Lesson 31: The Mongols
The Mongols ruled Russia for 200 years, they came from Central Asia. They were short, broad, and black haired.
Mongol Boys began learning how to ride on horseback and shoot arrows when they were eight years old. They
spend most of their time hunting, herding and fighting.
A Mongol’s most prized possession was a horse (for transportation and food). 8 countries that the Mongol’s
conquered: Russia, Persia, China, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Poland, India and Hungary.
Temujin
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He was one of the greatest Mongol leaders. He is better known as Genghis Khan or “Supreme Lord”
He used a signalling system: using flags by day and torches by night for communication with other
soldiers.
He had his soldiers wear silk shirts under their oxide armor.
He also had Chinese and Persian doctors accompanying his soldiers.
Kublai Khan
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Another Mongol leader and grandson of Genghis Khan. He founded the first non-Chinese dynasty to rule
all of China.
He built hospitals, orphanages and the Grand Canal.
The Mongols in China
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Kublai Khan himself was influenced by Chinese culture. He rebuilt Peking (Beijing), making its capital. He
also adopted the Chinese name, Yuan.
Marco Polo stayed in Kublai Khan’s court.
Hung Wu: organized a rebel army and drove out the Mongol’s.
Mongols in Russia
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“Golden Horde”: a group of Mongols that captured and destroyed Kier. Enslaved most of its people.
Mongols in India
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Babur: a descendant of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan. He set up a Mogul (Persian word for Mongol)
Empire.
Akbar: Babur’s grandson, he married a Hindu princess.
Lesson 32: The Growth of Europe
The Carolingian Empire broke up into 3 parts: France, Germany and Italy.
Rise of the Holy Roman Empire
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Otto I, the duke of Saxony in Germany. He conquered the German petty rulers, the French nobles, the
Magyars, and the Italian dukes. He founded the Roman Empire and he was called “Otto the Great”.
Otto
II gained the right to appoint German bishops and archbishop. He married a widow of an Italian king
named Adelaide. He was crowned “Emperor of the Romans”, a successor of Charlemagne and leader of
Christendom. The land and his heirs became known as the Holy Roman Empire.
Lay investiture (practice of appointing church officials): a conflict between the pope and the emperors.
Pope Gregory VII, he ended the sale of church positions and banned the practice of lay investiture. He
was exiled by Emperor Henry VI.
The battle over lay investiture continued until 1122, when a compromise known as the Concordat of
Worms was reached.
Frederick I, nickname Barbarossa or “red beard”. He married his son to the daughter of the king of Sicily.
King Charles I of Spain became Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire assuming the title Charles V.
Lesson 33: the Church in the middle Ages
Faith in God is an accepted fact of life during the middle ages. The church was a prominent feature in the medieval
village and a powerful institution with its own government.
The Church’s growing influences
Difficult tasks of the church: converting non-Christians and adapting church organizations.
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Paul in Ireland & Augustine in England: preached the gospels and won many converts.
Boniface: carried Christian teachings to the Germanic people in Saxony in 700 C.E.
Parishes made up a see or diocese; the district was ruled by a bishop.
Middle Ages: Bishops and archbishops were nobles, parish priests were commoners.
The Pope in Rome was the spiritual leader in the Christian world and ruled vast lands in Central Italy
owned by the church called Papal Estates.
The Society and the Church
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Peace of God, enforce periods of peace, it is where the church declares that the fighting must stop
between Friday and Sunday each week and during religious holidays.
Christian Salvation
The route to salvation was through the sacraments, the seven sacred rites, which were administered by the church
through the priests. Christians who disobeyed the church were threatened with excommunication.
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Religious Orders
 St. Benedict established a monastery in Monte Casino in Italy. Monks took vows of chastity,
purity and obedience to the Abbot or head of the monastery.
 Francis of Assisi, a wealthy young man, dedicated his life to poverty and services. He founded the
Franciscan order of the Monks.
 Dominic founded a new order of the monks. The Dominicans were the teachers who set up
schools.
Latin Texts
 Charlemagne ordered monks to copy classical Greek and Latin texts.
