Worksheet „The Middle Ages/Medieval Times“
Exercises/Aufgaben:
• Read and understand the following text./Lies und verstehe den folgenden Text.
• Write down the new vocabulary – you know where!/Schreib die neuen Vokabeln ab
– du weißt, wohin!
• Answer the questions underneath the text. Write the answers in sentences on a
paper sheet./Beantworte die Fragen unter dem Text. Verfasse ganze Sätze auf einem
Blatt Papier.
The Middle Ages, also known as Medieval Times, were a period in history that lasted from
500 AD to 1500 AD. It began when the fall of the Roman Empire ended the period of
Classical Antiquity. The Middle Ages is also sometimes known as the Dark Ages because
after the Roman Empire collapsed, much of the art, technology, engineering, and history of
the Romans was lost.
Additionally, there was no central government recording history during that time.
The type of society during the Middle Ages was called feudalism. The Bishop was the
highest-ranking church official in a kingdom and everyone in the kingdom had to
support the church. The king was the highest authority in the land. He gave land to
Barons and high-ranking nobles in exchange for their loyalty and their ability to
provide soldiers. Barons divided their land among the lords. Around each lord's castle
was a village surrounded by farms. The peasants who lived on the land worked on the
land for the lord in exchange for the lord's protection. They were also called serfs. Most
people during the Middle Ages were serfs.
The Black Death killed about half the population of Europe. Remaining serfs demanded
more money from the lords. Others left their farms for higher-paying jobs in more
populated areas. During the Crusades, many barons and knights mortgaged or sold
their serfs so that they could participate in the war. Many of the nobles died without
heirs. As the number and influence of the noble class declined, royal authority
increased. These two events eventually led to the Peasant's Revolt, an uprising of
serfs across large parts of England in 1381. The shortage of cheap labor and the decline
of serfdom laid the foundation for the beginning of the modern age.
Classical Antiquity = die Antike
to collapse = zusammenbrechen
additionally = zusätzlich (dazu)
central government = die zentrale Regierung
to record history = Geschichte aufzeichnen
the feudalism = der Feudalismus
highest-ranking = ranghöchste
authority = die Autorität, Behörde, auch: Befehlsgewalt
noble = der Adlige
loyalty = die Treue
ability = die Fähigkeit
serf = der Leibeigene
to provide = bereitstellen
peasant = der Bauer
more populated = dichter besiedelt
knight = der Ritter
to mortgage = verpfänden, gegen Geld „vermieten“
heir = der Erbe
to decline = abnehmen, sinken, zerfallen
to increase = erhöhen, steigern, vergrößern
Peasant's Revolt = der Bauernaufstand
uprising = der Aufstand
serfdom = die Leibeigenschaft
foundation = das Fundament
Questions/Fragen:
• Which factors were decisive for the end of the Middle Ages?/Welche Faktoren
waren entscheidend für das Ende des Mittelalters?
• What does the term „feudalism“ mean?/Was bedeutet der Begriff
„Feudalismus“?
• Which events lead to the „Peasant's Revolt of 1381?“/Welche Ereignisse
führten zum Bauernaufstand von 1381?