Chapter 8-9 Study Guide
Chapter 8
1. Peasant � Peasants made up the bulk of the caste system in the Middle Ages. They were required to work the land that belonged to vassals and lords.
6. Chivalry � Knights adopted a code of conduct called chivalry in the later Middle Ages. Chivalry required knights to be brave, loyal, and true to their word. In warfare, they had to fight fairly and be generous to their enemies.
7. Charter � A charter was a written document that set out the rights and privileges of the town. Merchants would ask the local lord for a charter whenever they would set up a new town.
8. Troubadour � Troubadours were wandering poets. Their love songs praised the perfection, beauty, and wit of women throughout the Middle Ages.
9. Manor Economy � Most manors included one or more villages and the surrounding lands. Peasants lived and worked in the manor and had to pay fees to their lords. In return for their labor, they had the right to farm several acres for themselves.
10. How Monks and Nuns Lived � Monks and nuns withdrew from their worldly life to devote their lives to spiritual goals. Some spent their whole lives in the church translating and scribing books while others were missionaries that risked their lives to spread Christianity.
11. Why was a church reform desired? � As wealth and power grew, discipline weakened causing a need for reform in the Church.
12. New Agricultural Technologies � By about 800, peasants were using new iron plows that carved deep into the heavy soil. There was also a new kind of harness for livestock and windmills were now built.
13. Defense of Castles � Powerful lords fortified their homes to withstand attack. They included a keep ringed by a fence. By the 1100s, castles began being built with stone and included high walls, towers, drawbridges, and moats.
14. Battle of Tours � After the Germanic peoples had carved up Western Europe, Islam began creating a new civilization. In 732, Charles Martel led a Frankish army to defeat Muslim warriors in the Battle of Tours. This prevented Muslims from going further into western Europe.
15. Vassals � Vassals were lesser lords that were given land from a greater lord. These vassals had to pledge service and loyalty to their lords in order to receive the land. A vassal was also granted a fief from his lord.
16. Peasants � Peasants, also known as serfs, worked in vassals' estates. They worked the land and were guaranteed food, housing, and land from their lords.
17. Knights � A mounted warrior in the Middle Ages was known as a knight. Knights-to-be began training at the age of seven. When they turned 21, they were ready to become knights.
18. Lords � Lords made up the caste system below the monarchs. Each lord had a large fief and vassals that watched over smaller sections of the lords' estates. Vassals had to pledge loyalty to their lords in order to receive the land.
19. Why did the church have great power over the people? � Because most people in the Middle Ages were Christians, they looked to the Church for structure. As the Church gained power and wealth, it became the most powerful secular force in Western Europe.
20. Cluniac Reforms � In the early 900s, an abbot from Cluny set out to end abuses. In 1073, Gregory VII extended the Cluniac reforms throughout the entire church. This would lead to the battle of wills with the German emperor.
21. Three Field System � The three-field system was a production change that peasants adopted. They planted one field of grain, one with legumes, and left the third fallow. The legumes left the soil fertile while adding variety to the peasant diet.
22. Merchant Guilds � Merchant guilds, or associations, dominated life in medieval towns. They passed laws, levied taxes, and decided where to spend funds.
23. Clergy � The clergy in the Middle Ages was made up of the pope, monks, nuns, abbots, and the people that worshipped at the church. This was an important aspect of the Middle Ages as most people looked to God to solve their problems.
24. Nobles � Nobles were anybody that made up the upper-classes of the feudal system. Both noblemen and noblewomen played important roles in the Middle Ages.
25. Charlemagne � Charlemagne was a Frankish king who reunited much of the Roman empire. Unfortunately, his successors could not get the job done after he died and his empire crumbled.
26. Leif Erikson � He set up a Viking colony on the continent of North America in about the year 1000. Other Vikings opened up trade routes that linked northern Europe to Mediterranean lands.
27. Serf � Most of the peasants in a manor were serfs, or people bound to the land. They were not slaves, but they could not leave the manor without the lord's permission. If the manor was granted to a new lord, the serfs went along with it.
28. Excommunication � The most severe punishment for those who refused to obey Church laws was excommunication. People who were excommunicated could not receive the holy sacraments.
29. Steel Plow � Peasants began using steel and iron plows around 800. With these, they were able to carve deep into the heavy soil of Northern Europe.
30. Feudal System � After the Viking invasions, people needed to defend their homes and lands. Because of this, the feudal system, a loosely organized system of rule in which powerful local lords divided their large land-holdings among lesser lords, was evolved.
