Chapter 14, Lesson 2
Name:
The Church and the Rise of Cities
Date:
Pages 402 - 408
Period:___
Guided Reading
Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper using complete sentences. Be sure
to add this page to your table of contents.
1.
Who was the single largest landowner in Europe
during the Middle Ages?
The Church was the single largest landowner in
Europe.
2. Why did most Western Europeans follow the teachings
of the Roman Catholic Church?
Life was short and hard for people in the Middle
Ages.
They were comforted by the belief that they
would go to heaven if they followed the Church’s
teachings. They also feared punishments for not
following the Church’s teachings.
3. What gave the Church so much political power?
The combination of its religious power and the
economic power from collecting taxes and being the
single largest land owner in Europe. Priests were
advisers to the kings, it used its authority to stop
wars. The church also made the laws and made up
the courts.
4. What was the job of monks and nuns?
Monks and nuns developed better ways of farming,
worked to improve the economy which was based on
farming, looked after the sick, set up schools, copied
books from ancient times, preserved the knowledge by
copying books, and being a nun allowed women to
receive and education.
5. When did people begin to travel in Western Europe?
How did this lead to the growth of trade?
Feudalism and the church made Europe a safer place
so people began to travel more. People brought back
goods from the places they visited and introduced
them to their region. People began to want more of
these goods leading to a growth of trade.
6. Identify and explain two reasons why towns grew in
the Middle Ages.
As trade grew, so did towns and cities. The
possiblilty of a better life and freedom from serfdom
drew many people from the surrounding countrysides
to new towns. Kings taxed marketplaces in towns, so
they encouraged more towns to be established.
7. Using the map on page 406, explain why you think
places like Valencia, Rome, and Naples became such
important trade centers.
These cities became important trade centers because
they were on the coast so it was easier to trade.
8. What new social class developed around the 1300s?
Where did it fall in the social pyramid?
The Middle Class of merchants, traders, and
craftworkers developed. It fell between nobles and
peasants.
9. What was the role the guilds played in medieval cities
and towns?
Guilds allowed people in the same business to work
together for a common goal. They helped support
needy members, trained new members, and
standardized prices and the quality of goods.
10. What was the Black Death?
The Black Death was the Bubonic Plague, caused by
the fleas on rats that lived in the cities.
11. What were some advantages of living in a medieval
city?
Cities attracted traveling scholars and were centers for
learning and the arts.