Chapter 9: The High Middle Ages

• Starting 1050, Europe experienced growth and prosperity
• 90% of Europe’s population was made up of peasants
  • Serfs weren’t slaves
  • Lords offered protection and justice to the serfs in exchange for services
• Village farms were owned by a lord who lived in a manor house
  • Manors had serfs who were under a lord’s authority
• Marriage was seen as a type of alliance between two noble families
  • Seal alliances
  • Transfer property
  • Have children
• Ideals of being a knight consisted of a lifestyle that was made up of fighting, being loyal, being brave, having manners, and such by the end of the 12th century
• The Crusades were religious wars of conflict against Europe’s non-Christian neighbors
  • Expensive failures
  • Worsened relationships between Christians and Muslims
  • Encouraged growth of towns and trade
• Medieval feudalism was practiced in places such as France, England, Spain, parts of Germany, etc.
• Serfs and and poor freemen weren’t included in feudal arrangements
• Guilds first appeared in European cities
  • Apprentices learned crafts and trading from their masters
  • Apprentices were able to become masters once they were able to make a masterpiece
• Masterpieces were products that proved them worthy enough to be masters
• The German Empire, which was called the Holy Roman Empire in 1254, wasn’t unified
  • German princes, dukes, or bishops were practically independent rulers
• The Holy Roman Emperor gained power under the Hapsburg dynasty
• Holy Roman Empire was abolished under Napoleon in 1806
• The role of the aristocracy changed due to the growth of royal power
• Magna Carta
  • Document that demanded that the king respect the rights and privileges of England’s nobility
  • Acknowledged that the king wasn’t above the law
  • Addressed concerns of the higher classes, not the lower classes

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