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DBQ: The European Middle Ages
Historical Context:
Use the space below to record the background information provided in the lecture.
The Fall of Rome and Rise of Byzantium
“The Middle Ages”: What does that mean?
Europe: An Isolated Place
A Christian Empire Goes to War
Turning Points: The Plague and the Fall of Constantinople
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DBQ: The European Middle Ages (Continued)

Directions: The following question is based on the accompanying documents in Part A. As you
analyze the documents, take into account both the source of the document and the author’s point
of view. Be sure to:
1. Carefully read the document-based question. Consider what you already know about the
topic. How would you answer the question if you had no documents to examine?
2. Now, read each document carefully, underlining key phrases and words that address the
document-based question. You may also wish to use the margin to make brief notes. Answer
the questions which follow each document.
3. Based on your own knowledge and on the information found in the documents, formulate a
thesis that directly answer the question.
4. Organize supportive and relevant information into a brief outline.
5. Write a well-organized essay proving your thesis. The essay should be logically presented
and should include information both from the documents and from your own knowledge
outside of the documents.
Question: What was social, economic, and political life like in Europe in the Middle Ages? Over
time, how did Europe become more connected with global trade on the Silk Roads?

Part A: Examine each document carefully, and answer the questions that follow
Document 1
Feudalism was a political, economic, and social system in which nobles were granted the use of land
that legally belonged to the king. In return, the nobles agreed to give their loyalty and military services
to the king. The image below shows the structure of feudal society – a social, political, and economic
hierarchy. Source: World History Patterns of Interaction.
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DBQ: The European Middle Ages (Continued)
Document 2
The manor was the economic side of feudalism. The manor was the isolated system in which the lord’s
land (granted by the king) was farmed by his serfs (essentially slaves bound to the land). The two
images below show the physical layout of the manor system. Source: World History Patterns of
Interaction, and http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/lecture_mid_civ.htm
Document 3
For the majority of Europeans, life was hard. Serfs, or peasants obligated to work the lord’s land, had
no freedoms. In return for laboring 6 days out of the week, they were granted only one day a week to
farm to feed themselves and their families. They also had to pay high rents to the lord’s to use his land.
There was no alternative, since peasants needed the lord’s protection from raiding invaders. Piers
Plowman is an English poem written by a London priest, William Langland, in 1362. He spent many
years working in rural areas and learned firsthand about peasant life. Source: Piers Plowman, in World
History Patterns of Interaction Literature Section.
The Peasant’s Cares
The most needy are our neighbors, if we notice right well,
As prisoners in pits and poor folk in cottages,
Charged with their children, and chief lord’s rent,
What by spinning they save, they spend it in house-hire,
Both in milk and in meal to make a mess of porridge.
To cheer up their children who chafe for their food,
And they themselves suffer surely much hunger
And woe in the winter, with waking at nights
And rising to rock an oft restless cradle,
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DBQ: The European Middle Ages (Continued)
Document 4
In 1348 the Plague, or the Black Death, came to Europe through trading ships in the Mediterranean Sea.
The disease quickly spread all over the continent of Europe, killing off about one-third of the population.
Agnolo di Tura, an Italian, wrote a firsthand account of his experience living amongst the Plague in
Siena, Italy. Source: World History Patterns of Interaction Primary Sources.
The mortality began in Siena in May [1348]. It was a cruel and horrible thing; and I do not know
where to begin to tell the cruelty and the pitiless ways. It seemed to almost everyone that one
became stupefied by seeing the pain...Indeed on who did not see such horribleness can be called
blessed. And the victims died almost immediately. They would swell beneath their armpits and in
their groins, and fall over dead while talking. Father abandoned child, wife husband, one brother
another...And none could be found to bury the dead for money or friendship. Members of a
household brought their dead to a ditch as best they could, without priest, without divine offices
[last rites]. Nor did the death bell sound. And in many places in Siena great pits were dug and
piled deep with the multitude of dead.
And I, Agnolo di Tura, called the Fat, buried my five children with my own hands. And there were
also those who were so sparsely covered with earth that dogs dragged them forth and devoured
many bodies throughout the city.
There was no one who wept for any death, for all awaited death. And so many died that all
believed that it was the end of the world.
