Social Studies 8
Class Notes
Pathways
Mr. Bausback
1. Religion & Europe

Three major religions dominated Europe
after the fall of Rome:
1. Christianity
2. Judaism
3. Islam
Christianity

 Founded by apostles of Jesus Christ in Palestine
 Believed Christ was the Son of God and savior of the
Jewish people
 Believed in loving God and your neighbor as yourself
 Outlawed by the Romans
 Bible outlines world history, story of Christ, and acts as
religious text for Christians
 Many branches- Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and
Protestant;
 Missionaries and crusades attempted to spread
Christianity throughout history.
Judaism

 Founded 3000 years ago in Palestine
 Seen as the chosen people of God
 Uphold the Ten Commandments given to Mosses
from God
 The Torah is the most important holy book; the
Talmud establishes guidelines for belief and living
 Goal to overcome Diaspora or scattering from
Palestine and prosecution throughout history
Islam

 Founded in Central Asia and spread to Eastern
Europe in the 7th Century
 Based on the writings of the Qur’an or word of God
as revealed to the prophet Mohammed
 Belief in notion of submission
2. Fall of Rome

 In 410 C.E. Rome, the city that centered civilization
for Europe for 500 years and stretched from Britain
to the Middle East and Europe to north Africa had
fallen to the Germanic people (“ Teutones, Anglos,
Saxons, Jutes, Goths & Franks) known as Barbarians
to the Romans.
Rome fell because slaves were abused, Romans wasted
money on entertainment and other luxury items, contagious
diseases brought back by the Legions, tyrannical rule of the
Emperors, stronger belief in Christianity and other religions,
the sheer size of the Empire and the difficulty in defending
this massive Empire.

The legacy of the Romans and their Empire continued
throughout historic Europe and even the World today
(architecture , roads and infrastructure, military and strategy,
government & laws, etc)

3. The Barbarians

The Franks:
 As the Roman Empire fell ,the Franks ( meaning free or
the franchise) conquered Gaul( France) and waged and
won wars throwing their franciscas (axes)
 The Merovingian Family ruled the Franks under
corruption and murder
 The Franks put a monetary value (Salien Code) on a
person and property
 Franks had social classes with serfs, peasants, farmers,
workers, and lords)
Charlemagne & The Carolingian
Empire:

 Charlemagne or Charles the Great came to power in
768 C.E.
 Was interested in rebuilding civilization and had the
power and intelligence to do this.
 Was crowned Emperor in 800 C.E. and his empire
that controlled most of Central Europe was called the
Carolingian Empire or the Holy Roman Empire
 Governed from his palace at Aachen in Germany
 His reforms included: local governments with
freedoms; sending out missi dominoci or messengers
to ensure people were treated properly; created a
single code of laws; improved conditions for serfs and
trades people; established schools and improved
education in Latin; built churches in France and
Germany; promoted a renaissance or rebirth in the
arts.
 He waged wars against the Saxons in the name of
Christianity
 The Carolingian Empire suffered from Viking raids
Anglo-Saxons & The Celts:

 After the fall of Rome, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes
pushed the Celts out of Britain to Wales, Cornwall ,
and Scotland
 The Celts had once been a powerful people
inhabiting much of Europe from Spain to Russia
 The Anglo-Saxon ( Germanic peoples) or the English
eventually dominated Britain
 Anglo-Saxons were: farmers, industrialists, great
storytellers and jewellery sculptures
 Anglo-Saxons suffered from the Viking raids
The Celts practiced Druidism: a pagan religious
practice that involved bloody battles, slavery, and
human sacrifices
St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland introduced
both Christianity and a healthy respect for
learning in the 5th Century
Ireland with all its monastic ( Monastery)
communities became the center of learning in
Europe
Irish monks played a major role training
missionaries and the spread of Christianity and
the writing out of texts such as the Bible
St. Brendan was believed to successfully traveled
to North America in the 5th Century
Vikings

