History Y8 Sem 2

Medieval world



What were some key developments in the Medieval World?



The Fall of the Western Roman Empire = 476



The expansion of Islam and the creation of an Islamic Empire = mid 600s-1200+



The rule of Charlemagne = 742-814 (became King in 764)



The start of Viking raids = 793-c.1000



The Crusades = 1095-1291



The Black Death = 1346-1352



The Ottoman capture of Constantinople = May 29, 1453



The development of the Renaissance = 15th + 16th centuries 



Whole Medieval period = 476-late 1400s



The relationship between Europe and other societies in the Medieval period:



Silk roads connected Asia and Europe and were important for trading.



The crusades led to a period of violence but also created connections between people from different places. Christendom and the Islamic Empire led to the spread of ideas between societies.



As seen through the Black Death, trade routes connected societies across Asia, Europe and Africa.



Battles and wars



Viking raids



Charlemagne invited scholars from England and Ireland to his empire to improve education






1066 and why it was so important:



  • King Edward the Confessor died

  • 4 claims to the throne

    • Edgar Atheling - closest living relative, 14 years old

    • Harald Hardrada - King of the Vikings, has to invade England

    • Harold Godwinson - Most powerful noble at the time

    • William of Normandy - Duke of France, has to invade England

  • Harold Godwinson became the King with the support of the English nobility

  • Viking King Harald Hardrada sailed to England with 300 ships to defeat Godwinson

  • Godwinson and loads of troops marched up to North England, covering nearly 300km in 4 days to fight Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford, September 25

  • Harald Hardrada was killed and Harold Godwinson remained King of England

  • 3 days later William, Duke of Normandy landed south of England to take the English throne

  • Godwinson and his exhausted troops marched south once again

  • Battle of Hastings occurred on October 1066

  • William wins and becomes the new King of England

  • Crowned King on Christmas Day 1066

  • Sources: Bayeux Tapestry, William of Poitiers (writer) (both Norman)



Feudalism:

What is feudalism?

A new way for people to be protected and provided for.



King - gives plots of land called manors to the lords/nobles.

Nobles - gives the king soldiers and horses for warfare. And gives the knights some land known as fiefs.

Knights - fight for their country in battles

Peasants - farm for their lords and knights and get protection



The significance of the Church in Medieval society:



  • Church provided stability and education for a lot of people

  • Held important ceremonies - marriages, baptisms

  • Influence every aspect of a person’s daily life

  • Everyone followed the Church’s rules (don’t eat meat on fridays) 

  • Bishops could be the King’s advisors

  • Local churches provide a nice place for people to meet and socialise

  • People went on pilgrimages

  • Holyday’s were days that meant people didn’t have to work

  • Ran schools and hospitals 

  • Very wealthy → owned a lot of land → received tithes from people → King’s gave land to the church in return for their prayer



Daily life:



Nobles:

  • Lived in a castle or manor

  • More fancy clothes

  • Towards the top of the feudal system

  • Living space in castle

  • Wealthy and powerful

  • Many were able to receive an education

  • Lots of food



Knights:

  • Above peasants in the feudal system

  • Protected country

  • Promised oath of fealty (loyalty to lords)

  • Jousting competitions

  • Vassals to the lords

  • Had to serve in the lords army when required

  • Often wore metal armour



Peasants:

  • Poorest group in society + at the bottom of the feudal system 

  • Divided into 2 groups - serfs (poorer/majority), freeman

  • Farmers

  • Over 90% of the population



Castles:



  • Home of lord + fortification defense

  • Symbol of power + authority + nobility



Motte and Bailey:

  • 11th and 12th century

  • Wooden or stone keep

  • Enclosed courtyard

  • Palisade is a ditch and wall of wooden stakes

  • Vulnerable to fire



Stone keep

  • Larger

  • More fire resistant

  • Top of hills or next to water

  • Surrounded by thick wall



Concentric 

  • End of 12th century

  • Extra curtain walls

  • Inner walls higher than outer



The Black Death:



  • 1246-1352

  • Deadly pandemic

  • Spread across trade routes

  • Asia, Europe, Middle East, North Africa

  • Spread through bites from fleas and rats and coughing and sneezing from infected people

  • 3 main forms

    • Bubonic

    • Pneumonic - lungs

    • Septisemic - blood

  • 30-50% of Europe’s population died during this period

  • Contributed to the end of the Medieval period and the beginning of the Renaissance



Magna Carta:



  • Foundation for democracy

  • Put limits on how you could tax people

  • Inspired

    • US declaration of Independence Constitution

    • UN declaration of human rights

  • Originally to protect the rights of aristocracy (nobles)

  • Signed by King John → youngest son of many children → signed Magna Carta on June 15th 1215 at Runnymede but soon broke promises and led to a civil war

  • 63 clauses

  • Not everyone in England benefited from it, it only applied to freeman



Era of Colonisation



Key features of the voyages of exploration:



  • Early 1400’s-1600’s

  • England, Spain, Portugal, France

  • Supported by rulers who gave ships and supplies

  • Claim new land

  • Wanted new trade routes to Asia for silk + spice

  • Wanted new foods

  • God, gold, glory

  • Famous explorers include

    • Christopher Columbus

    • Francais Drake

    • Amerigo Vespucci

    • John Cabot



Why did this occur?



  • Developments in science and technology

    • The mariner’s astrolabe (helps with navigation)

    • The dry mariner’s compass (helps better with navigation)

    • Ship building

      • Carracks = bigger, carry’s more, better for longer voyages

      • Caravels = smaller, sailed with wind

  • Trade: Spices and slaves

    • Nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper are valuable spices from Asia

    • They got enslaved people from Africa to work as domestic servants or farmers



The Doctrine of Discovery:



A proclamation issued by Pope Alexander VI in 1493CE after Christopher Columbus’s voyages. It stated that Spain had the right to claim and colonise non-Christian regions it ‘discovered’  if they then converted people living in these territories to Christian. Over the next year, agreements were made that extended this view to include Portugal. 

Impacts include:

  • It provided a religious justification for colonisation

  • It took away First Nations religions, cultures, beliefs and land

  • Influences culture of places European’s colonised



Impact:



Whilst Europeans may believe that this was a time of success and that spreading their religion and beliefs and interacting with different First Nations groups was a good thing, this was also a time when countries were invaded, people were enslaved and cultures and religions were lost or forgotten because of the arrival of new people. Ultimately, the era of colonisation was a significant period of time that has globalised our world and whether it was a good or bad period of time depends on your perspective and background.