^{Middle Ages Study Guide 2}

Know that …

Feudalism is a society in which a lord ruled a small area of land farmed by peasants. These peasants provided food and gifts to the lord in exchange for protection by the lord and his knights.

Cathedrals were built to thank God for His blessings and to insure that He would continue to favor them, to offer a worthy resting place for the sacred remains of a saint, and to display the wealth and prestige of the town in which it was built. Flying buttresses were used to build high walls that were thinner and could incorporate more windows than before.

The Crusades were marked by much violence and cruelty. The church called on Christian believers to rescue the Holy Land from the Turks. They said that the Crusade was God’s will and that if they died in the struggle their sins would be forgiven.

Muslims or those that follow Islam believe that Muhammad is the last prophet of Allah and study the teachings of the Qur’an or Koran. The must follow the “five pillars” of Islam including the declaration of faith, prayer 5 times a day, fasting especially during Ramadan, help the needy by giving alms, and the pilgrimage to Makkah.

Towns began to develop and industry began. Woolen cloth was spun and woven into fabric, mining began, manufacture of silk and velvet and working with glass were all industries. These craftsmen belonged to guilds. Guilds were organizations that controlled much of the business life at the time.

Henry II, great-grandson of William the Conqueror, established the right to trial by jury, appointed Thomas a Becket as archbishop of Canterbury, and married Eleanor of Aquitaine who was to become the mother of Richard the Lion-Hearted and King John. King John’s greed and cruelty led to the Magna Carta signed in 1215.

The Hundred Years’ War was fought between 1337 and 1453 AD, and was over the disputed ownership of lands in France. This war led to an overall feeling on nationalism.

Joan of Arc was a young girl who said she had heard voices from heaven telling her to drive the English from French soil. She won several battles and was instrumental in restoring Charles VII to the throne. She was captured by the English and was burned at the stake for being a witch.

Unsanitary conditions led to the Black Death sweeping across Europe carried by the rat flea and killing approximately one third to one half of Europe’s population.