Social Studies 9 –Unit 2
CHANGE – The Middle Ages
circa 400 BCE to circa 1400 BCE
TEXT Chapters 5, 6, 7 & 8 + Activities
*Chapter Quiz for 6, 7, 8*
+ UNIT PROJECT
MEDIEVAL History & The Middle Ages
• Period of time in Western history between the end of
the Roman Empire & The Renaissance (1500’s)
approx. 1000 years
• Period of barbarism & intellectual darkness
• The Dark Ages
• New religion, away from ‘natural’ to spiritual world (role
of church)
• Rise of Monasticism, feudalism, nationalism
(monarchies/nations)
The Early Middle Ages
> 550 to 1000 BCE
• Collapse of the Roman Empire
• Barbarian invasions & kingdoms
• Charlemagne, emperor of the West, crowned by Pope
• Vikings around 900AD in the West
• Muslims in the South
• Magyars in the East
• Carolingian & Ottoman Empires (bce 750-1000)
The High Middle Ages
> 1000 – 1300
• Circa 10th. C. Western societies organized
around Feudalism drive out invaders
• Economy & Society rebuilds
• Church reformed & revitalized
• Romanesque art became Gothic art
• Rise of great works of literature
• Rediscovery of Greek scholars led rise of
education
The Late Middle Ages
> 14th & 15th Centuries
•
•
•
•
Europe suffers great famines
The Black Death (plague)
Hundred Year’s War
Rise in standard of living (sanitation &
freedoms etc.)
• Palaces replaced castles, villages grew, middle
class grew
• Flamboyant Gothic style in art & architecture
• Dante, Chaucer & rise of literature (education)
INTRO TO CHAPTER 5 - CHANGE
Ch 5 - Exploring Change – pg76
READING - #1pg77
-Change & Time
-Activity#2 – pg78 CHART
READING - #2pg77
– Forces of Change
Activity #7&8 with a partner
** Project – H’s demo & online resources**
Ch 5 - Exploring Change – pg76
READING - #1pg77 - Change & Time
• Vocab: Linear or Cyclical
Revolutionary or Evolutionary
• Change happens over time
– Eg. Kindergarten to elementary to middle years to high
school to??? = Linear change
• Change starts at one point and progresses to another
• Does not return to its initial state
• Historical changes are usually linear, cannot predict the future
– Eg. Winter comes every year, Easter etc. = Cyclical change
• Change repeats itself & can be predicted
Change happens at different speeds
o Gradual change is called evolutionary change
 Eg. Man went from hunter gatherer to sedentary farmer
o Rapid change is called revolutionary, often radical
 Eg. Rebel & overthrow the govt.
 The Scientific Revolution (new discoveries)
Act:pg78
#2 provide 2 - 3 egs.
Examples of linear, cyclical change and
Identify whether evolutionary or revolutionary
• During the Middle Ages the shift from one
kind of society to another gradually changed
the people and structure (organization) of
society, people had to adapt.
• New social, political and economic structures
changed with the culture and behavior of the
people.
Linear Change
Ev/Rev
Cyclical Change
Ev/Rev
Roots: Ch 5 - Exploring Change – pg76
READING - #2pg77 – Forces of Change
• Vocab: Religion, economics, politics, social factors, technology
 Cannot predict future change, so we use some of the ‘forces of
change’ that affected us in the past to guide our present & future
decisions
o Religious Change – in the middle ages,
Christianity came to dominate Europe and later,
Protestantism
o Economic Change – how we make our living
changed – in the MA, more people were farmers
to produce more food for a growing population,
eventually moving back to the cities as the new
‘middle class’
Roots: Ch 5 - Exploring Change – pg76
READING - #2pg77 – Forces of Change
o Political Change – organization of society
changes and government develops
o Social Change – families, roles changed
as villages, towns, cities develop, in the
MA, we will explore FEUDALISM in society
o Technological Changes – we look at new
‘tools’ & agriculture, and weapons of war
Chapter 6 – The Dark Ages, p85
• FQ p85
1.How did the Roman Empire break into
separate countries?
2.How did the Europeans unite in the
Christian Church?
3.How
did
the
Europeans
defend
themselves against invaders?
4.What was life like in the Dark Ages?
