Middle Ages Notes

Why are the early Middle Ages sometimes called the Dark Ages?

• Because of that time frames lack of Scientific and Cultural Advancement.

What is the difference between a merchant guild and a craft guild?

• A Merchant Guild is a more wealthy and almost like a master while a Craft guild were more like services for certain crafts

For what reasons did the towns grow so rapidly?

• Whenever charters begin granted by kings and noblemen as a way for them to raise money, Towns were built on trade routes which made them more popular, and is serfs could remain free in a town they would be able to stay free.

What did the church have so much power over kings and nobles?

• The church had its own lands and powers while being unable to be taxed, The church also had the ability to excommunicate and interdict countries.

How were the jewish people treated in Medieval Europe?

• In medieval Europe, Jewish people were often discriminated against, faced persecution, and were subjected to violence due to religious and cultural differences.

In what ways did the the lives of the nobles and peasants differ?

• Nobles were rich and land owners where as a peasant usually worked on a manor or doing physical labor.

What are the 3 field systems of farming?

• The 3 field System was a system of 3 fields, where 2 fields are being used to grow certain crops while the other field is used for cattle or other animals. This system to so that all the nutrients in the soil is not stripped from years of continuous farming. Every year these field will rotate to keep the fields arable.

What are the reasons for Feudalism?

• Feudalism in the Middle Ages was primarily due to the need for protection and security in a decentralized society after the fall of the Roman Empire, leading to the rise of a system based on land ownership, loyalty, and military service.

What was the purpose for a castle?

• During the Middle Ages, castles served as fortresses to provide protection for nobility, housing for the lord and his family, and a center for administration and defense.

Where was William the conqueror from? what year did he come to the throne?

• William is from Normandy and came to the throne in 1066

What was the Domesday Book?

• A comprehensive record of the extent, value, ownership, and liabilities of land in England, made in 1086 by order of William I.

What was the common law established by English king Henry II?

• He established common law as law that was common to the whole kingdom. Men would be judged by a jury of their peers.

Who was Thomas Beckett? What happened to him and why?

• Thomas Beckett was an Archbishop of Canterbury and the highest ranking cleric, Beckett felt as if clergy members should only be tried in the Roman Catholic Church courts while Henry II , His Friend, Felt they should be tried like anyone else. Henry had been complaining about Beckett when a group of 3 knights decided to kill Beckett in honor of Henry.

Who were King johns 3 major enemies?

• King Phillip the II of France, Pope innocent III, and His own nobles

What was the Magna Carta? when was it signed? Who was the king when it was signed? What rights did it guarantee?

• The Magna Carta gave written recognition that strengthen the idea that monarchs powers are limited not absolute, It was signed in 1215, The king at the time was King John, and it guaranteed the rights of due process of law, freedom from arbitrary imprisonment, trial by a jury of peers, and other fundamental rights

What is parliament? List the 2 Houses of Parliament?

• Parliament is a set of legislature made up of 2 houses, House of Lords and House of Commons

What family came to the throne of France in 987? how did they increase royal Power?

• The capetians came to the throne and increased royal power by Making the throne hereditary, They added to their lands by playing nobles against each other, Gained support of the church, and built an effective bureaucracy.

Why did Philip IV of France and pope Boniface clash?

• Philip IV tried to collect taxes from the French clergy which had never been done before

What 3 groups were represented in the estates General?

• Th first estate which was the clergy, The second Estate which was the nobles, the third estate which was everyone else

Why was the Estates general formed?

• To gain the support of the French people during Philip IV struggle with the pope

How did the holy roman empire get that name?

• Because its rulers believed themselves to be the successors of the Ancient Roman Empire, The holy part comes from the fact that they were christian and how Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo III

How did pope Innocent III feel about the papacy in regards to kings?

• ???

What caused the crusades? what year did they begin?

• The crusades began in 1095 whenever Seljuk turks invaded & overran most of the byzantine empire. Pope urban II at council of Clermont called for a crusade.

Who was Saladin?

• Saladin was the Muslims leader during the 3rd crusades.

Explain 5 Reasons for the crusades?

• Increased trade, Brought papal power to its height, increased power of feudal monarchs, Increased money economy and undermined serfdom, Brought Western Europe into a wider world.

Who won the crusades?

• The muslims did end up winning

Who was Thomas Aquinas?

• Wrote Summa theologica which stated faith and reason exist in harmony, He also brought christian faith and greek philosophy together.

Why did education decline during the Middle Ages?

• Because of all the chaos and inability to learn in a stable environment

What types of education did women receive during the Middle Ages?

• Education for women then was very rare and she would be considered an oddity.

Why did the universities begin to emerge during the late Middle Ages?

• The universities were growing to provide educated men for the clergy and government.

Define Vernacular

• A native or everyday language

What was the purpose of gothic style cathedrals?

• People wanted more light in the cathedrals.

What 2 new trades came out of the building of new cathedrals?

• Elaborate stone carving and stained glass window making.

What was the bubonic plague? Where did the outbreak begin? What caused the plague?

• Th bubonic plague was a rare but serious bacterial infection that's transmitted by fleas. The outbreak began Marmots which was a rodent from Central Asia. The plague was caused by the transfer of fleas throughout trading routes.

What types of things did people do when the plague broke out?

• They would apply the back or rear of plucked chicken two the swollen nodes, Took pieces of dead snakes and rubbed them on the woolen buboes, Emeralds were crushed into food and water and the other options was arsenic or mercury being put into food or water, Fumed homes with incense to get rid of the bad air, Sweating out the diesel by a fire, Bloodletting, Pastes from roots, herbs, flowers or by waste or drinking urine, Religious cures of flagellation, Or effective of quarantine and social distancing

What were 2 economic results of the plague?

• High labor costs led to landowners looking for more efficient ways to use land such as increasing livestock and payments of rent in coin instead of labor, High labor cost caused governments to impose price controls on wages but these efforts often led to rebellions

Who were Jan has and John Wycliffe?

• Both were reformers who challenged the power of the church by saying it was corrupt. They were end up persecuted but their ideas led to the reformation.

Who fought in the hundred years’ war?

• England and france

Who was Joan of arc and what did she do?

• Joan of arc claimed to hear the voice of God telling her to lead an army in the hundred years war. She rallied the French troops and the French king and church used her to help their cause. She got so popular though that she got captured and no one did anything to help her. She was accused of witchcraft and they burned her at the stake. She was seen as martyr by the French people.

Who won the hundred years war?

• The French Won

What were three changes that happened in the 1400s?

• ???

Why were the sacremnts so important to people in the Middle Ages?