WELCOME TO THE
MIDDLE AGES
Vocab
◦ Feudalism: a way of organizing and governing people based on land
and service
◦ Homage: a formal ceremony establishing feudal ties between a lord
and a vassal
◦ Code of Chivalry: a code of conduct for knights based on courtesy,
honor, and loyalty to the church
◦ Manorialism: a self-contained economic and agricultural system
◦ Fief: an estate with peasants, led by a nobleman in exchange for
loyalty and military help
◦
Vassal: a nobleman who served
a higher-ranking lord and who
held land for that lord
Lord: a nobleman who controlled
a fief
Lady: a noblewoman
Serf: a peasant laborer bound to
a nobleman
◦ What role did ladies play in the feudal system?
◦ They raised children, wove textiles, and managed the fiefs
while the lord was away at war.
◦ Could a lord be both a lord and a vassal? _______ How?
◦ Yes: he could own his own fiefdom and pay allegiance to a
higher-ranking lord (or several higher-ranking lords).
◦ What were some advantages of the manorial system?
◦ It provided all its inhabitants with food, shelter, and protection;
inhabitants did not have to depend on trade or outside
sources for anything.
◦ What were some disadvantages?
◦ Serfs could not leave the manors without permission; if disease
or war destroyed the land, people could not go elsewhere for
food.
THE CRUSADES
Eight major wars undertaken by Christians to
recapture the Holy Land in Palestine from the
Muslims. Crusade means “war of the cross”.
The Holy Land was sacred to Christianity,
Islam, and Judaism.
The Muslims capture Jerusalem in 638. The
Arab Muslims did not stop Christians from
visiting the Holy Land.
The Turkish Muslims capture Jerusalem in
1076
Different points of view and interests during
the Crusades
1st Crusade
Christians – Want to recapture the Holy Land in Palistine from
Muslims
Turkish Muslims – Block the pilgrimage routes that Christians
used to visit the Holy Land
Emperor of the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople (Alexius I)
– Needs help from the Roman Catholic Church to defend the
Byzantine Empire
Pope of the Catholic Church (Pope Urban II) – Believes that it
is God’s will to defeat the Muslims and promises God’s
forgiveness of past sins to all who join the army
3rd Crusade
Salidin (Sultan of Egypt) – United the
Muslim people in the Holy Land and recaptured Jerusalem
King Richard Lionhearted of England –
Negotiates an agreement to allow
Christian pilgrimages it Jerusalem.
4th Crusade
Greek prince Alexius – Wants to be the
emperor of the Byzantine Empire and
promises to help Christians re-conquer the
holy land if they help him claim the throne
Children’s Crusade
German and French children believed they
could accomplish what the older crusaders
could not. Many died while crossing the
Alps, and many others were sold as slaves.
6th Crusade
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II –
Regains Jerusalem for 10 years by
diplomacy
Changes that took place because of the
Crusades
•The Crusades were the first united effort of
Western Europe.
•There was a religious motive for fighting rather
than the usual reasons for fighting: greed,
ambition, and revenge.
•The Crusades stopped the Muslim expansion.
•The Crusades increased the power of kings,
since many of their more powerful vassals were
away.
•They accelerated the rise of cities since the
feudal lords needed the cities’ help to finance
their trips.
•The Crusades improved relations between lords and
peasants and tended to unite the society.
•Europeans became more familiar with geography, not
only of the Mediterranean region, but their own countries.
•Europeans became aware of new products, new
methods of farming, and the writings of Greeks and
Romans that had been long forgotten in Europe.
•Europeans discovered that the Muslims were scholars,
not idolaters or barbarians.
•The idea that religious wars were pleasing to God
caused the bloodshed and persecution of small minority
groups in Europe.
The Importance of trade routes and the rise of
cultural and economic centers
Trade – the exchange of goods for other goods or for money
Middle Ages Trade Timeline
•Early years of the Byzantine Empire, luxury items such as spices and pearls were brought from
the Far East, traded in Constantinople,
and then carried farther west for sale throughout Europe.
•In the 600s, war and disease caused a decline in the Byzantine population and thus trade.
Example – Farmers only produced enough for their families instead of growing enough to trade.
By the 1000s, new cities began to develop and older cities expanded into giant trading centers.
◦ Places to Trade
◦ Fair – Merchants came great distances to trade their goods in a place temporarily
(similar to Carmel Fest!)
◦ Markets – Local, often weekly, events intended for the buying and selling of goods
among ordinary townspeople (similar to the Carmel Farmer’s Market)
In the early Middle Ages, trade was usually carried out over short distances because
travel was difficult and dangerous.
Over time, as travel became easier and safer, fairs became more frequent. Land
routes were problematic because of the
slow journey and the threat of attack by robbers.
Important trading centers: London (England); Bruges (Belgium); Genoa, Paris,
Venice, and Florence (Italy);
Paris and Flanders (France)
The great center of trade in the medieval period was the Mediterranean.
The Crusades made it possible for pilgrims and merchants
to travel to the East, and so helped trade develop.
◦ What would you make, buy, and sell?
◦ After working as an apprentice for seven years, you might become a master, selling jewelry,
embroidered silks, and beautiful dishes of silver or gold to wealthy visitors.
◦ Prefer to set up a business to cater to more
down-to-earth needs? You could run a mobile food stall!
◦ If you were studious, you could train
for one of the professions: doctor,
apothecary lawyer, or scribe.
◦ List some of the other jobs you could do:
Potter
Embroiderer
Tapestry maker
Banker
Cobbler
Sculptor
Skilled carpenter
Money Changer
Blacksmith
Goldsmith
Stained-glass workers
Money Lender
Glassblower
Silk Weaver
Stone Carvers
The Black Death
HOW IT STARTED IN WESTERN EUROPE
A ship carrying infected rats docked in the Sicily.
The bubonic plague spreads when bacteria infect the blood, causing swellings,
and purplish blotches from broken blood vessels.
It is spread as easily as a common cold.
DEATH TOLL
•The bubonic plague killed between 25
and 45 percent
of the European population.
•Reports in Paris of 800 people dying
a day
•In just a few years, it spread to Spain, Germany, England, Scandinavia,
Russia, and even Greenland.
EFFECTS
 Many people became more religious, thinking that the
Black Death was a punishment from God.
 Hurt the Economy
o Too few workers
o Abandoned farms created serious food shortages
o Fewer craftspeople in the cities meant fewer
products to buy
o Shortages cause prices to rise
 High demand for workers cause higher wages
 Higher standard of living for those who survived
Decline
Factors that led to the decline of medieval society
•Growth of stronger central governments
•Growth of cities
•A renewed interest in education and trade
•Kings challenged the power of the Catholic church
•Decline of feudalism and the manorial system
Decline Continued…
•The Black Death killed many; those who survived, however, often had a better life, especially
the peasants of Western Europe, who won both greater freedom and greater prosperity.
•Only a few of the greater nobles went through the increasingly complex and costly ritual
of becoming a knight.
•Students attended the universities for their intellectual and social life, whether or not they wished to
become clergy or to teach or to practice a profession.
This emphasis on knowledge for its own sake led to the Renaissance.