Period 3: Europe in the Middle Ages

Question 1

When was the Middle Ages?

Answer 1

The Middle Ages is the period after the fall of Rome and before the Renaissance.

Question 2

What were characteristics of the Byzantine Empire?

Answer 2

• Greek language
• architecture had distinctive domes
• culture had more in common with Eastern cultures (such as Persia)
• Orthodox Christianity
• ruled by absolute authority
• used coined money

Question 3

Who was Justinian?

Answer 3

Justinian reigned from 527 to 565 and somewhat restored the former glory and unity of the Roman Empire in Constantinople, which flourished in trade and the arts. This was known as the Justinianic period. His reign expanded the empire but at the cost of destroying what remained of Roman infrastructure in Italy as well as exhausting the sources of his soldiers.

Question 4

What was the Justinianic period most remembered for?

Answer 4

1. The Justinianic Code (a codification of Roman law that kept ancient Roman legal principles alive)
2. The flourishing of the arts and sciences (construction of major buildings and churches such as the cathedral Hagia Sophia)
3. Justinian’s ambitious plan to reconquer the lost provinces of the western half of the Roman Empire (which was halted by the Ostrogoths in Italy

Question 5

How did the Roman Catholic emperors of the West differ compared to the Orthodox Byzantine emperors of the East?

Answer 5

• Roman Catholics regarded the Pope as the leader of the See of Rome
• Byzantine emperors nominated their own Patriarchs of the See of Constantinople
• Roman Catholic Christianity was very centralized with power stemming from Rome and services held in the Roman form
• Byzantine Orthodox Christianity was more localized with Russian churches conducting services in their own language

Question 6

Who converted the Slavic peoples of southeastern Europe and Russia to Christianity in the 9th century?

Answer 6

St. Cyril, an Orthodox Christian who used the Greek alphabet to create a Slavic alphabet known as the Cyrillic alphabet.

Question 7

Who was Vladimir?

Answer 7

Vladimir was a Russian prince from Kiev who abandoned the traditional pagan religion and converted to Christianity.

Question 8

Who were the Franks?

Answer 8

The Franks were a Germanic tribe that united under the leadership of King Clovis in the late fifth century. This empire helped the various peoples of western Europe solidify under a common culture, which made it easier for them to unify against Muslim invasions in the 7th century who took over parts of Spain and Italy.

Question 9

Who was King Clovis?

Answer 9

King Clovis united the Franks in the late fifth century. He converted to Christianity and established his capital in Paris. After he died, his empire was divided among his sons, after which it declined in influence.

Question 10

Who was Charles Martel?

Answer 10

Charles Martel led the revolt against the advancing Muslim armies and defeated them at the Battle of Tours in 732 in France.

Question 11

How was the Carolingian dynasty formed?

Answer 11

Charles Martel used his position as a political and military leader under the declining Frankish Merovingian dynasty to put his sons forth as successors, thus founding the Carolingian dynasty.

Question 12

Who was Charles Martel’s son?

Answer 12

Pepin the Short, who ascended to the throne in 752. Charles Martel chose to have Pepin’s succession certified by the Pope.

Question 13

Who was Pepin the Short’s son?

Answer 13

Charles, who revitalized the concept of the empire in western Europe. He was crowned by the Pope in 800 and became known as Charlemagne. He built an empire that would come to be called the Holy Roman Empire upon the coronation of Otto the Great in 962.

Question 14

What were characteristics of Charlemagne’s empire (the Holy Roman Empire) when he ruled?

Answer 14

• focused on arts and education in monasteries
• Charlemagne was powerful but his rule was not absolute
• society structured around feudalism where local lords held power over the local territories
• Charlemagne did not levy taxes and thus failed to built a strong and united empire

Question 15

What happened after Charlemagne’s death?

Answer 15

After Charlemagne’s death, his son Louis became emperor. After Louis’s death, the empire was divided among Charlemagne’s three grandsons according to the Treaty of Verdun in 843.

Question 16

What were characteristics of the Vikings?

Answer 16

• attacked western Europe
• started using multi-oared boats to raid beyond their borders in 800
• bad reputation for raiding the Catholic monasteries but they held wealth and food so they were natural targets
• merchants and fisherman along with being raiders
• known as Normans in France
• converted to Christianity

Question 17

Who was the most famous Norman?

Answer 17

William, who conquered Anglo-Saxon England in 1066.

Question 18

What is feudalism?

Answer 18

Feudalism is the name of the European social, economic, and political system of the Middle Ages.
It had a strict hierarchy: king -> nobles -> vassals -> subordinate vassals -> peasants/serfs

Question 19

What were the estates granted to the vassals called?

Answer 19

Fiefs, which later became known as manors. The vassal and the peasants lived on the manor. The peasants worked the land on behalf of the lord, and in exchange the lord gave the peasants protection and a place to live. Many of the manors were self-sufficient.

Question 20

What was the three-field system?

Answer 20

The three-field system was an advance in the science of agriculture that helped the manors to succeed. It centered on the rotation of three fields: one for the fall harvest, one for the spring harvest, and one not-seeded fallow harvest which allowed the land to replenish its nutrients. Manors were able to accumulate food surpluses this way.

Question 21

What was the Great Clearing?

Answer 21

The Lords directed the “Great Clearing” which was the clearing of huge areas of forest for the creation of more farmland.

Question 22

What were characteristics of the feudal system?