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Church ---- A Civilizing force
 Challenges to its authorities: How to control the clergy, Influential churchmen ignored vows,
they wore expensive clothes, and lavishly entertained kings and nobles, and Corruption and
immortality.
 The Abbot of Cluny banned simony or the buying and selling of religious offices and reforms the
help to restore discipline among the clergy.
Contributions of the church
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First was unity and stability.
Second was humanitarianism.
Third civilizing influences.
Fourth preservation of classical culture.
Lesson 34: Feudalism
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Stirrup: it changed the nature of warfare. By supporting the knight while he was on horseback, the stirrup
allowed him to wear heavy protective armor and carry heavy weapons.
Charles Martel: he realized the value of heavily armed knights in his campaigns against the Muslims.
Vassals: are lands that were divided among lesser lords.
Feudal contract: Unwritten rules governed the relationship between a lord and his vassal.
Fief: it is an estate or a piece of land.
In exchange for his fief, a vassal gave his lord military service, usually about 40 days a year.
Relief: it is a payment of an annual fee.
Homage: it is ceremony that took place whenever a new fief was granted or when a son inherited his
father’s fief.
Warfare was frequent under feudalism. The feudal nobles believed that warfare was a way of life for the
peasants who farmed the land.
Chivalry: it is a code of conduct.
Feudalism: An economic, military and social system based on the ownership of land.
Castles or fortified home: they were built by the Feudal lords for protection. They were built on top of
hills or near rivers for added protection.
Lesson 35: Manorial system
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Manor: it is a village or several villages which are self-sufficient
Peasants who were tied to the land were called serfs.
Demesne: a reserved portion of land for the lord’s use. Serfs had to spend 3 days a week working for
the lord.
 Bailiff: an agent who manages the lord’s smaller estates.
 Three-field system: a method of crop rotation used in agriculture under the manorial system.
 One field-(winter crops) wheat and rye
 Second field-(in spring but was planted with summer crops) oats, peas, beans and barley.
 Third field-was left fallow or uncultivated to the soil to rest.
Feudal lord administered courts for the vassals and for the peasants. Feudal justice was based largely on
customs because there were few written laws.
Feudalism began its decay in the 13th century. Here are the reasons for the decline:
 Feudal wars. The war of the Roses in England and the Hundred Years’ brought long term
damage to the feudal lords.
 The crusades. Holy wars against the Moslems created new demands and the widespread desire
for change.
 The growth of towns.
 The serfs.
 The growth trade.
Student’s Digest January 2011 issue
 Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 to a Kenyan father (Barack Hussein Obama, Sr.) and an
American mother (Stanley Ann Dunham). His parents divorced in January 1964, later his mother married
Lolo Seotoro (an Indonesian student she met at U.H.) He is married to Michelle Robinson and they have
two daughters named Malia and Sasha. On November 4, 2008 he was elected as the 44th president of the
United States.
 The United States: it is known as one of the “the world’s superpowers”, it is composed of 50 states,
Hawaii (an island group located in the Pacific Ocean) as its 50th state. Is outlying areas are the Pacific
Ocean, the Caribbean area, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin
Islands. The US is the 4th largest country in the world. 3 levels of government—state gov’t, the national or
federal gov’t and the local government.
Lesson 36: The Crusades
Holy wars are called Crusade, which went on for about 200 years.
Pope Urban II
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Agreed to help Byzantine. Spoke before a large crowd in the town of Clermont in Eastern France.
He encouraged the soldiers to go to Palestine wearing a red cross on their tunics as a symbol of
obedience to God.
He promised that those who want on a crusade would be free of debts and taxes.
He spent 9 months journeying from one European city to another calling for a Crusade.
The First crusade
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As a sign of the people of Europe’s religious devotion, they used the war cry Deus vult which means “It is
the will of God”.
In 1906, about 12, 000 peasants began the long journey to Palestine.
The peasant armies attacked farmers, massacred the Jews and frightened all villages. When the peasant
armies reached Constantinople that had lost about 1/3 of their number.
