Sample Quiz

After the Western part of The Roman Empire fell in 476, Western Europe entered a period that some called the DARK AGES.

- Western Europe became isolated from the thriving civilizations in the Middle East, China, and India as trade between the regions slowed and once thriving towns were abandoned.

- During this time, Classical Greek and Roman ideas and culture combined with Germanic and Christian traditions to form new MEDIEVAL civilizations.

- Germanic Kingdoms.

- After the fall of Rome, there was no longer one group of kingdoms that ruled all of Western Europe.

- Between the years 400-700, Germanic tribes like the Goths, Vandals, Slavs, and Franks carved up Western Europe into kingdoms.

- The Franks

- The Franks emerged as one of the most successful kingdoms.

- Led by their king, Clovis, the Franks conquered Gaul ( present day France) in 486.

- When Clovis converted to Christianity towards the end of his reign, the Franks gained the Pope (the leader of Christian Church in Rome) as a powerful ally.

- Most Franks were not Christain, but eventually they did convert.

- Clovis was also an ally of the Byzantine Emperor ( Anastasius the first) and compiled the first written code of law, Salic law, for the Franks.

- Franks’ Salic Law was amended and revised throughout the centuries and was even used to justify why a woman could not inherit the French throne.

-  While the Germanic kingdoms were growing in Europe, Islam emerged in Arabia in the 600s.

- Muslims, followers of Islam, established an Islamic empire that stretched from Arabia to Palestine, North Africa, and Spain.

- The battle of Tours, 732

- Once in Spain, the Moors ( Spanish Muslims) continually conducted raids in Frankish territory.

- In 732, Charles Martel, the leader of the Franks, gathered an army and met a raiding Moors’ army at Tours.

- The Franks were victorious and the Moors retreated back to Spain and the Moors never again advanced into Gaul.

- The Franks believed the victory was proof that God was on their side.

- Charlemagne.

- In 768, Charles the first, the grandson of Charles Martel, became king of the Franks.

- He is better known as Charlemagne or Charles the Great.

- During his reign, he fought the Muslims, Saxons, Avars, Slavs, and Lombards to expand the Frank empire to encompass most of Western Europe.

- Charlemagne was an ally of the Christian Church and forced those he conquered to convert to Christianity.

- In 800, after Charlemagne crushed a rebellion against Pope Leo  lll in Rome, the pope crowned Charlemange as Emperor of the Romans.

- This deepens the split between the Byzantine Empire and Western Europe and Leads to future power struggles between Germanic Emperors and the pope.

- Charlemagne gave conquered land to his supporters and soldiers.

- He appointed nobles to rule over local regions.

- He kept track of what was happening in his empire by using missi dominici (royal messengers).

- Missi Dominici

- They traveled in pairs (one appointed from the Christian Church and one from nobility) to a specific area of Charlemagne’s empire where they had no ties or roots so they could be impartial when making decisions.

- As direct representatives of the king, they had a huge amount of power.

- They made sure laws were being followed, ensured the area’s leaders were loyal to the king, and reported back to Charlemagne about what was going on.

-  Charlemagne’s Accomplishments

- Besides uniting much of Western Europe under his rule, Charlemagne promoted a re-birth of learning by encouraging the creation of local schools so children could learn to read and write Latin.

- He set up a Place School at his capital, Aachen, and staffed it with the best scholars in Europe.

- He helped preserve ancient manuscripts by hiring scholars to make copies for his library.

- Christianity spread throughout his empire.

- He established a successful government that became a model for later kings.

- Charlemagne  died in 814 and his son, Louis l, became king, reigning from 814-840.

- Twice, the sons of Louis revolted and ousted him from the throne.

- Each time, Louis was able to regain it.

- After his death, his sons continued to fight each other until the 843 Treaty of Verdun divided the empire into 3 parts.

- Muslims conquered Sicily in 827 and it became a thriving center of Muslim culture.

- Magyars ( a nomadic group) raided France, Germany and Italy and eventually settled in Hungary.

- Vikings from Scandinavia attacked coastal and river sides from Ireland to Russia to italy.

- Feudalism emerged because people wanted protection from the invasions that occurred after the death of Charlemagne.

- Feudalism was an economic, political, and social system where people exchange their labor for land and protection.

- Lords needed people to work their land and knights who would be loyal and fight with them.

- The lord gave Vassals ( a lower lord) a fief, land (from a few acres to square miles) and everything on that land including towns and peasants.

- In return for the land and the Lord’s protection, the vassal agreed to serve in the lord’s army  for a certain number of days each year and pay taxes to the lord.

- Vassals could also have fiefs from different Lords (their first loyalty was to their Liege Lord).

