The Middle Ages
Ancient world
(Greece and Rome)
B.C – 500 A.D.
Middle Ages
Modern World
(Medieval time period)
(Dark Ages)
500 - 1500
(Today)
Ends with fall of Rome
1500 – today
Begins with discovery
of New World
The CHURCH
The __________________ _____________________ had ruled over a large part of the known
world. When their empire fell apart there was no longer a single ruler.
Europe broke into many small _____________________ with their own governments ruled
by __________________.
The _____________________ Church became very important.
The church gained influence and power and became very controlling. They even had
______________________ power.
The head of the Christian Church was the ___________. He ordered the start of religious
wars against the __________________. These wars were called ________________________.
The Crusades were meant to take over the Holy Land (where ______________ was born)
from the Muslims. This is Israel today.
There were eight Crusades and they were all _____________________________________.
These Crusades exposed the Europeans to new ideas and products from _____________.
FEUDALISM
In the small kingdoms of Europe most of the land was owned by _______________.
The kings gave some land called a ____________ to ______________ who were born
wealthy and powerful.
The nobles gave land to __________________ (___________________ warriors) in exchange
for protection.
This exchange of land for military service was called ____________________ or the feudal
system.
Some knights owed service to more than one noble. Sometimes those nobles would go
to war causing ______________________________.
The knights were needed for protection against the invading _____________________ from
the north and other invaders.
Training to be a knight started as a _____________, a boy born of noble birth who
practiced to be a knight at age 7.
At age 14, a page became a _________________ who served a knight. He helped a knight
with his ___________________ and learned the skills by watching his master.
At age 21 a squire became a ___________________ if he mastered the skills necessary.
To practice their skills, knights participated in contests called _________________. Two
knights rode at each other with a _________________ trying to unhorse each other.
Knights also practiced ___________________. This was a code of ______________________
where knights were to be brave, loyal, truthful, generous, courteous, gracious, kind to
the poor, kind to the weak and to all _______________, and protector of the _____________.
The MANOR SYSTEM
The manor system controlled most ____________________________ activity in Europe.
A manor was a large estate (______________) owned by a noble or knight. A noble might
own many manors and travel between them.
A manor included a large house or _________________, fields for crops, a village for
homes, often a church, _____________________ for the animals, shops and mills.
The owner of the manor (___________) gave workers a place to live, a small piece of land
to grow their own crops, but most of the food went to the ________________ of the manor.
The workers were either ____________________ (free farmers), or _______________ who
were not free. The _________________ were tied to the land.
Castles were built for protection. Often they had a _______________ (water) surrounding
the castle with a _____________________________ over it.
As trade increased, larger cities started to develop, and the manor system became
____________ important.
JUSTICE IN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
There were several ways to prove your innocence:
Trial by _________________ – You fought your accuser. If you won you were
_______________________, if you were killed you were ______________________.
Trial by ____________________ – Put your hand in fire or into boiling water. If your wounds
healed without infection you were ___________________. You might be tied up and thrown
into a lake. If you floated right away you were _______________. If you sank you were
_______________________.
CHANGES IN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
The king of England became very powerful. King _____________ believed the king had
the right to do whatever he wanted. This angered the _________________ of England.
In 1215, the nobles forced King John to sign the ______________ _______________. This
document made the written __________ the supreme power, NOT the king. The king now
had to _______________ the law.
The Magna Carta was the first step to _________________________. The USA modeled its
___________________________ after the Magna Carta.
The nobles became the Parliament (________________) of England today.
The BLACK DEATH
In 1347 a disease called the Black Death swept through Europe.
It was a series of _____________________ called the bubonic plague.
The disease was caused by _______________ and _____________. The _______________ got
it from the __________________ and then passed it on to humans. It spread quickly.
It was called the Black Death because it caused black ________________ on the ________.
Up to _______ of the people of Europe died from this disease. ______ __________________
people died.
THE END OF FEUDALISM
1337 -1453: The _________ Years War fought between France and ____________________.
___________ _____ __________________ was a 16 year old girl who led French troops into
battle. She was captured and _____________________ but inspired the French on to
victory over England.
This began the ending of the Middle Ages because nation-states (_________________)
began to develop. These were ruled by a single government and eliminated the need
for ____________________________.
New weapons also developed like ___________________ which knocked down castle
walls. ___________________ could pierce knight’s armor, and _______________________
could shoot more quickly. This made castles and knights ________ important.