Chapter 9
1. Black Death � In 1348, the Bubonic Plague, or "Black Death" had spread from Italy to Spain and France. From there, it ravaged through the rest of Europe and became a global epidemic. Western Europe was the most devastated region. One-third of the modern world died.
2. Magna Carta � In 1215, a group of rebellious barons cornered John and forced him to sign the Magna Carta. This document asserted that the nobles had certain rights and that the monarch must obey the law.
3. Concordat of Worms � In 1122, the pope and the emperor accepted a treaty known as the Concordat of Worms. In it, they agreed that the Church had the sole power to elect and invest bishops and spiritual authority. The emperor, however, had the right to invest them with fiefs.
4. Chief goal of and the Result of the Crusades � The key purpose of the Crusades was the conquest of the Holy Land (anywhere Jesus had been in his lifetime) Christian knights, called Crusaders, marched, fought, and occupied parts of Palestine for 200 years. There were many results of the Crusades, including increased trade and the encouragement of the growth of a money economy.
5. Reconquista � Christian warriors began a campaign to drive Muslims from Spain and called it Reconquista, or "reconquest." Those who refused Christianity were burned at the stake. More than 150,000 people fled into exile.
6. Early Jury System � Under Hendry II, England developed an early jury system. These early juries determined which cases should be brought to trial and were ancestors of today's grand jury.
7. Conflict Between Emperors and Popes � Pope Gregory VII was determined to make the Church independent of secular rulers. This made King Henry IV angry and felt entitled to give them the symbols of office. Gregory excommunicated Henry in 1076 before heading north to crown a new emperor. This 50 year struggle ended with the signing of the Concordat of Worms.
Short Answer
A. The Middle Ages was a time of decline because of all the attacks and invasions of Western Europe, the downfall of Charlemagne's empire, monarchies in the feudal system, the Black Plague, and the Crusades.
B. Three long-term effects of the Crusades include the increasing of trade, the increasing of the power of feudal monarchs, and contacts with the Muslim world leading to new expeditions that expanded European horizons.
Chapter 8
1. Peasant � Peasants made up the bulk of the caste system in the Middle Ages. They were required to work the land that belonged to vassals and lords.
2. Usury � Lending money at interest was called usury. To the clergy, the profits that merchants and bankers made from usury were immoral.
3. Capital � Capital is money for investment. The need for capital spurred the growth of banking houses.
4. Tithe � Tax equal to a tenth of the income of Christians. Christians were required to pay a tithe to the Church during the Middle Ages.
5. Fief � A fief is an estate. In the Middle Ages, lords granted each of their vassals a fief. These ranged from a few acres to hundreds of square miles and included peasants to work the land.
6. Chivalry � Knights adopted a code of conduct called chivalry in the later Middle Ages. Chivalry required knights to be brave, loyal, and true to their word. In warfare, they had to fight fairly and be generous to their enemies.
7. Charter � A charter was a written document that set out the rights and privileges of the town. Merchants would ask the local lord for a charter whenever they would set up a new town.
8. Troubadour � Troubadours were wandering poets. Their love songs praised the perfection, beauty, and wit of women throughout the Middle Ages.
9. Manor Economy � Most manors included one or more villages and the surrounding lands. Peasants lived and worked in the manor and had to pay fees to their lords. In return for their labor, they had the right to farm several acres for themselves.
10. How Monks and Nuns Lived � Monks and nuns withdrew from their worldly life to devote their lives to spiritual goals. Some spent their whole lives in the church translating and scribing books while others were missionaries that risked their lives to spread Christianity.
11. Why was a church reform desired? � As wealth and power grew, discipline weakened causing a need for reform in the Church.
12. New Agricultural Technologies � By about 800, peasants were using new iron plows that carved deep into the heavy soil. There was also a new kind of harness for livestock and windmills were now built.
13. Defense of Castles � Powerful lords fortified their homes to withstand attack. They included a keep ringed by a fence. By the 1100s, castles began being built with stone and included high walls, towers, drawbridges, and moats.
14. Battle of Tours � After the Germanic peoples had carved up Western Europe, Islam began creating a new civilization. In 732, Charles Martel led a Frankish army to defeat Muslim warriors in the Battle of Tours. This prevented Muslims from going further into western Europe.
15. Vassals � Vassals were lesser lords that were given land from a greater lord. These vassals had to pledge service and loyalty to their lords in order to receive the land. A vassal was also granted a fief from his lord.
16. Peasants � Peasants, also known as serfs, worked in vassals' estates. They worked the land and were guaranteed food, housing, and land from their lords.
