CH 13: Medieval Europe
Name ________________________________
Invaders attack Western Europe
The Vikings invade the North
• Warlike Vikings raid Europe from _______________________
• Viking long ships sail in shallow water, allowing raids inland
• Eventually, many Vikings adopt Christianity & become________________
Magyars & Muslims Attack from the East & South
• Magyars (Hungarian nomads) invade W. Europe in late 800s
• _________________ strike north from Africa, attacking through Italy & Spain
• Viking, Magyar, Muslim invasions cause widespread disorder, ___________________
A new social order: Feudalism
• 850 – 950, feudalism emerges – political system based on ____________________
• A lord (landowner) gives fiefs (land grants) in exchange for services
• Vassals – people who receive _______________ – become powerful landholders
The Feudal Pyramid
• Power in feudal system much like a pyramid, w/ ______________ at the top
• Kings served by _____________ who are served by knights; peasants at bottom
• Knights defend their lord’s land in exchange for ________________
Social Classes are well defined
• Medieval feudal system classifies people into ____ social groups
– Those who fight: nobles & knights
– Those who _____________: monks, nuns, leaders of Church
– Those who work: ________________
• Social class is usually inherited; majority of people are ______________
• Most peasants are ____________ – people lawfully bound to place of birth
• Serfs aren’t slaves, but what they produce belongs to their lord
Manors: The economic side of feudalism
The Lord’s Estate
• The Lord’s estate, a manor, has an economic system (manor system)
• Serfs & free peasants maintain the lord’s estate, give _____________
• The lord provides housing, farmland, ___________________ from bandits
A self-contained World
• Medieval manors include lord’s house, _____________, workshops, village
• Manors cover a few square miles of land, are largely self-sufficient
The harshness of Manor life
• Peasants pay tax to use mill & bakery; pay a tithe to ______________
• Tithe – church tax – is equal to 1/10th of a peasant’s income
• Serfs live in crowded cottages with dirt floors, straw ____________
• Daily life consists of raising crops, livestock; feeding & clothing family
• Poor diet, illness, malnutrition make life expectancy ________ years
• Serfs generally accept their lives as part of God’s Plan
Knights: Warriors on Horseback
The Warrior’s role in feudal society
• By 1000s, W. Europe is a battleground of warring _______________
• Feudal lords raise private _____________ of knights
• Knights rewarded w/land; provides income needed for weapons
• Knights’ other activities help train them for ________________
The Code of Chivalry
• By 1100s knights obey code of chivalry – a set of ideals on how to __________
• They are to protect weak & poor; serve feudal lord, God, chosen _____________
A knight’s training
• Boys begin to train at ______; usually knighted at _______
• Knights gain experience in local wars & tournaments – _____________________
The reality of warfare
• Castles are huge _________________ where lords live
• Attacking armies use wide range of strategies & _________________
Poems & Songs
• ____________________ recount a hero’s deeds & adventures
• Troubadours – traveling poet-musicians – write & sing short verses
• Most celebrated ________________ of the age is Eleanor of Acquitaine
• Eleanor’s son, Richard the Lion-Hearted
Women’s role in feudal society
Status of women
• According to the Church & feudal society, women are ________________ to men
Noblewomen
• Can inherit land, __________________ castle, send knights to war on lord’s request
• Usually confined to activities of the home or __________________
Peasant Women
• Most labor in home & field, bear children, provide for family
• Poor, ___________________, do household tasks at young age
The Power of the Medieval Church
The Pope
 Head of the Church was called “pope”
 The Pope gets name from Latin word for “father”; considered the father of the ______________
 In beginning of the Church, nobles could pick the ______________
The Sacraments
 Sacraments = church rituals done to get God’s grace. Without God’s grace, you couldn’t get into ____________
 Examples of sacraments are baptism, penance, & the Eucharist (Communion)
 If you did something wrong, the church could excommunicate you (kick you out); can’t receive sacraments, won’t go
to Heaven
The Power of Mass
 Mass = name for church services
 Mass conducted in Latin, most peasants did not understand it; gave priests a lot of power over the ____________
 __________________ got info from statues, paintings, & windows
Noble Influence
 The Church supposed to be a religious institution; nobles used church for their own ____________
 “Donations” of land & money to church could result in a position as a bishop or other church official
 People that the king or a noble didn’t like could be threatened w/ excommunication unless agree w/ nobles
Monastic Life
 Monks/ nuns tried to avoid __________________ w/ taking money from nobles & lived simple lives
 took vows of _________________ & lived separate from rest of world
 spent lives making schools & hospitals, providing for poor/needy, producing beautiful copies of books by hand
The Church as a Judge
 The regular church was still very powerful & had courts in which it could try people for crimes against the church
 One of the biggest crimes was called __________________ (denial of church teachings)
 ______________ (people who committed heresy) were excommunicated from the church
 Heresy considered as bad as __________________
Changes in Medieval Society
Changes in agriculture
• Harnessed __________________ replace oxen in pulling plows & wagons
• Horses plow 3 times as much a day, increasing food _________________
The 3-field System
• Around 800, 3-field system used: plant 2 fields, let one rest
• This produces more food & leads to population __________________
Development of Guilds
• Guilds develop – organization of people in the same _________________
• Merchant guilds begin 1st; they keep prices up, provide security
• Skilled artisans form _____________ guilds
• Guilds set standards for quality, wages, prices, working conditions
• _______________ supervise training of new members of their craft
• The wealth of guilds influences govt. & ________________
The Commercial Revolution
Fairs & Trade
• Europe sees Commercial Revolution – changes in business & _____________
• Trade fairs held several times a year in towns
• Trade routes open to Asia, N.Africa, & Byzantine _____________
Business & Banking
• Merchants develop credit to avoid carrying large sums of _____________
• Merchants take out _____________ to purchase goods, & banking grows
Society Changes
• Economic changes lead to the ____________ of cities & of paying jobs
Urban life flourishes
Growing urban population
• 1000-1150, Europe’s pop. rises from 30-42 million
• Most towns are small, but they help drive change
Trade & towns grow together
• Towns are uncomfortable: crowded, _____________, fire hazards
• Serfs can become _____________ by living in a town for a year & a day
Merchant class shifts the social order
• Feudal lords tax & govern towns, causing _____________________
• Towns are taken over by town merchants (burghers)
England Develops
The Norman Conquest
• In 1066, England is invaded by William the Conqueror
• He defeats his _____________ & becomes king
• William hands out land to his ___________________
Juries & Common Law
• Henry II – king of England – sends judges to all parts of England & institutes ____________
• The judges’ decisions form English common law – unified body of laws
• ____________________ forms the basis of law in many English-speaking countries
The Magna Carta
• 1215: English nobles force King John to sign Magna Carta
• Magna Carta – limits king’s power & ___________________ basic political rights
• English people argue the rights are for all people, not just ______________
The Model Parliament
• 1295: Edward I summons wealthy townsmen & knights to raise _______________
• Together w/ bishops & lords, they form a parliament – legislative body
• ______________________ has 2 houses: House of Lords, House of Commons