 Originated from Scandinavia ( Norway, Sweden, &
Denmark), the Vikings were farmers and fishermen living
in small coastal villages on the end of Fjords
 Men and women shared in all work
 Women did most domestic work and had many rights
under the law- own property and sue in court
 Vikings looked to colonize elsewhere because of their
growing population and shortage of good farmland
 In Viking society, landowners owned slaves called thralls
that had been taken captive or sold into slavery because of
debt; the children of thralls became slaves too.
 Viking culture was rich with skilled woodworkers and
sculptures and artwork that paid homage to the great Gods
Thor, Odin, and Freya
 Skalds were the keepers of Viking legends carried through
an oral story-telling tradition
 Laws were memorized and not written down- the worst
punishment was to be declared an “ outlaw” who could be
killed by anyone who then could take their possessions
 Invaded Paris, the heart of Charlemagne’s Empire in 855
 War parties mercilessly raided and devastated Low Europe
(Netherlands & Belgium), Ireland, and England, Spain and
Italy and throughout the Mediterranean while traveling in
their long ships
 Raids were savage, severe, and destructive killing all and
burning all to the ground\Some monarchs were so
frightened that they made payments to the Vikings- Dane
geld
 Only Charlemagne and Alfred the Great were successful
in slowing but not stopping the Viking raids
 Eventually, in the 11th century (1200’s) monarch became
strong enough to fight off Viking threats and the age of the
Vikings came to an end
 English monarchs gave Dane law to Viking Lords who
then helped protect Anglo-Saxon Britain from other
Viking invaders.
1. Feudalism & The
Feudal Contract:

 In 1066, William the Conqueror of Normandy
(Modern Day France) defeated the Anglo-Saxons at
the Battle of Hastings and England and the most of
Western Europe came under the control of Norman
feudal laws or a social system based on the 3 F’s: FiefLand, Fealty- Loyalty, Faith- Religion
 The center of feudal life was the manor or selfsufficient community where most people lived out
their life as serfs or free land-holders
 Feudalism quickly evolved in a social system that
established a clearly defined hierarchy within
medieval society
Knights would offer or rent out their land to
freeholders or serfs who would then collectively
offer their allegiance to the king and his
commitment to the Church in the defense of the
Christian Holy Lands during the Crusades
Under feudalism, land- the basis of wealth- was
given to nobles, who were all knights
Faithful nobles/knights exchanged their fealty or
loyalty to the king for their fiefs or parcels of land
 Knight loyalty was demonstrated in 4 ways:
1. They served in the King’s army for 40 days
2. They supplied the King with additional knights in the
time of war
3. They served in the king’s court and advise on political
matters
4. They had to give the king money on special occasions
 For performing these duties, knights had the right to their
monarchs protection and justice
 Under the feudalism, a relationship grew between the
King and his vassals or subjects
 The relationship between the lord and the vassal was
sealed in the feudal contract in which both parties was
expected to live up to their end to maintain peach
 Under the king were the barons or greater nobles who
became the vassals of their lord or the king
 The barons or greater nobles were considered the
tenants-in-chief of the estates and established a land
distribution hierarchy including other lesser nobles and
commoners
 Under the greater nobles were lesser nobles and under
these lesser nobles the surf and freehold commoners
 All nobles had land and were a lord of a manor that
they profited from
 The serfs and freeholders were kept outside of the circle
of power and had few rights
 The serfs and freeholders were kept outside of the circle
of power and had few rights
 Freeholders paid a yearly amount to own their land
while serfs essentially worked on the land of others
2. Medieval Life, Customs,
Religion & Law:

A. The Commoners:
 Commoners such as serfs and freeholders made up
90% of the population of a feudal manor
 Village houses of commoners were very small,
single-roomed and made of “wattle and daud”
(sticks and clay)
 Commoner families were large and houses were
overcrowded and often overrun by vermin and louse
 Plumbing, electricity, and proper furniture including
mattresses to sleep on were non-existent
Men, women, and children worked hard together
Babies went to work with their mothers and
children did not attend school
Along with tending to the fields, women were in
charge of domestic duties such as cleaning,
cooking, gathering firewood, and tending to home
gardens
Men did most of the physical labors such as
ploughing, planting, weeding, and harvesting of
crops- all by hand
B. The Serfs:

 Serfs were considered part of the property of the estate
and were not free to come and go as they pleased
 Serfs had to donate 3-4 days of planting, weeding, and
harvesting the lords property each week
 Serfs could use a small strip of the land for their own
food for sustenance
 Serfs handed over a small percentage of their produce
to the lord as well
C. Freeholders:

Paid the lord for the use of the land
Could come and go as they pleased
Did not have to work for the lord
D. Lord & Lady:

 The Lord and Lady of the manor lived very, very well when
compared to the commoners
 Manor houses were large with many rooms
 Rooms were elaborately decorated with furniture, tapestries, and
paintings
 Lords and ladies had such privileges as house servants, many
possessions, taking part in hunting, and entertainment by
troubadours
 Lords also had certain obligations such as providing the tenantsin-chief with knights in the time or war and to marry and have
children- a failure to keep up with these obligations could result
in the manor being taken away
 Women had few rights and were subject to arranged marriages
controlled by their fathers
 After marriage, husbands controlled their wives and only gained
some freedom if windowed
E. Belief & Devotion:

