Study Guide: The Rise of Early Medieval Europe and Crusades
The following items should be reviewed and studied for our upcoming Celebration of
Knowledge, which will take place Tuesday, November 23rd.
CHAPTER 2: The Development of Feudalism in Western Europe:
Vocabulary and key terms:
Word
Divine Right
Define and Describe
Chivalry
Hierarchy
Manor
Noble
Pope
Monarch
Christianity
R.C.C.
Barbarian
Fief
William the
Conqueror
Essential questions/concepts:
1. What was significant in regards to Charlemagne’s Empire? Clovis’?
2. How did the fall of Rome create disorder in Western and Central Europe? Why
was there a need for the development of feudalism? How did this
system/structure function?
3. Describe the specific responsibilities of each of the following classes in Feudal
Europe:
-Monarch (Royal Family)-Lords/Ladies (Nobility)-Knights-Peasants and Serfs-
4. What was the code of chivalry? Describe the unique stages to becoming a knight.
CHAPTER 3: The Role of the Church in Medieval Europe:
Vocabulary and key terms:
Word
Tithe
Define and Describe
Pilgrimage
Clergy
Friar
Monk
Monasticism
Rhetoric
Convent
Natural Law
Theology
Sacrament
Excommunicate
Monastery
Persecute
Essential questions/concepts:
1. How did the R.C.C. impact the political, social, and economic systems of the
medieval period?
2. Describe the hierarchy and organization of the R.C.C.
3. Describe the means by which the R.C.C. influenced rulers in Medieval Europe.
(Conflict between Gregory VII and Henry IV)
4. By what means did people’s religious beliefs (salvation, sacraments, pilgrimages)
affect daily life?
5. In what ways did the R.C.C. influence art, architecture? (Focus special attention
to the cathedral)
6. Detail key aspects of the monastic way of life, (monk, and nun). How is this
lifestyle similar and different from the life of a mendicant (friar)?
CHAPTER 11: From the Crusades to New Muslim Empires:
Vocabulary and key terms:
Word
Expulsion
Define and Describe
Iberian
Peninsula
Inquisition
Segregation
Anatolia
Sultan
Richard III
AntiSemitism
Saladin
Holy Land
Essential questions/concepts:
1. What were the events leading up to the Crusades?
2. Were all Crusades successful for Christians? Summarize the events of the First
and Third Crusades specifically. What impact did each Crusade have on
Jerusalem?
3. Define the term ‘Cultural Diffusion’. In terms of the results of the Crusades, what
ways did the Europeans/Catholics lose the battle, but still win the war? *Think
about the various contributions Europeans gained from their interactions with the
Muslim and Jewish communities.