Answer 22

• disputes between feudal lords had etiquette based on the code of chivalry (condemned betrayal and promoted mutual respect)
• male-dominated
• when a lord died his land and title passed down via primogeniture to his eldest son
• women could inherit a fief but could not rule it

Question 23

What were serfs like in the feudal system?

Answer 23

• peasants/serfs had few rights and became tied to their land (could not leave the manor w/out permission from lord)
• serfs became skilled in trades other than farming
• became skilled craftspeople, earned extra income, and chipped away at the social hierarchy of the manor system

Question 24

What happened when banking began in Europe?

Answer 24

• towns and cities started to gain momentum
• emergence of a middle class made up of urban craftsmen and merchants
• success of this middle class lured people into towns
• western Europe was re-engaging with the world by the 11th century

Question 25

What were the middle-class merchants known as?

Answer 25

Burghers, who became politically powerful as trade grew in importance.

Question 26

What was the Hanseatic League?

Answer 26

The Hanseatic League was an alliance that established in 1358 and controlled trade throughout much of northern Europe.

Question 27

What was architecture like during the Middle Ages?

Answer 27

• in the early Middle Ages churches were built in the bulky Romanesque style
• later architectural advancements led to what came to be called the Gothic style

Question 28

What were characteristics of Gothic cathedrals?

Answer 28

• designed to draw worshippers closer to God
• architects used flying buttresses which gave support for tall windows and vaulted ceilings
• cathedrals became more than a place of worship but also an art form and an arena for art
• the church sponsored artists to adorn the inside of cathedrals with painting and sculpture
• music such as Gregorian chants also became an essential part of ceremonies

Question 29

What did Pope Innocent III do?

Answer 29

Pope Innocent III issued strict decrees on church doctrine in the 13th century. Perceived heresies and Jews were persecuted and a fourth (ultimately unsuccessful) crusade was attempted. This crusade seemed motivated by greed, where the Crusaders conquered and sacked the already Christian Constantinople and declared a Latin Empire (which ended when the Byzantines overthrew the Latins in 1261).

Question 30

What did Pope Gregory IX do?

Answer 30

Pope Gregory IX set into motion the Inquisition, which was a formalized interrogation and persecution process of perceived heretics. The church at this time is sometimes referred to as the Universal Church or the Church Militant.

Question 31

Who was Thomas Aquinas?

Answer 31

Thomas Aquinas was a famous Christian theologian who made significant inroads in altering Christian thought in the 13th century. He wrote the Summa Theologica which outlined his view that faith and reason are not in conflict but that both are gifts from God and each can be used to enhance the other.

Question 32

What is interregnum?

Answer 32

Interregnum is a time between kings. Germany entered this period when the reigning family died out without a suitable successor to the emperorship.

Question 33

What was the Magna Carta?

Answer 33

Powerful English nobles rebelled and forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. This document reinstated the feudal rights of the nobles, but also extended the rule of law to other people in the country, namely the growing burgher class, laying foundation for the Parliament.

Question 34

How is the Parliament divided?

Answer 34

• the House of Lords (nobles and clergy) which presided over legal issues and advised the king
• the House of Commons (knights and wealthy burghers) which was concerned with issues of trade and taxation

Question 35

Who was Joan of Arc?

Answer 35

Joan of Arc claimed to have heard voices that told her to liberate France from the hands of the English, who had by the early 15th century claimed the entire French territory. She convinced French authorities and her army forced the British to retreat from Orleans. She was later captured by the French, tried by the English, and burned at the stake by the French.

Question 36

What was the Hundred Years’ War?

Answer 36

The Hundred Years’ War lasted from 1337 to 1453 between England and France, which eventually resulted in England’s withdrawal from France. After the Hundred Years’ War, royal power in France became more centralized under a series of monarchs known as Bourbons.

Question 37

Who was Queen Isabella?

Answer 37

Queen Isabella was the ruler of Castile (present-day central Spain) who united Spain. She married Ferdinand, heir to the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon, in 1496 which united most of Spain in a single monarchy. Isabella and Ferdinand enlisted the Catholic church as a strong ally.

Question 38

Why was power in the Spanish-speaking region of Europe divided?

Answer 38

1. Castile was one of 3 independent Spanish kingdoms so no single ruler controlled the region
2. The peasants were split along religious lines (Christian and Muslim) due to the lasting influences of the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages

Question 39

What was the Spanish Inquisition?

Answer 39

Non-Christians (predominantly Muslim and Jewish people) were forced to convert to Christianity or leave Spain. This was tragic for non-Christian Spaniards but helped Spain embark on an imperial quest that led to wealth and glory, resulting in the spread of the Spanish language, Spanish customs, and Christianity to much of the New World.

Question 40

Who were the Tatars?

Answer 40

The Tatars were a group of Mongols from the east. Russia succumbed to the Tatars in 1242 under Genghis Khan. The Tatars ruled a large chunk of Russia for two centuries, leading to a cultural rift that further split eastern and western Europe. By the 14th century the Mongol power started to decline and the Russian princes of Muscovy grew in power.

Question 41

What did Ivan III do?

Answer 41

Ivan III expanded Muscovy territory (the area surrounding Moscow) into much of modern-day Russia and declared himself czar by the late 1400s. Moscow was declared the Third Rome as the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church after the real Rome and Constantinople.

Question 42

What did Ivan the Terrible do?

Answer 42

Ivan the Terrible centralized power over the entire Russian sphere by the mid-1500s, ruling ruthlessly and using the secret police against his own nobles.