- vassals with large amounts of land often had vassals of their own.

- Why might having fiefs from different lords cause problems?

- Knights pledged their loyalty to their lord in return for land.

- Peasants and Serfs worked the land, paid taxes to their Lord in return for protection, food, and shelter.

- Peasants could move to another fief, but serfs were bound to the land and not allowed to leave.

- As kings became more powerful, they replaced lords at the top of the feudal system.

- Training began at the age of 7 when boys were sent to their Lord’s castle of training.

- There, the boys learned to fight, to ride a horse, and how to take care of a knight’s armor and weapons first as a page (a knight’s servant) and then as a Squire (a knight’s apprentice).

- Training was complete at the age of 21 when they were knighted during an investiture (ward) ceremony and they swore their loyalty to God and their Lord.

- knights wore armor and held shields for protection during battle.

- During battles, they used swords, axes, daggers, spears, crossbows and longbows.

- Wealthy knights had better armor, weapons, and horses.

- Knights' armor and weapons evolved and improved during the centuries.

- Tournaments or mock battles were popular contests that gave knights the chance to show their skills in front of spectators.

- In jousting, knights tried to knock their opponent off their horse with a long lance.

- Troubadours (traveling poets) snag songs about knights and the heroic deeds they performed for a woman they loved.

- Chivalry was a standard of conduct that governed how knights were to act.

- They were to be brave, loyal, honest, fight fair, treat captured knights well, and protect those weaker than themselves (women, particularly needed to be cherished and protected).

- However, knights did not always act chivalrous.

- To protect themselves from attacks, Lords began adding defenses to their homes and these fortified homes evolved into stone castles with high walls, towers, and a protective moat.

- Attacking armies often laid siege to a castle so it was important to have a supply of food and water on hand.

- Inside the castle walls, was a keep, a tower with thick walls, where the people lived and a courtyard called a bailey.

- Knights on top of the towers and walls knocked over enemies’ ladders, dumped hot oil on top of the invading soldiers, and shot flaming arrows.

- Arrow loops allowed knights to shoot arrows at attackers while being protected.

- A drawbridge allowed people to enter the castle during peaceful times.

-  During attacks, the drawbridge was raised and the Portcullis ( a protective gate) was lowered.

- A moat made it difficult for enemies to get close to the castle.

- Enemies crossed the moat by building a bridge or lowering the water level.

- They used ladders and siege towers to climb the castle walls.

- They used battering rams to knock down the portcullis and catapults like the trebuchet to launch giant rocks to break down the castle walls.

- The medieval economy where peasants and serfs provided labor and, in exchange, the Lord protected them from raiding groups like the Vikings and provided them with food and shelter.

- A lord’s estate was called a manor ( usually included a village and its surrounding lands).

- It  was mostly self-sufficient so it produced everything the people needed from food and clothing to tools and furniture.

- Peasants 

- Are free workers.

- could own businesses.

- A little better off than serfs, but still relatively poor.

- Serfs 

- Not free.

- Could not leave the manor without permission.

- They were allowed to farm some of the lord’s land for their own use and in return, they had to also work the Lord’s land.

- Twice a year (usually at Christmas and Easter) they paid taxes (often with goods like chickens and grain instead of money) to their Lord.

- Peasants and serfs worked all day farming the lord’s land and producing goods the manor needed.

- It was a harsh life and most did not live past the age of 35.

- Children did not go to school.

- They ate mostly bread and vegetables along with some meat or fish.

- Role of Noblewomen

- Their main role was to marry and have children.

- Their education usually revolved around household duties like spinning, weaving, and supervising servants, but some did learn how to read and write.

- While most sons inherited their father’s land, noblewomen could inherit and own land.

- When their husband or father was away, noblewomen could take over their duties and run the manor.

- During the middle ages, the church became extremely powerful.

- The spiritual head of the church, the pope, was the bishop of Rome.

- He had Papal Supremacy (authority over all kings and emperors in Western Europe).

- The church had its own set of laws called Canon Law.

- The Church also had its own courts.

- Disobeying the laws of the Church resulted in penalties.

- Medieval bibles were written in Latin.

- Most people were illiterate and unable to read it.

- Medieval Chirtsinas believed that all people were sinners and dommed to hell unless they participated in the sacraments (sacred rituals) like baptism, communion, confirmation, confession, and death rites.

- The church had complete control over who could receive the sacraments.

- The pope had the power of Excommunication which forbid someone from receiving the sacraments and was a sentence to eternity in hell.

- A person who was excommunicated was shunned by other Christians and could not be buried on sacred ground.

- The pope also had the power of interdict (forbidding an entire town or region from receiving the sacraments).