The Second Crusade
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About 30, 000 crusaders arrived in Asia Minor and defeated the Turks. When the crusaders moved south
many died because of starvation. Only 12, 000 crusaders survived and reached Jerusalem.
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After capturing Jerusalem, many returned home to Western Europe while the remaining crusaders set up
feudal kingdoms called Outremer or “the kingdom beyond the sea” in the areas they won.
The Third Crusade
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When Saladin became the ruler of Egypt, he united the Muslims throughout the near East and started a
jihad against the Christians.
The three most powerful rulers of Europe: King Richard I of England, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of
Germany, and King Philip Augustus of France.
This crusade was known as the crusade of Kings and was a failure
King Richard I was a brave warrior and for this he was called “the lion-hearted”. He signed a truce with the
Muslim leader (Saladin).
The Fourth Crusade
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In 1204, Pope Innocent III called for another Crusade. Rich merchants wanted Venice to replace
Constantinople as the trading center of the Eastern Mediterranean.
The soldiers agreed to conquer the island of Zara for the Venetians, and then the Venetians convinced
them to capture Constantinople.
The children’s crusade was the saddest part. A group of French children led by a boy named Stephen set
sail from Marseilles, France in 1212. Most of the children were sold to slavery, starved to death or died
from diseases.
The Muslims took over the city of Acre, the last Christian stronghold.
Effects of the Crusades
The Byzantines were so angry at the actions of the Western Europeans that the split between Eastern and Western
Christianity became permanent. The Crusades helped to break down feudalism in Western Europe.
Lesson 37: The Growth of Towns and Cities
Many peasants left the fields to work in mines or village workshops. They became skilled artisans and began to
turn out cloth and metal products.
Trading centers
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Two of the earliest and most important trading centers. They are located along the important sea routes
that connected Western Europe with Mediterranean sea, Russia and Scandinavia:
 Venice was an island port in the Adriatic Sea close to the coast of Italy. They exchanged their
products for wheat from the town on the mainland of Italy. Venice became a leading port.
Venetians developed an effective banking system.
 Flanders, which is a part of Belgium, was on the northwest coast of Europe. It is a low marshland
that is not suited for farming. Flanders is popular for its cloth made from wool. The first
merchants were mostly adventurers who travelled from place to place.
Medieval Fairs
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Fair-Special gathering of trade merchants sponsored by nobles and was held once a year at selected
places.
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Italian moneychangers tested and weighed coins from different lands to determine their value from banc
or bench at which the moneychangers sat and came the English work “bank”.
Growth of Towns
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Merchants tried to settle close to a castle or monastery (this helped protect them from robbers and fights
between nobles). The merchants surrounded their settlements with palisades and moats.
Burgs-most towns built during the Middle Ages grew up from merchant settlements.
Living conditions
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Rats came to Europe on trading ships from the Middle East. They carried with them a plague called Black
Death.
Burghers-artisans, merchants and workers who lived in towns. They resented feudal laws because they
thought these laws were no suited for business.
The risk of guilds
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Guilds-merchants, artisans, and workers who joined together to form a group that ensured all the
members were treated equally. Guilds were also centers of social life.
To become a guild:
 Apprentice-to become a member of a guild, a person had to be a trainee in a trade for ten years.
 Journeyman-a person who worked under a master for a daily wage and could take a test to
become a master.
 After a period of time, journeyman took a test to become masters that were given by guild
officials.
Lesson 38: The Growing of France and England
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William the Duke of Normandy was a forceful ruler who set up a government based on strong central
authority. He defeated the Saxons that were led by King Harold.
Growth of Royal power
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In the late middle ages, monarchs took advantage of the changing conditions to centralize their power.
Monarchs could generally count on the support of townspeople.
The Norman Conquest of England
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Anglo-Saxon kings kept some authority over the country and united the people against the Danes.
England was conquered by William the Duke of Normandy later known as William the Duke of Normandy.
William divided Anglo-Saxons among the Norman lords or barons. He made the barons swear allegiance
to him as the sole ruler. He ordered his barons to build castles as symbols of Norman power.
