Kevin Young

Mr. Haskell

World History E-core p.5

October 12, 2004

 

Chapter 8-9 Study Guide

 

 

*Peasant – Most peasants on a manor were serfs, they were bound to that land. The peasants worked several days of the week and fixed or fences, roads and bridges they also paid the lord when they married.

 

 

*Usury – they are the profits made by the merchants and bankers or from lending money at interest. The clergy felt that this was immoral.

 

*Capital- this is the need of money for investment. Merchants needed money to buy goods, they borrowed from moneylenders and in time their need for capital spurred the growth of banking houses.

 

*Tithe – This was a tax equal to one tenth of a citizen’s income. The church required this tithe and used the money to help the poor; this tax existed in ancient religions before Christianity. 

 

*Fief – This was a large estate that a lord granted a vassal. The lord gave the vassal a fief that ranged from a few acres to hundreds of square miles the lord also provides protection.

 

*Chivalry – This is a code of conduct that required knights to be brave true and loyal to their word. This only applied to nobles not commoners, and stated that a knight wouldn’t attack another knight unless the other knight had his armor on.

 

*Charter – This was a written document that stated the rights and privileges of the new town. This request was usually from the merchants that set up the new town, they would ask the king for this and usually pay a large sum of money or a yearly fee.

 

*Troubador – they were wandering poets that adopted the view of chivalry calling for women to be protected and cherished. There love songs often praised the perfection and beauty of women.

 

*Manor economy – The manor was the lord’s estate and was the heart of the economy. Peasants worked on the manors and made up the majority of the society.

 

*How monks and nuns lived – monks and nuns provided services like tending the sick, helping the poor, and setting up schools for children. They believed in the Benedict Rule their chief duties were prayer and worshiping god, the rule also had them do manual labor like working in fields.

 

*Why was church reform desired? - The wealth of the medieval church caused problems with morality, and discipline.  Monks and nuns ignored their vows and the clergy was living in luxury.

 

*New agricultural technologies – Some agricultural technologies were the release of plows made of steel these were able to loosen soil more effectively. Another advancement was the development of the three field system, which split land into three parts only growing on two and leaving the third alone, this kept the nutrients in the soil.

 

*Defense of castles (moats, etc) – New developments in castles were moats which surrounded the castle wall this had water in it and kept enemy’s from getting too close to the walls. Another advancement was the storing of more food and water so the castle could withstand a long siege. They also began to widen the castle walls, which made the castle stronger.

 

*Battle of Tours – This was a battle that was fought between the Christians and the Muslims in the year 732.The Christians saw the victory as a sign that god was on their side.

 

*Vassals – They were lesser lords that pledged loyalty and service to the greater lord in return for a piece of land. Powerful lords often split their land up and gave pieces to lesser lords. (Vassals)

 

*Peasants - Peasants are the least powerful class, they work the lords manor for slave wages.  They live in small towns and own little, their life is hard and dedicated to serving the masters manor and they only get breaks on holidays.

 

*Knights – This was the occupation of many nobles and they began training at the age of seven. They learned to fight ride and take proper care of their weapons, at the age of 21 they became a knight.

 

*Lords – They were the men that ruled the land by using the labor of peasants. The peasants paid the lord in order to borrow needs for life.

 

*Why did the church have great power over the people? – The church had power over the people since you had to go to church to be part of society. Peasants and nobles alike were required to give ten percent of their income to the church.

 

*Cluniac reforms – they revived the Benedictine Rule, it didn’t allow interference from nobles when running monasteries, and filled the monastery with men fully devoted to serving the church. In 1073 Gregory VII extended the Cluniac reforms throughout the entire church.

 

*Three field system – This system of agriculture increased food production since only a third of the land wasn’t being used. This system had grain planted in one field; legumes planted in another an example being beans or peas and the third empty with the fallow. This system kept the nutrients in the land making it reusable.

 

*Merchant guilds – They were associations that dominated life in medieval towns. These guilds passed laws, decided on what to spend funds on like streets, walls or a town hall.

 

*Clergy - The clergy was the church hierarchy the hierarchy consisted of the pope, bishops, and archbishops.  They were responsible for ruling the churches the secular power and collecting taxes.

 

*Nobles - Nobles were the people allowed to become knights. Dukes, Counts, and Vassals or someone with land was a noble. 

 

*Charlemagne – He conquered much of what today is Germany. Charlemagne’s empire soon crumbled after his death in 814. He revived learning, which included the study of geometry, astronomy, music, grammar and more.

 

*Leif Erikson – He is responsible for setting up a short lived Viking colony in North America around the year 1000. Vikings also set up trade routes linking to Northern Europe to the Mediterranean lands.

 

*Serf – They were peasants that were bound to the lord’s manor. They were not slaves but they weren’t free, they were not allowed to leave the manor without permission of the lord and were included with the land if a new lord acquired the land.

 

*Excommunication – This is the freeing of subjects from their allegiance to the emperor. This happened to Henry in 1076 when pope Gregory excommunicated him.

 

*Steel plow – These were a large improvement over the old ones usually made of wood, which often did a poor job of loosening soil. Steel plows allowed people to loosen the harder areas of soil quicker and more effectively, which maximized the use of land.

 

*Feudal system – this was a system in which nobles controlled villages and people and the nobles were controlled by kings.  Nobles fought for control of the lands and the people below the nobles worked the lands

 

*Black Death- which regions most devastated?% population died? result? -The Black Death was carried on rats and devastated Cairo one of the world’s largest cities killing 7,000 people a day the plague was at its peak. The plague also killed about 35 million people in china in the early 1300s. As a result the economy plunged the death rate increased and survivors demanded higher wages, prices on goods raised as well. 

 

*Magna Carta – This was a document that limited the power and authority that king John had. In the year 1215 rebellious barons cornered John forcing him to sign the document.

 

*Concordat of Worms – In 1122 there was an agreement with the church and the emperor, which was known as the Concordat of Worms. The church had the power to elect and invest bishops with spiritual authority; the emperor had the right to invest them with fiefs.

 

*Chief goal of/ and result of the Crusades – The chief goal was the conquest of the holy land and they failed. The positive effect of the crusade was the help of quickening the pace of change already underway in Europe.

 

*Reconquista – This was the result of Ferdinand and Isabella getting married this caused the two kingdoms to come together. This happened many years after the defeat of the Christians at Acre

 

*Early jury system – This jury system was developed by Henry II in England. Officials collected men that were sworn that they would tell the truth

 

*Conflict between emperors and popes – New laws that pope Gregory passed angered Henry IV. A war broke out between the men and lead to the excommunication of Henry IV.

 

Short Answer

 

A. 5 reasons late Middle Ages was a time of decline. – The Middle Ages was a time of decline for a few reasons. The first is that there was the black plague also known as the bubonic plague. The second is that there was a lapse in learning almost as if people forgot what was already accomplished. The third is that there was fighting over the power that the church had. The hundred years war which lasted from 1337 to 1453 which England and France Fought in which was bloody. The final reason is that anyone that opposed the church would have been burned at the stake for treason or another charge.

 

B. 3 long term effects of the crusades – The crusaded increased trade throughout the world but mainly along the Middle East. The crusades also brought the Papal state to its greatest heights, and lastly it brought about the start of future wars.