Welcome to AP European History!!!!
Below is the first unit for summer reading. Though this material is Late Middle Ages and outside the
1450 AD to Present time frame for the AP European History exam, it provides the needed background
to understand the rest of the course. Read the assigned packets and use the “Table..” provided to
familiarize yourself with the European Monarchs and their family names as integral background for the
course. I have included a copy of the AP DBQ rubric and other useful info. Email me with ANY
questions at craigns@npenn.org during the summer as I will check my district email periodically to
reply. Enjoy your summer and come back in September ready to embark on the adventure that is AP
European History.
Sincerely,
Course Description
Students are provided with a syllabus, divided into 13 units. Day by day assignments, daily focus
questions (bulleted below), readings and supplementary materials in the form of historical maps,
primary and secondary documents, charts and graphs enrich the basic curriculum. Seminar
discussions, power points featuring art and architecture, and lectures are just some of the methods of
instruction. Each unit ends with an assessment that includes AP style multiple choice, Free Response
Questions (FRQ) and/or Document Based Questions (DBQ). The AP rubric for DBQs is the basis for
grading that form of writing.
Unit 1
The Middle Ages: Summer Assignment
Reading Assignment 1 - Evolution of Feudalism
Winks, Brinton packet p.134-138
 Define feudalism and manorialism.
 Explain and compare the major feudal and manorial relationships.
Reading Assignment 2 - Medieval Catholic Church Structure & Disputes within the Catholic Church
Hayes packet p.116-130, 211-215.
 Relate secular and regular clergy's roles in society.
 Define the hierarchy of Church Structure.
 Describe the group and the intellectual dispute posed by the each of the
following: the Lollards, the Hussites, the Albigensian heretics.
 Describe the issues involved in the following: 1) Cluniac Reform 2) Pope Gregory VII vs. Henry IV
3) Great Schism 4) Conciliar movement
 Explain how the above controversies created problems in Western Christiandom.
Reading Assignment 3- Political Developments during the Late Middle Ages and the Late Medieval Economic
and Social Changes
McKay (your textbook) Chapter 12 p. 379-411
 Explain the economic and social changes during the Late Middle Ages both positive and negative.
 Explain the causes and results of the Hundred Year's War.
 Discuss the impact of the Black Death.
 Identify the importance of the investiture question to increased power of the state over the Catholic
Church during the Late Middle Ages.
Investigation Assignment- We will be studying the decline of feudalism and the rise of monarchical power
throughout Europe. Using the Chart of Royal Families provided, fill in the chart by listing the ruling families of
the major European countries (England, France, Spain, Austria/Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, Russia), not each
monarch please. (plural because they change over time in most cases) for each. This will be collected on the
first day of classes.
Unit Examination- Multiple choice and DBQ (document based question): both these will be administered
during the first week of class, after discussion.