Study Guide for Middle Ages Test
Western Europe During the Middle Ages
1. What event is typically viewed as being the start of the Middle Ages in Western Europe?
the fall of Rome
2. All of the following took place during the early Middle Ages:
a. invasions by Germanic tribes (also known as barbarians)
b. trade was disrupted and declined
c. the population shifted as people moved from the cities to the countryside
d. infrastructure (including buildings, bridges and roads) fell into disuse and disrepair
e. education declined
3. With the movement of Germanic tribes into Western Europe, all of the following occurred:
a. Latin and the various Germanic languages mixed together, forming the Romance languages
(such as Spanish, Italian and French)
b. loyalty changed from obligation to an emperor to loyalty based on family ties and personal relationships
c. the Empire was replaced with many smaller Germanic kingdoms
4. One of the most powerful of the Germanic kingdoms was that of the Franks.
5. Which Frankish king was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope in 800 C.E.? Charlemagne
6. Which Pope crowned the king you mentioned in the above question? Leo
7. All of the following were built to help unify and strengthen the Frankish kingdom established by
Charlemagne: churches, schools and roads
8. After the invasions by the Germanic tribes, these other groups later invaded/attacked Western Europe:
Angles, Saxons, Vikings Magyars and Muslims
9. What was the path of invasion/migration for each of the following? (Be able to identify each invasion/migration route
on a map.)
a. Angles and Saxons: continental Europe to England
b. Magyars: Central Asia to Hungary
c. Vikings: Scandinavia to Russia
10. What was the name of the empire created under Charlemagne's rule? Carolingian Empire
11. The empire created under Charlemagne included nearly all of the Christian lands in Western Europe.
12. As the empire created under Charlemagne's rule faced invasions from groups such as the Vikings and
the Magyars, what happened to trade and towns?
both declined
13. The death of Charlemagne marked the end of a strong central government in Western Europe.
14. 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.
15. After the death of Charlemagne people no longer felt that the government could protect them. So,
who they turned to local leaders who had land and who could offer protection.
16. 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.
In exchange for loyalty and a promise to supply knights during times of war, the monarch would grant land to his most
important lords (also known as nobles). The grant of land was known as a fief. The lord, who owed loyalty to the king in
exchange for the land, became known as a vassal (person granted land in exchange for loyalty and military service). The
lord, in turn, would grant land to lesser lords and knights in exchange for their loyalty and military service. Those lesser
lords and knights would then become vassals.
The lords ruled over their land (manors), which were self-sufficient communities on which peasants and serfs lived. The
peasants and serfs provided food and labor for the manor in exchange for protection from the lord.
17. Were manor systems fairly self-sufficient? yes
18. Were social classes fairly rigid during the Middle Ages? yes
19. What is the order (from top to bottom) of the following: nobles (lords); peasants and serfs; monarch; knights?
monarch – nobles (lords) – knights – peasants and serfs
20. What is the difference between a peasant and a serf?
peasant = person who lived on a manor and farmed the land in exchange for its use
serf = a type of peasant who was "tied" to the land (could not leave the land)
21. What was the primary purpose of castles on manors? they offered protection
22. Non-religious authority is known as secular authority.
23. As secular authority declined during the Middle Ages, the authority of the Church grew.
24. In Western Europe during the Middle Ages, what was the "Church"? the Roman Catholic Church
25. What are FOUR examples we learned about in class of ways that the influence of the Church during
the Middle Ages can be seen?
a. monasteries preserved Greco-Roman cultural achievements
b. missionaries carried Christianity and the Latin alphabet to Germanic tribes
c. Pope Leo appointed Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in 800 C.E.
d. parish priests served the religious and social needs of the people
26. What is a monastery?
a monastery is religious community of monks
27. How did monasteries preserve Greco-Roman cultural achievements?
Monasteries were centers of learning. The monks who lived in them copied, translated
and illustrated ancient texts.
28. How did the use of Latin within the Roman Catholic Church contribute to its increasing power?
As the official language of the Church, Latin was the only common language throughout Europe.
However, not many people other than Church officials knew how to read and write Latin. Therefore, Church
officials often became record keepers and trusted advisors to the monarchy, which increased the Church's
power and influence.
29. Early medieval society in Europe was formed by/influenced by three major elements, which were:
a. classical heritage of Rome/the Roman Empire
b. the Christian Church (Christian beliefs)
c. customs of the Germanic tribes who settled in Western Europe
30. The Middle Ages are also known as the Medieval Period.
Trade Throughout the Eastern Hemisphere During the Middle Ages (Pages 9 -13 in Unit 7)
1. Be able to identify all of the following trade routes during the Medieval Period on the map:
a. Silk Routes across Asia to the Mediterranean Basin
b. Maritime routes across the Indian Ocean
c. Trans-Saharan routes across North Africa
d. Northern European links with the Black Sea
e. Western European sea and river trade
f. South China Sea and lands of Southeast Asia
d
e
a
c
f
b
2. Trade helped to spread goods, technology and ideas among different cultures. Know where each of
the following originated and/or spread:
a. gold came from West Africa
b. spices came from the lands around the Indian Ocean
c. textiles came from India, China, the Middle East and later Europe
d. porcelain came from China and Persia
e. amber came from the Baltic region
f. paper traveled from China through the Muslim world to Byzantium and Western Europe
g. new crops for making sugar came from India
h. waterwheels came from the Middle East
i. windmills came from the Middle East
j. the compass, a navigational tool, came from China
k. another navigational tool, the lateen sail, came from the Indian Ocean region
l. Hinduism and Buddhism spread from India (where they started) to Southeast Asia
m. Buddhism later spread from China to Korea and Japan
n. Islam spread into West Africa as well as Central and Southeast Asia
o. knowledge about printing spread from China
p. paper money spread from China