R#1 – p86, The Age of Migrations
• Change in the West –p86
 Map 6-1, p87 – Changing Empires (768 – ~1000)
 Feature – Vikings, p88
 Change in the East –p88
**We will be doing some
mapping work, in-class with
historical atlas, then in lab
with internet resources
 Activities, p90
• #1 – Types of changes, CLASS DISCUSSION
AND
#3 – Compare map 6-1 to modern day Europe
R#2 – p90, The Age of Conversions
Growth of Christianity –p90
+ CONCEPT MAP EXERCISE
 300bce, Christianity allowed in the Roman
Empire, then became THE ONLY
 600bce, most of the Empire were Christians
 1000bce, most of Europe is (RC) Christian,
church structure in place
R#2 – p90, The Age of Conversions
•
•
•
•
•
Church Organization –p91
POPE – leader of Church
BISHOP – teach city’s Christians
PRIEST – helped with services
DEACONS – collect $ for poor
11th C – Archbishop, Patriarchs & Cardinals (Pope’s special helpers)
• ** NO WOMEN ALLOWED**
• **Christianity taught that faith /living a good life now was
to prepare for ‘heaven after death**
 Figure 6-3, Church architecture
R#3 – p95, The Dark Ages
Life in the Dark Ages –p95
Feudalism
– system to organize politics, economics, social life
- response to invasions & chaos
 Figure 6-6, Feudal Pyramid - visual
 (rights & obligations of lords & vassals)
Life in the Middle Ages ** see video





Few towns
Poor standard of living, hard life, few luxuries
Low literacy (usually only monks could read/write)
Decrease in trade and poor crops too
By 1000bce, less invasions, more had homes, farming
increased (St of L)
The Beginning or Europe, Nations
Charlemagne – Charles the Great
divided his kingdom between nobles &
knights – began to form present-day nations
Built castles for protection
Raised armies & $ for war and ‘projects’
Governed and administered justice
Charlemagne and the Franks
identify effects of the fall of Rome as well as the
rise of Charlemagne and the Franks.
identify and/or define the following terms:
Effects of the Fall of Rome
Franks
Charlemagne
Vikings
Feudalism & the Medieval
The fall of Rome brought many important
changes to Western Europe.
Effects of the Fall of Rome
• Germanic tribes took over Roman lands.
• Hundreds of little kingdoms took the place of
the Western Roman Empire in Europe.
• Initially, there was no system for collecting
taxes.
• Kingdoms were always at war with one
another.
• People lost interest in learning.
Warfare increased. Trade decreased.
The “Dark Ages” began.
The “Dark Ages”
• Historians call the period following the fall of
Rome the “Dark Ages.”
• Formerly, this period is known as the
beginning of the Middle Ages.
• It was a time of increased warfare, decreased
trade, and a decline in learning.
Clovis was
an important
king of the
Franks. The
Franks were
one of the
largest
Germanic
tribes.
Clovis and the Franks
• In A.D. 481, Clovis united the Franks and
became their king.
• Clovis converted to the Roman Catholic faith.
• Essentially, the Franks blended Germanic and
Roman cultural practices.
Charlemagne
became king
of the Franks
in 768 A.D.
He conquered
a vast empire
and tried
to recreate
the glory of the
Roman
Empire.
Charlemagne
• Charlemagne became king of the Franks in
768 A.D. He tried to recreate the glory of the
Roman Empire.
• He conquered a vast empire and was
proclaimed Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire by Pope Leo III.
• He gave land to his nobles in exchange for
their loyalty and military service.
Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne “Holy
Roman Emperor”.
During his reign, Charlemagne tried to
recreate the Roman Empire. However,
after his death, the empire declined.
The Rise of Feudalism
• Charlemagne’s descendants were not able to
recreate the glory of the Roman Empire,
• The Franks did greatly affect life in the Middle
Ages.
• Indeed, the Frankish practice of giving land to
nobles in exchange for loyalty and military
service spread throughout Western Europe.
Life during
the Middle Ages
was based on a
series of exchanges.
Lesser Lords
obeyed more
powerful Lords in
exchange for land.
**see feudal
pyramid**
Questions for Reflection:
• Why did historians call the early Middle Ages
the “Dark Ages”?
• Who was Clovis and how did his conversion
affect the Franks?
• Why did Pope Leo III crown Charlemagne
“Holy Roman Emperor”?
• Define feudalism.
• How is feudalism different from other political
systems?