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Q: What are the "Three Orders" in medieval European society?
A: The clergy, the nobility, and the peasantry.
Q: What was the main source of power and wealth in early feudal society?
A: Land ownership.
Q: Who introduced the concept of the "Three Orders"?
A: French priests described society as divided into those who pray, those who fight, and those who work.
Q: What major religion influenced the socio-political structure of medieval Europe?
A: Christianity.
Q: What term is used to describe the social, economic, and political relationships of medieval Europe?
A: Feudalism.
Q: What was the primary role of the clergy in medieval society?
A: To pray and provide spiritual guidance.
Q: Who was the head of the western Church during medieval times?
Pope
Q: What tax was the Church entitled to from peasants?
A: The tithe (one-tenth of their produce).
Q: What were monasteries, and who lived in them?
A: Religious communities where monks or nuns lived lives of prayer, study, and manual labour.
Q: What vows did monks take in Benedictine monasteries?
A: Poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Q: What type of architecture characterised medieval cathedrals?
A: Gothic, featuring stained-glass windows and tall spires.
Q: What was the role of the Knights in feudal society?
A: To fight and protect the land.
Q: What was the term for the land granted to knights in exchange for military service?
Fief
Q: What were feudal levies?
A: Troops raised by the lord for military purposes.
Q: What was a "manor"?
A: A self-sufficient estate controlled by a lord.
Q: What did the ceremony of vassalage involve?
A: The vassal pledging loyalty to the lord in exchange for protection and land.
Q: How were knights trained?
A: They practised daily with weapons and tactics and participated in tournaments.
Q: What role did minstrels play in medieval manors?
A: They sang songs about the deeds of knights and kings to entertain nobles.
Q: What were the two types of peasants in medieval Europe?
A: Free peasants and serfs.
Q: How did free peasants differ from serfs?
A: Free peasants owned their land but owed services, while serfs were tied to the land and had limited rights.
Q: What was "labour-rent"?
A: The unpaid work peasants owed to their lords.
Q: What restrictions were placed on serfs by their lords?
A: They needed the lord's permission to marry or leave the estate.
Q: What was the taille?
A: A direct tax imposed on peasants.
Q: What technological innovation improved ploughing in the eleventh century?
A: The heavy iron-tipped plough with mould-boards.
Q: What system replaced the two-field crop rotation system?
A: The three-field system.
Q: How did the three-field system improve agricultural productivity?
A: It allowed two-thirds of the land to be cultivated each year, increasing crop yields.
Q: What type of energy began to be used in agriculture in medieval Europe?
A: Wind and water energy.
Q: How did the money economy affect feudalism?
A: It weakened feudal bonds as lords began demanding rent in cash rather than services.
Q: What was a guild, and what was its function in towns?
A: An association of craftsmen or merchants that controlled trade, quality, and prices.
Q: What saying reflected the freedom towns offered to peasants?
A: "Town air makes free."
Q: Why did many serfs flee to towns?
A: To escape the control of lords and gain freedom.
Q: How did cathedrals contribute to the growth of towns?
A: They attracted pilgrims and created centres of commerce and population.
Q: What were periodic fairs?
A: Gatherings where peasants and merchants traded goods, leading to the growth of towns.
Q: What event between 1347 and 1350 devastated Europe's population?
A: The Black Death (bubonic plague).
Q: What were the effects of the Black Death on the economy?
A: Labour shortages, higher wages, and reduced agricultural prices.
Q: What caused famines in the early fourteenth century?
A: Severe winters, poor harvests, and soil exhaustion.
Q: How did peasants respond to attempts by lords to reimpose labour services?
A: They revolted, as seen in the Peasants' Revolts of 1358 (France) and 1381 (England).
Q: What was the role of the "new monarchs" in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries?
A: They centralised power, built standing armies, and imposed national taxation.
Q: How did the Hundred Years' War (1338–1461) impact Europe?
A: It led to political instability and the decline of feudalism.
Q: What were the Estates-General in France?
A: A consultative assembly representing the three orders of society.