 Medieval people lived in a religious world of signs and symbols
 Almost all of Medieval Western Europe had embraced Christianity
 People believed in an ongoing struggle between good and evil and
that sinners would be judged after death and suffer in hell for an
eternity
 Sickness, death, good health, long lives, rain or drought were seen as
direct consequences on one’s actions
 Saints were recognized on the medieval calendar (St. Valentines and
Dt. Patrick)
 The church played an important role and one could be
excommunicated for not following church practices and principles
 Churches were supported by a tax called the tithe representing about
i/10 on one’s income in cash or crops
F. Feudal Law:

 Many of our present legal traditions and practices
have been handed down to us from the Middle Ages
 Courts, judges, trials by ordeal or battle, prosecution,
and to use all were practiced in the Middle Ages
Manor Courts
 dealt with minor issues or disputes mainly
involving farming or property issues,
assaults, and public disobedience;
Royal Courts
dealt with major issues like murder, rape, or
treason
Church Courts
dealt with issues involving church people
such as bishops, deacons, priests, and, nuns
and usually gave out more lenient sentences
3. The Crusades

 The Crusades were wars in which the Christians of
Europe fought against the Muslims for control of the
Holy Land- the area around modern-day Israel or
the place believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ
and the home of many sacred places and pilgrimage
sites
 This area was once controlled by Christian Byzantine
Empire but came under control of Seljuk Muslim
Turks in the 11th century who believed it also to be
sacred because Jerusalem was the place where
Mohammad rose to heaven from
 There were 7 Crusades between 1096-1254 C.E. – though the
most noteworthy ones were in 1096, 1147, 1189
 Medieval knights fiercely fought with Muslim warriors to
gain control of their Holy Land and secure their place in
heaven
 The First Crusade- 1096-1099 C.E. created a Christian
kingdom that lasted 100 years
 The Third Crusade in 1189 C.E. saw the Muslim leader
Sultan Saladin recapture Jerusalem and essentially bring the
Crusades to an eventual end
 The Crusades did not bring the long-term military victories
that the Pope and Christian kings envisioned
 Europe gained a new level of respect for the advanced and
culturally rich civilization that existed in the Muslim world
 The cultural exchanges that took place between Christian
and Muslim world would eventually lead to the Renaissance
in Europe and sparked trade relationships and the European
quest for silk, spices, incense, and fruit of the Middle East
and Asia
Important Dates
















410 C.E.- The Goths sack Rome.
481-511 C.E.- Clovis becomes ruler of the Franks.
800 C.E.- Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne.
855 C.E.- The Viking leader Ragnar attacks Paris.
912 C.E.- The Viking Leader Rollo settles in Normandy.
1066 C.E.- William of Normandy conquers England; the Battle of Hastings
begins.
1070 C.E.- End of the Viking Age.
1085 C.E.- The Domesday Book is made.
1096 C.E.- The first Crusade begins.
1147 C.E.- The Second Crusade begins.
1169 C.E.- Saladin becomes Sultan.
1170 C.E.- Murder of Thomas Becket.
1189 C.E.- The Third Crusade begins.
1215 C.E.- King John signs the Magna Carta.
1227 C.E.- Death of Ghengis Khan
Key Terms

 -Germanic Peopl
 Pope
 Barbarians
 Celtic People
 Anglo-Saxon
 Ward
 Vikings
 Franks
 Charlemagne
 Monarch
 Merovinigans
 Nobles
 Pilgrim
 Lord
 Apostles
 Commoners
Key Terms

 Qur’an
 Baron
 Vassal
 King
 Great Noble
 Lesser Noble
 Knight
 Serf
 Whigs
 Troubadour
Key Terms

 B.C.E
 C.E.
 Renaissance
 Crusade
 Legacy
 Epic
 Roman Empire
 Carolingian Empire
 Gospels
 Normandy
 Plague
 Monastery
 Shrine
 Feudalism
 Manor
 Holy Land
 Teutones
 Dane Law
Key Terms











Christianity
Baptize
Islam
Judaism
Buddhism
Hinduism
Sikhism
Relic
Magna Carta
Treason










Excommunicate
Allegiance
Convert
Prosecute
Tall Tale
Justinian Code
Chastity
Alienate
Canonize
Thing