Name: ____________________________________ Date: ______________________ Block: ______________
Middle Ages Research Graphic Organizer
Discovery Education: Unit
5Chapter 17 Section
17.1 EXPLORE
Use the reading on each
page to find the answer for
each question:
Pick the number of
vocabulary words or key
people needed for each
page. Write the term and
definition or their name
and a sentence about them.
Answer
Key People or
Vocabulary from this
section
Question
PAGE. 1:
1. What two time periods is
the Middle Ages
between?
1.
1. ____________:
2.
2. ____________:
2. What was Europe divided
into?
3. Who was able to reunite
into an empire
3.
PAGE. 2:
4. What political and
military system formed?
5. Who owned the land?
4.
5.
1. ____________:
2. ____________:
6. Who did the Lord allow to 6.
live on the land?
PAGE. 3:
7. What were the four
classes in the Feudal
System?
7.
1. ____________:
2. ____________:
Name: ____________________________________ Date: ______________________ Block: ______________
Middle Ages Research Graphic Organizer
8. Add one detail about each *
class.
*
*
*
PAGE. 4:
9.
1. ____________:
9. What is manorialism?
10. Describe what a fief
looked like.
10.
11. What’s the difference
between a serf and peasant?
11.
2. ____________:
PAGE. 5:
12. Why did a merchant class
begin?
13. What caused the system
of manorialism to break
apart and feudalism to
weaken?
14. Who did the economic
recovery make wealthier?
15. What formed before of
the increasing size of
kingdoms?
12.
13.
14
15.
1. ____________:
2. ____________:
3. ____________:
4. ____________:
Name: ____________________________________ Date: ______________________ Block: ______________
Middle Ages Research Graphic Organizer
The Feudal System (Page 1)
How did the fall of Rome impact Europe?
The Middle Ages in Europe lasted from about 500 to 1500. This period can be divided into three sections: the Early Middle
Ages (400–1000), the High Middle Ages (1000–1300), and the Late Middle Ages (1300–1500). The term Middle Ages is
derived from the term medieval, which comes from the Latin words for middle and age. The Middle Ages are the period in
Europe between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance. During this time, Europe was divided into
smaller kingdoms. Secular and religious authorities struggled for control and influence within these states.
In 284, Diocletian became the emperor of the Roman Empire. Realizing that the empire had become too big for one man to
govern, Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire. The constant
pressure and attacks on the Western Roman Empire by barbarian tribes weakened the empire considerably. In 410, the city of
Rome was invaded by the Visigoths. This was the beginning of the end of the Western Roman Empire.
The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 had a great impact on Europe. The Roman Empire had provided cultural unity
throughout Europe as well as protection against outside forces. Without the empire, stability was lost. Many of the advances in
technology and culture that occurred during the Roman Empire halted during this time and Europe divided into numerous small
kingdoms.
During the 800s, the ruler Charlemagne managed to reunite many of these kingdoms into an empire. However, after his death,
the empire again fragmented into smaller kingdoms. Each of these kingdoms was divided into smaller sections, called fiefs or
estates. In the Early Middle Ages, most kings did not have much control over their kingdoms. However, many of the people
who controlled the fiefs gained a large amount of power.
A New System (Page 2)
What political system arose in Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire?
Soon after the death of Charlemagne in 814, a political and military system called feudalism developed. Within this system,
lords owned huge amounts of land. A lord could be any nobleman, member of a high-ranking class, or church official who
owned a fief and allowed a person to use part of it, usually for agriculture, in return for services. Therefore, a lord could be a
king, a prince, a knight, or a clergyman.
Individuals who agreed to use a portion of a lord’s land were known as vassals. Ownership of the land remained with the lord,
but he allowed the vassal to tax the peasants on the land and keep the proceeds. Also, the vassals received a portion of the crops
that these peasants produced. In return, the vassal promised to be loyal to and fight for his lord. Because of this, vassals often
kept an army composed of professional soldiers called knights. To ensure a knight’s loyalty, a vassal would sometimes grant
part of his fief to his knights. By doing this, the vassal would become the lord of his knights, who would become his vassals.
Indeed, a nobleman could be both a lord and a vassal. He could be a lord by granting land to knights, clergy, and other nobles.
However, he could also be a vassal to a more powerful lord who had granted land to him.
Lords and vassals often fought each other over land or other disputes. Some of these disputes were settled in the lord’s court. In
medieval England, some courts used a judicial system in which vassals called peers would judge a vassal suspected of
wrongdoing. Over time, this practice became a key feature of English law and, eventually, the laws of the United States of
America.