17. Knights � A mounted warrior in the Middle Ages was known as a knight. Knights-to-be began training at the age of seven. When they turned 21, they were ready to become knights.
18. Lords � Lords made up the caste system below the monarchs. Each lord had a large fief and vassals that watched over smaller sections of the lords' estates. Vassals had to pledge loyalty to their lords in order to receive the land.
19. Why did the church have great power over the people? � Because most people in the Middle Ages were Christians, they looked to the Church for structure. As the Church gained power and wealth, it became the most powerful secular force in Western Europe.
20. Cluniac Reforms � In the early 900s, an abbot from Cluny set out to end abuses. In 1073, Gregory VII extended the Cluniac reforms throughout the entire church. This would lead to the battle of wills with the German emperor.
21. Three Field System � The three-field system was a production change that peasants adopted. They planted one field of grain, one with legumes, and left the third fallow. The legumes left the soil fertile while adding variety to the peasant diet.
22. Merchant Guilds � Merchant guilds, or associations, dominated life in medieval towns. They passed laws, levied taxes, and decided where to spend funds.
23. Clergy � The clergy in the Middle Ages was made up of the pope, monks, nuns, abbots, and the people that worshipped at the church. This was an important aspect of the Middle Ages as most people looked to God to solve their problems.
24. Nobles � Nobles were anybody that made up the upper-classes of the feudal system. Both noblemen and noblewomen played important roles in the Middle Ages.
25. Charlemagne � Charlemagne was a Frankish king who reunited much of the Roman empire. Unfortunately, his successors could not get the job done after he died and his empire crumbled.
26. Leif Erikson � He set up a Viking colony on the continent of North America in about the year 1000. Other Vikings opened up trade routes that linked northern Europe to Mediterranean lands.
27. Serf � Most of the peasants in a manor were serfs, or people bound to the land. They were not slaves, but they could not leave the manor without the lord's permission. If the manor was granted to a new lord, the serfs went along with it.
28. Excommunication � The most severe punishment for those who refused to obey Church laws was excommunication. People who were excommunicated could not receive the holy sacraments.
29. Steel Plow � Peasants began using steel and iron plows around 800. With these, they were able to carve deep into the heavy soil of Northern Europe.
30. Feudal System � After the Viking invasions, people needed to defend their homes and lands. Because of this, the feudal system, a loosely organized system of rule in which powerful local lords divided their large land-holdings among lesser lords, was evolved.
Chapter 9
1. Black Death � In 1348, the Bubonic Plague, or "Black Death" had spread from Italy to Spain and France. From there, it ravaged through the rest of Europe and became a global epidemic. Western Europe was the most devastated region. One-third of the modern world died.
2. Magna Carta � In 1215, a group of rebellious barons cornered John and forced him to sign the Magna Carta. This document asserted that the nobles had certain rights and that the monarch must obey the law.
3. Concordat of Worms � In 1122, the pope and the emperor accepted a treaty known as the Concordat of Worms. In it, they agreed that the Church had the sole power to elect and invest bishops and spiritual authority. The emperor, however, had the right to invest them with fiefs.
4. Chief goal of and the Result of the Crusades � The key purpose of the Crusades was the conquest of the Holy Land (anywhere Jesus had been in his lifetime) Christian knights, called Crusaders, marched, fought, and occupied parts of Palestine for 200 years. There were many results of the Crusades, including increased trade and the encouragement of the growth of a money economy.
5. Reconquista � Christian warriors began a campaign to drive Muslims from Spain and called it Reconquista, or "reconquest." Those who refused Christianity were burned at the stake. More than 150,000 people fled into exile.
6. Early Jury System � Under Hendry II, England developed an early jury system. These early juries determined which cases should be brought to trial and were ancestors of today's grand jury.
7. Conflict Between Emperors and Popes � Pope Gregory VII was determined to make the Church independent of secular rulers. This made King Henry IV angry and felt entitled to give them the symbols of office. Gregory excommunicated Henry in 1076 before heading north to crown a new emperor. This 50 year struggle ended with the signing of the Concordat of Worms.
Short Answer
A. The Middle Ages was a time of decline because of all the attacks and invasions of Western Europe, the downfall of Charlemagne's empire, monarchies in the feudal system, the Black Plague, and the Crusades.
B. Three long-term effects of the Crusades include the increasing of trade, the increasing of the power of feudal monarchs, and contacts with the Muslim world leading to new expeditions that expanded European horizons.