500s launched by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I to reclaim Italy from the Goths, devastating much of the region and weakening the Byzantine Empire.
Gothic Wars
Was the Holy Roman Emperor who joined the Third Crusade in 1189. While traveling through Asia Minor, he drowned in the Saleph River in 1190, causing many of his soldiers to leave the Crusade and return home.
Frederick Barbarossa
(x2 Points) Can you guess what his nickname "Barbarossa" means?
Handwritten books decorated with colorful illustrations and gold or silver. Students will be familiar with examples from Disney fairy tales or movies like Shrek.
Illuminated Manuscripts
After the French king died without a male heir, Edward III of England claimed the French throne. French nobles rejected him and chose Philip VI, helping trigger the war. England initially dominated many battles using the powerful English longbow, but France eventually rallied, famously under Joan of Arc, and drove the English from most of France.
Hundred Years War
Sweeping across Asia in the 13th century, this nomadic empire established a permanent foothold in Europe and Asia. They used advanced psychological warfare, feigned retreats, and biological warfare, and created the largest contiguous land empire in history.
The Mongols
Originating in the mid-600s after Muhammad's rise to power and the establishment of Islam in the Middle East, several of these were established throughout the next few centuries. They frequently competed with Christians for control of the Holy Land and even launched invasions into the Iberian Peninsula (Spain)
Caliphate
List some factors that led to the eventual downfall of the feudal system in Europe:
- Mongol Invasions, Widespread death and destruction from repeated calamities such as the black plague, and the eventual Renaissance.
Became king of the Franks in 768 and greatly expanded the kingdom through military campaigns. He also strengthened the relationship between the Franks and the Catholic Church.
Charlemagne
This two-word event in 1054 resulted from disputes over papal authority and permanently divided the Christian church into Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox branches.
The Great Schism
Included Saladin, the Muslim Prince, and King Lionheart of England, son of King John, who signed the Magna Carta.
Architectural style created in the mid-to-late medieval ages: Known for its Pointed arches, Very high ceilings, Thinner walls, and Large stained-glass windows.
Gothic Style
Describe what a mortality rate is. What's the difference between the mortality rate of Covid/Flu vs. the Black Plague?
Your percent chance of dying after getting sick. Less than 1% vs. anywhere from 50% to 90%, depending on the type.
A Germanic tribe hired by the Romans to defeat Odoacer and rule Italy. They adopted many Roman customs and laws, but later fought the Eastern Roman Empire in the long Gothic Wars.
Ostrogoths
A powerful kingdom that spread across much of Western Europe during the 700s and 800s. Built by Charlemagne and the Franks, it later divided into three kingdoms after Charlemagne’s grandsons fought over control.
Carolingian Empire (Frankish Empire)
What was the main catalyst for the Medieval Age in Europe?
Viking Invasions and weak central authority from the absence of the Western Roman Empire.
King of Normandy who conquered England and began the Norman dynasty, ending 650 years of Anglo-Saxon rule.
William the Conqueror
With supervision from the Pope, Spain and Portugal agreed to divide newly claimed lands between them. Spain received lands to the west of the line, while Portugal received lands to the east.
(X2 if you can spell it right on the board)
The Treaty of Tordesillas — 1494
When the Muslim forces reclaimed the Holy Land, they decisively defeated the Crusaders by deploying scorched-earth tactics—such as poisoning water sources and destroying crops—across the already arid desert landscape.
2nd Crusade
A traditional form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin developed by the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages
Gregorian Chant
The most common strain of the Black Plague infected the skin and caused painful lumps or buboes to form, with some being as large as eggs.
(x3 points if you can list/describe the other two strains.
Bubonic Plague- Boils
Pneumonic Plague- Lungs
Septemic Plague- Bloodstream
A Muslim Turkic people who built a powerful empire across parts of the Middle East and Asia Minor. In the 1000s, they captured Jerusalem and threatened the Byzantine Empire, helping lead to the First Crusade.
Seljuk Turks
A direct result of the marriage alliance between Aragon and Castile- this Empire, after fighting off the Muslim invaders- would eventually go on to colonize half of the known world and become known for exporting vast amounts of gold.
Spainish Empire
Match the following:
1. Mr. Thorne A. Works on Mustangs
2. Mr. Melanes B. Worked at Haunted House
3. Mrs. King C. National Guard Reservist
4. Mr. Stillcox D. Has a 200-page thesis published
1. Mr. Thorne A. Has a 200-page thesis published
2. Mr. Melanes B. National Guard Reservist
3. Mrs. King C. Worked at Haunted House
4. Mr. Stillcox D. Works on Mustangs
Strengthened England's monarchy through government reforms, wars, and alliances, helping create a stronger central government. Replaced messy, inconsistent local and feudal customs with a unified legal framework applied across the entire realm. Credited with creating the Domesday Book.
Henry II of England
A battle in 1066 in which King Harold of England defeated a Viking army led by Harald Hardrada. According to tradition, a Viking warrior made a last stand on the bridge, holding off the English army until he was defeated, allowing the English to cross and attack the Viking forces.
Battle of Stamford Bridge
Name four Templar Orders.
Knights Templar, Knights Hospitaller, Teutonic Knights, Order of Saint Lazarus, Livonian Brothers of the Sword, Order of Calatrava, Order of Santiago, Order of Alcántara, Order of Christ, Order of Saint Thomas.
The everyday, natural language or dialect spoken by ordinary people in a specific region, country, or social group. The opposite of Latin, which was only spoken by priests and political elites.
Vernacular
This country, or region, was largely spared from the Black Death due to its mountainous region, dispersed rural population, and lack of connection to any major ports or the Silk Road.
Warsaw/Poland