Feudal Society (Page 3)
What was feudal society like in the Middle Ages?
Name: ____________________________________ Date: ______________________ Block: ______________
Middle Ages Research Graphic Organizer
Feudalism gave rise to a hierarchical social system that that consisted of four classes: kings, nobles and church officials,
knights, and peasants.
Kings
A king was the ruler of a kingdom and, because of this, sat at the top of the social structure. However, in reality, kings did not
have a lot of power, and only ruled over their royal lands. The lords who ruled over fiefs had direct control over that land. In the
Early Middle Ages, some lords who ruled large fiefs could amass as much or more power than their king. However, as the
feudal system moved into the High and Late Middle Ages, the kings gradually gained more power.
Nobles and Church Officials
Many members of the nobility (such as dukes and barons) and church officials (such as bishops) were lords who controlled
fiefs. The nobility spent much of their time trying to gain new lands or defending their land against the attacks of enemies.
Although the clergy devoted their lives to the Church, they still had a large amount of wealth and power in the feudal system.
Knights
Knights were professional soldiers who were loyal to their lord. They went through years of hard training in order to prepare for
battle. If a knight excelled in serving his lord, the lord sometimes granted land to the knight. In this way, a knight could become
a vassal. Knights were also expected to follow a code of behavior called chivalry. According to this code, a knight should be
courageous in combat, be loyal to his lord, defend the Church, and be gallant toward women. However, in reality, many knights
did not always live up to this code.
Peasants
Peasants worked the land for their lord and had few rights. In addition, peasants performed other tasks required by their lord,
such as cutting wood and repairing roads. They often lived in crude huts, slept on straw, and ate simple food.
Manorialism (Page 4)
What was manorialism?
Within the fiefs of medieval Europe, an economic system called manorialism developed. In this system, the central focus of
each fief was the lord’s manor house. Some lords developed the manor house into a castle, which was often surrounded by thick
stone walls for protection. Castles included living space for the lord and his family, servants, and soldiers. Many castles also
included kitchens and a chapel.
The people living on these estates formed a self-sufficient community. The land surrounding the castle was used for farm
buildings, peasant houses, a grain mill, orchards, and gardens. The farmland extended beyond this. The peasants did most of the
work that was needed on the manor including growing food, building shelters, and making clothes. In return for their work, the
lord provided protection for the peasants by maintaining an army. If the fief was attacked, the peasants were allowed to enter the
castle.
Many peasants who worked on manors were serfs. A serf was a person who was allowed to have a house and a plot of land in
return for paying rent to his or her lord. This rent could be a payment in the form of crops, such as wheat, or a certain number of
workdays. During workdays, serfs farmed their lord’s land instead of their own. Serfs were not slaves, because they could not
be bought or sold. However, serfs did not have the freedom to leave the manor. So in this way, they were bound to their lord’s
estate. Some serfs bought their freedom from their lord and others ran away.
Name: ____________________________________ Date: ______________________ Block: ______________
Middle Ages Research Graphic Organizer
The Rise of Kings (Page 5)
How did kings gain more power?
During the High Middle Ages (1000–1300), the economy of Europe began to get stronger. Farms yielded more crops, more
people became prosperous, and the population grew significantly. Soon a merchant class began to arise.
These merchants began traveling farther in search of goods to trade. Trade routes developed along rivers, and main
thoroughfares and towns sprang up along these routes. These towns were also populated by peasants who, because of the
improved economic conditions, were able to save money and leave their manors. There they often found work as craftspeople or
merchants. Other peasants started their own farms near towns in order to provide food for the increasing populations.
This movement of peasants from manors to towns caused the system of manorialism to break apart and feudalism to weaken.
The economic revival caused by improved agriculture and trade gave lords more access to money, which allowed them to pay
for services rather than sacrificing control of their lands by offering fiefs. The economic recovery also made kings wealthier.
Because of this, kings hired powerful armies, gained control over their lords, and established control over larger areas of their
kingdoms. The royal armies often had access to the newest weapons, such as pikes and longbows, which gave them an
advantage over an army of knights. Also, kings gained the support of middle-class people such as merchants and craftspeople.
These people agreed to pay taxes to the king in return for protection and good government.
During the Late Middle Ages (1300–1500), many kingdoms continued to increase in size and power and eventually formed into
nation-states. A nation-state is an independent country united under one government and linked by a common culture and
language. During the Late Middle Ages, four powerful kingdoms developed into nation-states—England, France, Spain, and
Russia.