Here is a review of some of the key concepts/ideas learned during this unit.
You may be tested on the following concepts and ideas learned during this unit. Study your readings, notes and handouts from the “We-port” presentations, your “I-port” essays, and think about what your character saw/experienced during the three Middle Ages simulations.
The Feudal System
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What is a hierarchy (ranks in society) ? Explain the feudal system hierarchy, and give a modern day example (what is the hierarchy in our school?)
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What were the advantages/disadvantages of the feudal system?
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How wealthy you were in the Middle Ages was not measured by how much money you had, but rather how much land you owned.
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Duties of a vassal to his lord
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Duties of a lord to his vassals
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What was an oath of fealty (a promise to serve a lord and be loyal to him in return for land and protection)? (We did at the beginning of our roleplays – the lords signed these contracts in return for land)
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What was a fief ?
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Medieval justice system – trial by ordeal; trial by combat
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Why did the monarchs and nobles have such a great life? Know details of how they lived.
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What was unfair about the feudal system?
Life on a Manor (think of the budgeting roleplay #1)
 need to be self-sufficient (live entirely without outside help)
 three-field system and crop rotation (= serfs know a lot about farming – still used today!)
 jobs of women vs jobs of men serfs
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Why did they have so many children?
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What duties did a serf owe to his lord? (remember your roleplay – had to work on the lord’s land 3 days of the week, fix roads, pay taxes, etc.)
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What duties did a lord owe his serf? (protection, build him a house, etc)
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Castle life
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What were two ways a serf could escape his slavery? (run away for 1 year + 1 day, buy his freedom, later during the crusades)
Life in a Medieval town
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Guilds = a group of people who shared a similar skill/craft (think of the jobs the freemen did in our Middle Ages game!)
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Know the steps in becoming a guild member and opening a store in town o Stage 1: Apprentice (Age 7 – sent to live with a master craftsman to live with his family and learn a trade) o Stage 2: Journeyman (Age 14 – was allowed to work with the master in his store and earn money. When his skills were ready, the guild gave him a “final exam” by having him make a masterpiece. If he passed, he became a: o
Stage 3: Master Craftsman – the freeman is made a guild member and is allowed to open his own store and train apprentices)
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Know the advantages of being in guilds (kept prices the same; made sure all things being sold were the same good quality, since everyone had to pass a master’s test to own a shop; kept out competition, because you couldn’t work in town if you didn’t belong to a guild)
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Poor living conditions in a town (crowded because thick outer walls prevented making the streets bigger; no street lights at night = thieves everywhere; wood buildings too close together = could

catch fire easily; no sewage systems = people threw their waste into the streets = disease spreads quickly)
The Church
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Clergy = anyone who works for the Christian church
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Pope = in charge of the Church, given advice by a group called the Cardinals (when the Pope dies, the cardinals choose one cardinal to become the next Pope)
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Archbishops are stationed in countries (Example: England), which are divided into religious
“provinces”, called archdiocese
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Archdiocese are divided into smaller “church provinces” called diocese, run by a bishop
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Priests run individual churches, called parishes
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Why was the church so powerful? (collected taxes called tithes , only they could read = could advise kings; kings needed their support in times of war; could excommunicate people who disobeyed them, sold indulgences and pardons)
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What were cathedrals?
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How did monks help pass on culture? (copied books by hand)
Knights and Nobles
Know the three stages in becoming a knight:
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Page – age 7 –sent to live with a lord = learned manners from his wife, a noble woman; learned to play chess to learn strategy
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Squire – age 14 – sent to train with a knight – learned to use his weapons; fight in practice duels with other squires; helped prepare the knight and his horse for battle; helped him if he was wounded in battle
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When he was fully trained and had proven himself in battle, a squire was rewarded his knighthood, and became known by the title “Sir”. The night before his “graduation”, he had to confess and be forgiven for his sins by a priest. The next day, a special ceremony was performed by the squire’s father, or his lord. He was given his weapons and was given the ‘ accolade ’, a soft strike on each shoulder with the flat part of a sword blade.
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What was the Code of Chivalry ? (ideals: loyalty, courtesy, courage, honour)
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Promised to serve lord for 40 days/ year in return for land and serfs
The Crusades
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Why was Jerusalem so important to Christians and Muslims?
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What is a pilgrimage?
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Study the crusades chart. Review why each group (pope, knights, serfs) wanted the crusades, and the key details/results of the first, second, third, and forth crusades
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What were the results of the crusades? How did they change Middle Ages culture?
Why did the feudal system fall apart?
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Study the chart we completed during the gallery walk
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Think about the budget roleplay – who ended up the wealthiest? How would this change things?
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Think about the Black Death roleplay (hint: supply and demand)
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Looking back on the fall of Rome and the end of the feudal system, why do civilizations collapse?
How does a society that lacks reading and writing pass on its culture?
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Song – mistrels sing ballads to teach morals
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What makes a poem a ballad? (review what you learned in poetry)
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Stories through art – stained glass windows
 plays