The Middle Ages

Unit Review Sheet

Facts and Definitions

Lesson 1: Introduction to Medieval Europe

• The term "Middle Ages" refers to the period in Europe between the fall of Rome and the beginning of the Renaissance, from around 350-1450 AD. The term "medieval" originates from the Latin words for "middle" and "age."
• Feudalism was a prevalent economic and social system in the Middle Ages in which kings granted land to nobles in exchange for loyalty and military service. Nobles had authority over vassals who worked the land and could be expected to provide military service in exchange for protection. The relationships of obligation that feudalism created functioned to maintain order in medieval society.

Lesson 2: Monarchs

• A monarchy is a form of government in which the country is ruled by a king or queen who has inherited power.
• Common law requires that accused persons be tried by jury.
• The Magna Carta or Great Charter of 1215 outlined the rights and liberties of English subjects and described the limits on the powers of the king.

Lesson 3: Knights and Warfare in the Middle Ages

• Originally, knights were not all nobles, but by the later Middle Ages, they were members of the upper class. Around this time, knights began to follow a code of behavior known as chivalry — they were to be brave, loyal, and honest in all of their actions.
• Young boys who were to become knights would serve as pages and later, squires to learn what they would need to know as adults.
• Since castles were so sturdily built and heavily fortified, attacking armies used many different weapons when laying siege to a castle.

Lesson 4: Castles and Feasts

• Castles were often built on hills and were usually surrounded by fields where cattle could graze and food crops could grow.
• The keep was the main living area of the castle. It typically included a great hall, a kitchen, and bedchambers.
• Tapestries were works of art that helped keep interior spaces warm.
• Medieval manners were quite different from the mealtime etiquette you may use today!

Lesson 5: Village and City Life

• People living in villages in the medieval countryside had to work very hard to survive. Many people lived in wattle and daub houses with thatched roofs.
• Sumptuary laws regulated how people could dress — different types of clothing were allowed for people in different social classes.
• Rural areas were divided into parishes, each with their own church. Villagers supported the church with a tithe payment.
• Medieval towns and cities offered many services, and members of various guilds set up shops where they would make things or provide services to nobles and other people within the town. To set up a shop, one had to be a master craftsman after having been a journeyman and, before that, an apprentice.
• The bubonic plague killed about half of the people in Europe between 1347 and 1351.

Lesson 6: Religion in Medieval Life

• The Catholic Church was extremely powerful in the Middle Ages, often exerting great influence over monarchs.
• Pilgrims traveled great distances to see sacred relics and to experience the miraculous powers that the relics were thought to possess.
• The Crusades were a series of wars launched by the Pope in order to seize control of the city of Jerusalem from Muslims.

Lesson 7: Monasteries

• Monasteries were the homes of monks, members of religious orders who passed their days in work and worship.
• Monks lived very simple lives and followed strict rules about leaving the monastery and speaking.
• Monasteries were important to medieval intellectual life because monks spent a great deal of time copying texts. Since the printing press was not invented until 1450, copying a book by hand was the only way to create multiple copies of the same work. Without the monks' work, the literature of the Middle Ages might have been lost forever!
• Many medieval cathedrals were built in the Gothic style. Notre Dame is an example of a Gothic cathedral.

Lesson 8: The End of the Medieval Era

• The period that came after the Middle Ages is called the Renaissance.
• Scholars often give names to certain historical time periods like the Middle Ages as a way to summarize and better understand the time period. Often, time periods are given these names much later when historians can have the benefit of hindsight, allowing them to see what turned out to be really important or influential later on.
• Parts of medieval culture have endured to the present day and modern people are still quite interested in medieval life, as evidenced by the movies, books, games, etc. that feature medieval themes.

Final Project: A Medieval Fair or Map

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