Name:___Key______________________ Block:________
Unit 7 Academic Study Guide: Medieval Europe
1. What event is typically viewed as being the start of the Middle Ages in Western Europe? The Fall of Western Rome
2. All of the following took place during the early Middle Ages:
a. What three groups of people invaded Europe?___Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims ____________________
b. _Trade__ was disrupted and declined
c. The ___Population______ shifted as people moved from the cities to the __Country_____________
e. Education ___declined_______________________
3. Who was the first of the Frankish Kings? He was also the King who converted to Christianity after becoming king.
Clovis
4. Which Frankish king was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope in 800 C.E. and what Pope crowned him?
Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo III
5. List the major accomplishments of Charlemagne:
o Limited the authority of the nobles and strengthened the central authority of his Monarchy
o Encouraged Learning and opened new schools throughout his kingdom
o Helped to create a rebirth of Trade in Europe
6. Be able to explain the difference between a Romanesque style Church and a Gothic Cathedral.
Romanesque churches are smaller, with thicker walls and smaller windows. Gothic Cathedrals are very tall, have
flying buttresses that support their weight, and have lots of stained glass windows.
7. What was the name of the empire created under Charlemagne's rule?
8. The empire created under Charlemagne included nearly all of what three modern day countries?
France, Germany, and Northern Italy
9. The end of a strong central government in Western Europe and the ongoing invasions led to a new system of living in
Western Europe which offered protection. This system is known as ____Feudalism .
10. Explain how the system of feudalism worked. Be sure that your explanation includes the terms manor, fief and
vassal AND that you know the meaning of all of these terms.
Kings grant land to their vassals in exchange for the vassal providing the King with military services and taxes.
These lands are called a fief and the Lord (vassal) has full jurisdiction on these lands. On this fiefdom, a Lord will
build a manor that is self-sustaining. On this fiefdom, serfs were required to live and work for the Lord (vassal) in
exchange for their protection.
11. Were social classes fixed or flexible during the Middle Ages? NO
12. What was the feudal order of social standing? List it from top to bottom.
1. King
2. Lord
3. Knights
4. Presents – scribes, merchants, and serfs
13. What is the difference between a slave and a serf?
Slaves can be bought and sold but serfs cannot
14. Explain the 3-field system.
In order for the ground to not be over used, they would leave one field untilled and unused so that all of the
minerals could go back into the soil. Each season/year they would rotate these fields.
15. Non-religious authority is known as secular
authority.
16. As secular authority declined during the Middle Ages, the authority of the __Catholic Church_____ grew.
17. What is a monastery and what roles did they play in society?
These are the places where monks live and work. Monasteries were the early schools of Europe and they also
provided the people that lived around them social services such as medical care and food to the needy
18. Who was Saint Benedict and what did he create?
He was the Saint that created a strict way of life that required monks to work at all times they were not praying,
eating, or sleeping. The reason was to keep them busy so they did not have free time to sin; thus, they truly
dedicated their lives to God.
19. List the order of ranking of the Rome Catholic Church from top to bottom.
1. Pope
2. Cardinal
3. Archbishop
4. Bishop
5. Priest, Nun, Monk, Fryer
20. List and explain the 7 Sacraments.
1. Baptism – To cleanse a person of sin, a priest pours water gently over his or her head.
2. Confirmation – Formal declaration of belief in God and church.
3. Eucharist – Part of mass, the church service in which the priest blesses bread and wine. In Catholic belief, the
consecrated bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.
4. Matrimony – A formal union blessed by the church. After being married by a priest, a couple signs their
names in a registry.
5. Holy Orders – The sacrament in which a man becomes a priest.
6. Penance – Confession of sins to a priest in order to receive God’s forgiveness.
7. Extreme Unction – A blessing in which a person in danger of death is blessed with holy oil by a priest. Today
it is known as the anointing of the sick.
21. The Middle Ages are also known as the
Medieval or Dark Ages time
Period.
22. What is a nation-state?
A kingdom that is also its own united country
23. Know about all of the following, which are associated with the formation of the nation-state of England:
a. Who was the Norman who united most of England?
William of Normandy
b. What was the name of the decisive battle between William the Conqueror and Harold Godwinson AND in
what year did it take place?
The Battle of Hastings in 1066
c. Under whose reign did common law develop? Henry II
d. What is common law?
One set of laws for all and based in Judges decisions
e. Which king of England was forced by English nobles to sign the Magna Carta? King John
f. Why was the Magna Carta significant?
It was the first time a Kings power was limited!
g. What event caused the creation of the Magna Carta?
