THE RISE OF EUROPE
Preface, Geography and History
1.) In reading the Preface, what do you learn about the objectives of A History of the Modern
World? How does the study of the past, especially of the European past, help to understand the
contemporary world? How is political history related to other kinds of history?
2.) What relationships may be noted between the study of geography and the study of history?
1. ANCIENT TIMES: GREECE, ROME, AND CHRISTIANITY
1.) How did Europe contribute to the development of what is now called the “modern world”?
Why should a “history of the modern world” emphasize the history of Europe?
2.) For what major contributions are the Greeks remembered? the Romans? What role did the
Romans play in transmitting the contributions of older civilizations?
3.) Describe the origins of Christianity. What special contributions did it make to the
development of Europe’s civilization?
Identifications:
A. Alexander the Great-
C. “classical virtues”-
B. Aristotle-
D. Pax Romana-
2. THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES: THE FORMATION OF EUROPE
1.) What factors contributed to the decline and breakup of the Roman Empire?
2.) Why could western Europe be said to be in the “Dark Ages” for a period of time after about
A.D. 500? Why is the term open to dispute? What role did the Christian Church play at this
time?
Identifications:
A. Constantine-
E. Charlemagne-
B. Trial by Ordeal-
F. East-West Schism-
C. Trial by Battle-
G. “Petrine Supremacy”-
D. Battle of Tours-
H. “Donation of Constantine”-
3. THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES: SECULAR CIVILIZATION
1.) What sweeping changes in the eleventh century enabled Europe to pull itself out of the socalled Dark Ages? (answers come from the entire section not a specific quote)
2.) How are feudalism and the manorial system related? How are these terms different?
3.) What similarities exist between the lord-vassal relationship and the lord-serf relationship?
Differences?
4.) Explain the role of commerce and of towns in the High Middle Ages. What effects did each
have on the rural countryside? What economic roles were available to women?
5.) Describe the growth in the High Middle Ages of (a) royal power, (b) royal councils, and (c)
parliaments.
Identifications:
A. High Middle Ages-
D. 3-field system-
B. Feudalism
E. Hugh Capet-
C. Vassal-
F. Magna Carta -
4. THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES: THE CHURCH
1.) What fundamental institutional changes took place in the church in the eleventh century
before Gregory VII? Under Gregory VII? In the thirteenth century under Innocent III?
2.) Discuss with reference to the intellectual life of the High Middle Ages (a) the origins and
nature of universities, (b) the contributions of Arab learning, and (c) the role of scholastic
philosophers.
Identifications:
A. Holy Roman EmpireB. Gregory VIIC. Henry IVD. ExcommunicationE. SacramentsF. TransubstantiationG. Thomas Aquinas-
5. CHAPTER 1 ESSAY:
Answer the following in 1 ½ to 2 pages (typed). Be sure to fully answer the question.
It is generally agreed that by 1300 the rise of a distinctly European civilization was an
accomplished fact. What were the most important contributions made to that civilization by (a)
Greece, (b) Rome, (c) the Early Middle Ages, and (d) the High Middle Ages?