Chapter 10--The Worlds of European Christendom: Connected and
Divided, 500-1300
AP World History Key Concepts
3.1
Expansion and Intensification of Communication and
Exchange Networks
 Improved transportation technologies and commercial practices led
to an increased volume of trade.
 Cross-cultural exchanges were fostered by the intensification of
networks of trade and communication
3.2
Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their
Interactions
 Empires collapsed and were reconstituted (Alert: The Byzantine
Empire is an example of a “reconstituted empire”); in some
regions new states were formed.
 Interregional contacts and conflicts between states and empires
encouraged significant technological and cultural transfers.
3.3
Increased Economic Productive Capacity and Its Consequences
 Innovations stimulated agricultural and industrial production in
many regions.
 There were important changes in the effect of religious conversion
on gender relations and family life.
Seeking the Main Point:
In what different ways did the history of Christianity unfold in various parts of the Afro-Eurasian world during the postClassical era?
1.
Look at the image of Charlemagne on p. 424. What examples of political and religious authority do you find in the
picture?
2.
In what respects did Byzantium continue the patterns of the classical Roman Empire? In what ways did it diverge from those
patterns? Use the chart below.
Continued Patterns (p. 427 and p. 432)
Divergences (pp. 428-429)
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3.
Looking at the Map on page p. 428: What are some of the natural geographic barriers that marked the extent of the
Byzantine Empire?
4.
What happened to the Byzantine Empire after 1085?
5.
How did Eastern Orthodox Christianity differ from Roman Catholicism?
6.
In the section “The Byzantine Church and Christian Divergence,” list all the factors that led to the split between Latin and
Eastern Christianity.
7.
In what political, economic, and cultural ways was the Byzantine Empire linked to a wider world?
8.
Who were Cyril and Methodius and what did they do?
9.
Why did Prince Vladimir reject Islam and adopt Eastern Orthodox Christianity?
10. The AP World History Curriculum requires you to know new trading cities in this era, such as Kiev and Venice. What did
Kievan Rus extensively borrow from Byzantium?
11. Why did Russian leaders proclaim the doctrine of a “third Rome?”
12. What happened to trade in Western Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire in 476 C.E.?
13. What replaced the Roman order in Western Europe?
14. Compare the fate of Charlemagne’s empire to Alexander the Great’s (Chapter 4, p. 152-154.) Name at least one similarity
and one difference.
15. How did the Roman Catholic Church deal with the considerable range of earlier cultural practices, with regard to the
conversion of Western Europe to Christianity?
16. Word to Know: Feudalism The Oxford English Dictionary defines feudalism (or the feudal system) as “the system of
polity which prevailed in Europe during the Middle Ages and which was based on the relation of superior and vassal arising
out of the holding of lands in feud.” Based on your reading of Chapter 10, write a brief paragraph explaining how feudalism
worked in Western Europe (Christendom) in the post-Classical era. Consider especially feudalism’s emphasis on social
hierarchy in your answer. Note!! The AP World History Curriculum specifically mentions European feudalism as a new
form of governance in this era that students should know!
17. In what ways did European civilization change after 1000, during the High Middle Ages?
18. Map Exercise 10.3: Europe in the High Middle Ages:
a.
What features of Europe’s geography did the Vikings take advantage of during their invasions?
b.
Geographically, Western Europe appears as a large peninsula, for the most part surrounded by seas or oceans.
Studying the relation between Europe’s states in the high Middle Ages and large seas or oceans, what basic points
can you make about them?
c.
Why do you think Western Europe was invaded by so many groups in this era?
19. In what ways were women offered new opportunities between the 11th and 13th centuries?
20. What was a reason offered for the change in women’s opportunities by the 15 th century?
21. The AP World History exam emphasizes the causes and effects of the Crusades in Europe and Asia. Create a list of
cultural and economic effects of the Crusades on both regions.
23. Map Exercise 10.4: The Crusades.
a.
What do the main targets of crusader attacks tell about western Europeans in the high Middle Ages?
b.
What do the routes taken by different crusaders over time tell you about changes in sea travel during the high
Middle Ages?
24. In the long term, the crusading movement by Western Europeans did not bring the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic
Christian churches closer together, but the crusading notion was used by the Europeans later to do what?
25. By 1500, Europe had caught up with and, in some areas, surpassed China and the Islamic world. What were some
technological breakthroughs in agriculture and the arts of war/sea?
a. Agriculture--b.
Arts of War/Sea—
26. Why was Europe unable to achieve the kind of political unity that China experienced? What impact did this have on the
subsequent history of the European multi-centered political system?
27. In what different ways did classical Greek philosophy and science have an impact in the West, in Byzantium, and in the
Islamic world?
28. How did the struggle among the elites elevate the European urban-based merchant class? How does this compare with
China?
29. Who was the 13th century theologian that thoroughly integrated Aristotle's ideas into a logical and systematic presentation of
Christian doctrine?
30. Religion and Its Impact in post-Classical Civilizations:
Post-Classical
Civilizations
Middle East (Syria, Persia)
China Nestorians
Egypt or Nubia (choose
one)
Ethiopia
Byzantium
Rus
Western Christendom
Impetus for change
Create and complete the following chart.
Effects of change
What stayed the same
For Preview Only!! Textbook Tuesday, Analyzing Religious Icons (pp. 466-471)
As described in the text, religious icons fulfilled a variety of purposes including education of illiterate worshippers, mystical
symbolism, and as portable objects of faith. Continue to practice reading images in this exercise as you consider the role icons played
in both Eastern Orthodox and Russian religious practices.
31. According to Lauren Cross of the Museum of Russian Icons, “The Orthodox Church teaches that an icon is a two-way door
of communication that not only shows us a person or an event but makes it present.” Use Visual Source 10.2 to explain how
the icon might help to bring the church “closer” to a believer.
32. Visual sources, like all historical documents, are subject to differing interpretations. Choose either Visual Source 10.1 or
10.3 and analyze that image from two different points of view (e.g. Christian and Islam or Byzantine and Western Christian.)