The 3rd Crusade
h. What weapon allowed gave the English an early advantage in the Hundred Years war?
The English Longbow
i. What was the name of the legislature that evolved in England? Parliament
24. Know about all of the following, which are associated with the formation of the nation-state of France:
a. What was the name of the dynasty started by Hugh Capet?
Capetian
b. The Capetian Dynasty gradually expanded to include most of the present-day country of France
c. What war with England helped to define France as a nation?
.
Hundred Years War
d. Who was the peasant girl who helped to unify the French during the Hundred Years War? Joan of Arc
25. Know about all of the following, which are associated with the formation of the nation-state of Spain:
a. Which King and Queen unified Spain after becoming monarchs?
Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon
b. What discovery allowed Spain to become a world power?
The Americas
c. Muslims living in Spain at this time were known as:
Moors
26. What were the Crusades? Holy wars lead by the European Christians who marched down to the Holyland in order to take it
back from Islam
27. Who controlled the Holy Land at the start of the Crusades AND what faith did they practice?
Islam – Muslims
28. Which Pope called for Christians to embark on the Crusades?
Pope Urban II
29. What did the Pope promise the men that fought in the Crusades?
That they would go to Heaven
30. What happened in the First Crusade? (Be sure you name the 4 Latin Kingdoms.)
Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli, and Jerusalem
31. What was important about the 3rd Crusade?
Richard the Lionhearted of Britain was captured in battle leaving his brother John in charge of England. John had
to raise taxes to get Richard back and was forced to sign the Magna Carta because of this. Saladin and Richard did
sign a peace treaty ending the Crusade.
32. What city was sacked by the Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade?
Constantinople
33. What were the major effects/consequences of the Crusades?
1. Incorporate features adopted from fortresses into European castles
2. Stabilized European society by removing large numbers of young warriors allowing Western monarchs to
establish their control more easily
3. Economic growth to the trading cities of Italy – Genoa, Pisa, and Venice
4. The “Christian holy war” still troubles the relationship between the Muslim world and the West
5. The persecution of the Jews in Europe
34. Which three continents were affected by the Plague during the 14th century?
Asia, Africa, and Europe
35. The type of plague that struck at this time was the bubonic
36. This plague was also called the
Black Death
plague.
.
37. About how many people died in Europe because this Plague? Around 38 million or around 50% of the people
38. Who were among the very few who knew how to read and write during the Middle Ages?
Nobles, members or the Church, and Scribes
39. Monasteries and church schools established for nobles' children eventually led to the rise of
Universities in Europe.
40. What were the important Italian city-states that helped to create the Renaissance?
Milan, Florence and Venice
41. Identify whether the following are true of art created during the Medieval Period OR art created during the
Renaissance:
a. focused on the Church and salvation Medieval
b. focused on individuals and worldly matters as well as Christianity
Renaissance
42. Identify creations below as well as the artists who created them.
Leonardo da Vinci
Mona Lisa
The Last Supper
Michelangelo
David
Sistine Chapel
43. Petrarch is also known as the father of a philosophy known as
Humanism
44. Humanism was influenced by the study of classical
and
Greek
45. Humanism espoused a belief in the potential and worth of every
46. Which Renaissance writer was the author of The Prince?
.
Roman
man
literature and culture.
.
Machiavelli
47. What was The Prince about?
It is a textbook on how to run a nation. It called for an Absolute Ruler or King
48. Answers each question about the Northern Renaissance:
a. What allowed for the ideas of the Renaissance to spread to Northern Europe?
Trade and Italian artist moved north for safety
b. What did the Northern Renaissance mix with the Greco-Roman ideas coming from Italy?
Christianity
c. What invention that made the spread of ideas faster and easier? And what country did this invention originate in?
Gutenberg’s Printing Press - China
d. Who is considered the greatest writer of the Northern Renaissance (you read his works this year in English)?
William Shakespeare
49. Label all of the following on the map below:
Britain
France
The Holy Roman Empire
Rome
Orleans
Venice
Atlantic Ocean
Black Sea
Spain
Constantinople
North Sea
Italy
Jerusalem
Baltic Sea
50. Where these groups settled:
Vikings
Islam
Magyars
Anglo-Saxons
Vikings
North
Britain Sea
Atlantic
Ocean
Baltic
Sea
AngloSaxons
Orleans
France
Holy Roman
Empire
Magyars
Venice
Spain
Italy
Black Sea
Rome
Constantinople
Mediterranean
Sea
Islam
The Holy Land
Jerusalem
The Holy Land
Mediterranean Sea