Document 5
The most powerful institution in the Middle Ages was by far the Catholic Church. The wealth and
power of the Church was displayed through the amazing works of art and architecture produced in the
period. Below to the left is an imagine of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It is an example of Gothic
architecture popular in the European Middle Ages. The style used advanced engineering to build
extremely tall structures that glorified Christianity. Source: http://rbvhs.vusd.k12.ca.us/teachers/roswell
/apeuro/unit1/images/GothicCathedral1.jpg and
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DBQ: The European Middle Ages (Continued)
Document 6
The role of the Church was very large in Medieval Europe. More than any other institution, it unified
Europeans and gave every person a sense of how the world worked. Since political leaders only had
local power, the Church was the most powerful institution. This secondary source describes the multiple
roles the Church played in the Middle Ages. Source: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/
middleages/church.html
The Roman Catholic Church was the single, largest unifying structure in medieval Europe. It
touched everyone's life, no matter what their rank or class or where they lived. With the exception
of a small number of Jews, everyone in Europe was a Christian during the Middle Ages from the
richest king down to the lowest serf.
From the moment of its baptism a few days after birth, a child entered into a life of service to God
and God's Church. As a child grew, it would be taught basic prayers, would go to church every
week barring illness, and would learn of its responsibilities to the Church. Every person was
required to live by the Church's laws and to pay heavy taxes to support the Church. In return for
this, they were shown the way to everlasting life and happiness after lives that were often short and
hard.
In addition to collecting taxes, the Church also accepted gifts of all kinds from individuals who
wanted special favors or wanted to be certain of a place in heaven. These gifts included land,
flocks, crops, and even serfs. This allowed the Church to become very powerful, and it often used
this power to influence kings to do as it wanted.
Document 7
The map below represents Europe in the later Middle Ages. Europe, although isolated at first, became
more connected to the established global trade along the Silk Roads. Source:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://web000.greece.k12.ny.us/SocialStudiesResources/Socia
l_Studies_Resources/GHG_Documents/Trade
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DBQ: The European Middle Ages (Continued)
Document 8
The increase in trade connecting Europe to places along the Silk Roads was initiated by non-Christian
Merchants (many from the Middle East). Jewish merchants were known throughout Europe for bringing
luxury goods to the major towns and trade centers of Europe. Due to their wealth, Jews were often
persecuted in hard times, especially during the Plague. This document describes the role of Jewish
merchants prior to the plague. Source: Medieval History Sourcebook, “Accounts of the Routes of Jewish
Merchants to the East, 847”
These merchants speak Arabic, Persian, Roman (Greek), the language of the Franks (French),
Andalusians, and Slavs. They journey from west to east, from east to west, partly on land, partly by
sea. They transport from the west eunuchs, female and male slaves, silk, castor, marten, and other
furs, and swords. They take ship in the land of the Franks, on the Western Sea, and steer for Farama
(Pelusium)... They embark in the East Sea (Red Sea) and sail from Kolzum to El-Jar (port of
Medina) and Jeddah (port of Mecca); then they go to Sind, India, and China. On their return they
carry back musk, aloes, camphor, cinnamon, and other products of the Eastern countries to
Kolzum, and bring them to Farama, where they again embark on the Western Sea. Some make sail
for Constantinople to sell their goods to the Romans; others go to the palace of the king of the
Franks to place their goods.
Document 9
As Europeans became more connected to the Silk Roads, cultural diffusion occurred, but conflict
occurred, also. Muslims and Christians clashed over religion and control of trade routes. The Crusades,
a series of religious wars for control over Jerusalem, were fought for hundreds of years. This account is
from Usamah inb-Munqidh, and Arab Warrior in the time of the Crusades. He describes the Franks (the
French). Source: translated by Philip K. Hitti, Princeton University Press
Their lack of sense – Mysterious are the works of the Creator, the author of all things! When one
comes to recount the cases regarding the Franks, he cannot but glorify Allah (exalted is he!) and
sanctify him, for he sees them as animals possessing the virtues of courage and fighting, but
nothing else; just as animals have only the virtues of strength and carrying loads.
Document 10
Europe in the Middle Ages was a dangerous place. Invasions from Muslims, Mongols, and other tribal
groups were common. War between lords was common. The value of protection and warriors created a
social code called Chivalry. Knights fought for lords and ladies and lived by a gentleman-warrior code
of Chivalry. The painting below depicts medieval knights. Source: http://www.the-dogs-ofwar.com/Crusades1.jpg