Unit 7 Study Guide- European Middle Ages
Foundations of early medieval society
• Classical heritage of
• Christian beliefs
• Customs of
tribes
Influence of the Roman Catholic Church
• Secular authority declined, while Church authority grew.
• Monasteries preserved
•
-
cultural achievements.
carried Christianity and Latin alphabet to Germanic tribes.
• The Pope anointed
Emperor in 800 A.D. (C.E.)
• Parish priests served religious and social needs of the people.
Invasions shattered Roman protection over the Empire.
Feudal society during the Middle Ages
• Fiefs• Vassals• Serfs• Feudal obligations-

What is feudalism?
Manorial system during the Middle Ages
• Rigid
structure
• Self-sufficient manors
Age of Charlemagne
• Franks emerged as a force in
• The
crowned the Emperor.
Europe.
• Power of the Church was established in political life.
• Roman culture was reinterpreted.
• Most of Western
was included in the new empire.
• Churches,
, and schools were built to unite the empire.
Areas of settlement
• Angles and
migrated from continental Europe to England.
•
migrated from Central Asia to Hungary.
• Vikings migrated from
to Russia and Europe.
Influence of the Angles, Saxons, Magyars, and Vikings
• Manors with
system.
provided protection from invaders, reinforcing the feudal
• Invasions disrupted trade, towns declined, and the
strengthened.
system was
England
• William the
England.
, leader of the Norman Conquest, united most of
• Common
had its beginnings during the reign of
• King
signed the Magna Carta, limiting the king’s power.
• The
define England as a nation.
II.
Years’ War between England and
• Evolution of
helped
.
France
• Hugh
established the French throne in Paris, and his dynasty gradually
expanded their control over most of France.
• The Hundred Years’ War between
nation.
• Joan of
was a unifying factor.
and France helped define France as a
Spain
• Ferdinand and Isabella unified the country and expelled Jews and
.
• Spanish Empire in the Western Hemisphere expanded under
V.
Russia
•
the Great threw off the rule of the
Moscow, and expanded the Russian nation.
• Power was centralized in the hands of the
• The
, centralized power in
(czar).
Church influenced unification- became stronger
Key events of the Crusades
• Pope
’s speech
• The capture of
• Founding of
states
• Loss of Jerusalem to Saladin
• Sack of
by Venetian Crusaders
Effects of the Crusades
• Weakened the Pope and nobles; strengthened
• Stimulated
throughout the Mediterranean area and the Middle East
• Left a legacy of bitterness among Christians,
• Weakened the
, and Muslims
Empire
Mongol armies
• Invaded
and countryside
, China, and Muslim states in Southwest Asia, destroying cities
• Created an empire
Constantinople
• Fell to the
Turks in
• Became capital of the Ottoman Empire- changed the name to
, ending the Byzantine Empire
Impact of the Black Death (
plague)
• Decline in population
• Scarcity of
• Towns freed from
• Decline of
obligations
influence
• Disruption of
Church scholars
• Were among the very few who could
• Worked in
and write
(place where monks live)
• Translated Greek and Arabic works into
• Made new knowledge in philosophy, medicine, and science available in
• Laid the foundations for the rise of
in Europe