Middle Ages Europe Notes
Ch. 14 Section 1
Vocabulary
Landmass – one very large, unbroken area of land
Topography – the arrangement of physical features
Middle Ages – period of time between the fall of the Roman Empire (500 A.D.) and the
Modern Age (1500 A.D.)
Medieval – related to the Middle Ages
Notes
Geography
1. Europe and Asia are two continents but one landmass
2. The peninsula of peninsulas
3. Wide variation of topography
 Many mountain ranges
 Numerous peninsulas
 All affects the climate
4. Various important bodies of water
 Rivers flow in all directions
 Inland seas
 Fjords of Scandinavia
 The ease of exploration and trade
New Kingdoms
1. Parts of the Roman Empire survive
2. The Franks ascend to power
 Present day Germany and France
 Took over several Germanic kingdoms
 Gained wealth from conquest
 No central government
3. A new line of kings
 717, Charles Martel unites Frankish lands
 Charles the Hammer
 Strong leader in war
 Defeated the Muslims in France (last time they invaded
Western Europe
4. Charlemagne’s Empire (Charles the Great)
 Grandson of Charles the Hammer
 Became king in 768
 Wanted to build a Christian Empire
 Waged a 30-year campaign against the Saxons in northern
Germany
 They must convert of be killed
 Also crossed the Pyrenees to attack the Muslims in Spain
 Not a strong central government, he ruled his empire
personally
 The church supported his rule and they benefited
 Died in 814
Ch. 14, Section 2
Vocabulary
Diffusion – the spread of
Religious order – community of men or women devoted to prayer and service and bound by
certain vows
Abbot – head of the monastery
Sacraments – sacred rites of the Church
Notes
The Rise of Religious
Orders
1. Christian monasteries
 A place to live, pray and study religion
 Inhabited by monks
 Created various religious orders
2. Saint Benedict
 An Italian monk
 Didn’t like the corruption and greed in the church
 Became a hermit
 Founded a monastery in 529 with many strict rules
 Involved prayer, care for the sick, gardening and other
trades
3. Women became nuns and lived in convents
Conversion of Europe
1. Most people were still pagan
2. Monks and priests attempted to convert Europeans
3. St. Patrick in Ireland
 As a boy, captured by pirates
 Sold into slavery
 Escaped after six years
 Begins to convert the Irish to Christianity
 400s A.D.
 Found more than 300 churches
 Most of Ireland became Christian
4. Pope Gregory I converts England
 597 sent a group of monks
5. Pagan Europe
 700s and 800s conversion was happening all over
Europe
 Boniface spent 35 years in Germany
 Murdered by Pagans
 Used fear and hope
 Heaven and hell were introduced
 Most people in Europe became Christians
Ch. 14, Section 3
Vocabulary
Fief – a grant of land
Serfs – peasants who were legally tied to the lord’s land and could not leave
Chivalry – a Christian warrior’s code of behavior
Manor – self-sufficient estate of a medieval lord
Notes
A Violent Time
1. Invaders threaten Europe from all directions
 From the east the Magyars, or Hungarians
 From the south the Muslims
 From Scandinavia the Vikings
A Feudal Society
1. Lords and Vassals
 Viking raids put an end to Charlemagne’s empire
 Feudalism came about partly because of this
 Some serfs earned enough money to buy their freedom
2. Medieval Knights
 Training began early
 At age 14 became a squire (assistant to the knight)
 Expected to follow chivalry
 Protect and defend the church
3. The Manor
 Lord’s house at the center
 Villager’s houses surrounded the lord’s house
 Self-sustaining village
 Rarely left the village
 The lady of the manor was educated and controlled
many aspects of life
 The lord acted as judge and collected taxes