A. European farmers worked according to the season. In spring and autumn the peasants plowed and harvested. In summer, they hayed
B. Dozens of festivals brought days off to the hard working people. On these days people might butcher an animal so that they could feast on meat.
C. In medieval Europe, people believed in elves fairies, and other nature spirits The believed in love potions and witches.
15. The Medieval Church
A. If a husband left to fight the woman had the responsibility, looking after the family�s lands in her husband�s absence.
B. Religion was a big part of the Middle Ages. That�s why Europe�s Middle Age is called the �age of faith.�
C. The religion at that time was Christianity.
16. A Spiritual and Worldly Empire
A. In the Middle Ages the Roman Catholic Church not only controlled the spiritual life of Christians, but was also the most powerful secular, or worldly, force in Western Europe.
B. Christians believed that all people were sinners and the only way to escapehell was to participate in the sacraments, which are the sacred rituals of the Church.
C. The Church had its own laws known as canon laws, and its own court. These laws were according to Christian beliefs. Anyone who disobeyed the laws had to face penalties. The most severe punishment was known as excommunication.
17. The church and Daily Life
A. For peasants, religion was linked to the routines of daily life. In the village church, priests baptized their children and performed their marriages.
B. To support itself, the Church required all Christians to pay a tithe, or tax equal to a tenth of their incomes.
C. The Church also protected women, by setting a minimum age for marriage and fining men who seriously injured their wives.
18. Monks and Nuns
A. Hildegard was a women who believed to see visions, and because of this she was sent in a convent at an early age. She got an education and the and at the age of 24 decided to become a nun.
B. In 1147 Hildegard founded a new convent, near Bingen. Hildegard gained a reputation of being a sage and a prophet. She advised popes, emperors, kings, and queens.
C. As the church grew more powerful though it began to put strict restrictions on the women.
19. Reform Movements
A. As the wealth of the Church came, power grew and discipline weakened. The clergy tended to be worldly, and many lived in luxury. Monks and nun ignored their vows.
B. In the early 900s Abbot Berno revived the Benedictine Rule. He also announced that he would not permit nobles to interfere in the running of monastery.
C. Also a different approach to reform was taken by friars, monks who traveled widely, preaching to the poor, especially in Europe�s growing towns.
20. Jews in Western Europe
A. Medieval Europe was home to numerous Jewish communities.
B. Jews flourished Spain, where Jewish culture flourished
C. The Church charged that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus, thus laying the foundations for anti- Semitism, or prejudice against Jews.
21. Economic Expansion and Change
A. The castle of Count William of Flanders was a bustling place. Hundreds of people lived and worked there.
B. As people sought to supply them, the castle became the center of a new town.
C. The appearance of new towns was a symbol of the economic rival that began in Europe.
22. An Agricultural Revolution
A. By 1000 the peasants adapted new farming technologies that made their fields more productive. This was the beginning of the rise of the economic recovery of Europe.
B. By about 800, peasants were using new iron plows that carved deep into the heavy soil o northern Europe. Also they used faster animals (horses) to plow which made it much faster.
C. Feudal lords who wanted to boost their incomes pushed peasants to clear forests, drain swamps, and reclaim wasteland of farming and grazing.
23. Trade Revives
A. As foreign invasions and feudal warfare declined, traders reappeared, criss- crossing Europe to meet the growing demand for goods.
B. Enterprising traders formed merchant companies that traveled in armed caravans for safety.
C. At first, traders and customers met at local trade fairs, these fairs took place near navigable rivers or where trade routes met.
24. A Commercial Revolution
A. As trade revived, money reappeared and the need for capital, or money for investment, spurred the growth of banking houses.
B. To meet the changes of the growing economy, Europeans started getting new business practices for example merchants started to join as partners.
C. These new ways of doing business were part of a commercial revolution that transformed the medieval economy.
25. Role of Guilds
A. Merchant guilds, or associations, dominated life in medieval towns.
B. To become a guild member meant many years of hard work as an apprentice, or trainee.
C. A woman often engaged in the same trade as her father of husband and might inherit his workshop if he died.
26. City Life
A. Medieval cities were a jumble of narrow streets lined with tall houses.
B. Even a rich town had no garbage collection of sewer system. Residents simply flung their wastes into the streets.
C. Towns remained filthy, smelly, noisy, and crowded.
27. Looking Ahead
A. By trade ideas as well as money came into circulation
B. In the economic revival of the High Middle Ages was bringing Europeans into contact with civilizations much more advance than their own.
C. From these lands came products, ideas, and technologies that would spark even greater transformation changes in Europe.