William’s officials asked a group of men in each village to swear under oath the value of nearby estates.
The group was called a jury, from the French word jure which means “sworn under oath”.
Domesday book- a compiled information in a huge survey
The Increase of Royal power
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Henry I-son of William, replaced officeholders who inherited their positions with paid royal officials.
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Exchequer-a central treasury
Henry II-grandson of Henry I and husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine, strengthened the royal government.
 Two types of juries were developed:
 The grand jury, decided what cases would be brought to trial
 The trial jury gave verdicts on the cases.
 Henry had his friend Thomas Becket appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
John-son of Henry II, he was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III. He was forced to sign a charter that
spelled out the barons rights. The document came to be known as the Magna Carta or “the great
charter”.
The great council was made up of high officials, nobles, and bishops.
Parliament- from the French term word parler, which means “to talk”, meetings of the great council that
includes lesser knights and representatives from the towns. The parliament of 1295 is called the Model
Parliament.
 Two houses of Parliament
 The House of Lords-representatives of great nobles and bishops
 The House of Commons-representatives of lesser knights and townspeople.
Limited monarchy- the monarch did not have absolute power.
The Treaty of Verdun divided Charlemagne’s empire into three parts. Hugh Capet, count of Paris, was
elected by the feudal lords.
The Capetian kings-were not very powerful and they only ruled Paris and some sixty miles of territory.
The French kings- more powerful than other lords. They represented laws and order as against the
lawlessness and violence of the feudal lords.
Louis VI or “Louis the Fat”-weakened the power of the feudal lords b granting liberal charters to towns.
Louis VII married Eleanor of Aquitaine, who later he divorced and married an English Prince who later
became Henry II of England.
Philip Augustus-he succeeded in regaining most of the English possessions in France.
Louis IX-he was a pious and noble king. He was canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.
Philip Iv or “Philip the Fair”- grandson of saint Louis, he established a French National Assembly, called
the Estates- general
 Composed of three estates or classes:
 Nobility as the first estate
 Clergy as the second estate
 Commoners as the third estate.
Philip VI- a nephew of Philip the Fair and was chosen by the French as king.
Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans, a peasant girl from Lorraine.
Louis XI, the successor of Charles was also a cunning and able administrator.
The Valois kings-weak rulers and their reign were a series of religious and political wars.
Lesson 39: The Renaissance
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Renaissance- it is the rebirth of classical learning.
Humanists were people who held that in order for a person to get the most out of life, one must place
greater emphasis upon the natural and the human.
The Renaissance
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Francisco Petrarch-a Florentine, was the earliest pioneer of the Renaissance and was called the Father of
Humanism. His work Sonnets in the life and death of Laura was about the woman he loved but failed to
marry.
Giovanni Boccacio-his best known work is Decameron.
Manuel Chrysoloras-a famous Byzantine scholar.
Desiderius Erasmus of Holland-he became the leader of the movement. He wrote
 In praise of folly, satirized behaviour of all social classes, even the clergy
 Handbooks of the Christian soldier, urged men not to accept the teachings of theologists but to
go directly to the Bible.
Famous Humanists
 In Germany: Philip Melanthon
 In England: Thomas More, he wrote the book Utopia in Latin.
Niccolo Machiavelli-he published The Prince after his death.
Castiglione-he wrote The Courtier which gave the Renaissance an idea of the perfect gentleman.
Leonardo Bruni- he set forth his ideal woman in his letter.
Leonardo da Vinci-he was called the “Perfect Florentine”. His masterpieces were Mona Lisa and the Last
Supper.
Michaelangelo Buonarrotti- he built and designed the St. Peter’s church in the Vatican City. His
monumental sculptures were the statues of Moses and David and he planned the tomb of Lorenzo de
Medici, the patron of the arts.
Raphael Santi-he was referred to as the youthful master. he made the Sistine Madonna painting.
Ptolemy believed that the earth was at the center of the universe but Copernicus believed that the sun
was at the center of the universe and this theory was confirmed by Galileo Galilei, father of experimental
physics”.