6th Grade UBD - Unit 9- Medieval Society and Politics

 How did power and social class impact life in Medieval Europe?

 Feudalism and Manorialism- During the Middle Ages in Europe, the military and political system of feudalism and the economic system of manorialism developed.  Forming Stronger Kingdoms- The monarchs of England, France, Spain, and Russia form strong kingdoms.  The Crusades and the Hundred Years’ War- The Crusades and the Hundred Years’ War had a strong cultural and political impact on Europe.

 In today’s Europe, castles can be seen rising above the landscape of many towns. Why do you think people built castles during the Middle Ages? What do you think the land around castles was used for? Why do you think people stopped building castles? (5 minutes)

 Feudalism was based on a system of a lord granting land to a vassal in return for services.  Feudalism produced a social system divided into four classes: kings, nobles and church officials, knights, and peasants.  Knights followed a code of behavior called chivalry.  Peasants worked the land for their lord and had few rights.

Video- Welcome to Medieval Europe

Key Term Middle Ages- A period in Europe between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance. During this time, Europe was divided into small kingdoms.

 The Middle Ages in Europe lasted from about year 400 to  This period can be divided into three sections: the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, and the Late Middle Ages.

 During the Middle Ages, Europe was divided into small kingdoms.

 The fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE had a great impact on Europe.  The Roman Empire had provided unity throughout Europe as well as protection against outside forces. Without the empire, stability was lost.

 Many of the advances in technology and culture that occurred during the Roman Empire halted during the Middle Ages and Europe divided into numerous small kingdoms.

 During the 800s CE, the ruler Charlemagne managed to reunite many of these kingdoms into an empire.  However, after his death, the empire again fragmented into smaller kingdoms.

Key Term Charlemagne- One of Europe's most successful monarchs who managed to reunite much of Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. However, after his death, the empire again fragmented into smaller kingdoms.

 Each of these kingdoms was divided into smaller sections, called fiefs.  In the Early Middle Ages, most kings did not have much control over their kingdoms. Over time this changed.

Key Term Fief- Land granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and service.

 Soon after the death of Charlemagne a political and military system called feudalism developed.  Within this system, lords owned huge amounts of land. A lord could be any nobleman, member of a high-ranking class that owned a fief and allowed a person to use part of it.

 Vassals received a portion of the crops that these peasants produced.  Vassal promised to be loyal to and fight for his lord.  Because of this, vassals often kept an army composed of professional soldiers called knights.

 Individuals who agreed to use a portion of a lord’s land were known as vassals.  Ownership of the land remained with the lord, but he allowed the vassal to tax the peasants on the land and keep the proceeds.

 Feudalism gave rise to a hierarchical social system that consisted of four classes: kings, nobles and church officials, knights, and peasants.

Key Term Feudalism- A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land.

 Within Medieval Europe an economic system called manorialism developed.  In this system, the central focus of each fief was the lord’s castle or (manors.).

 The lands surrounding the castle were used for farm buildings, peasant houses, grain mills, orchards, and gardens.  The peasants did most of the work that was needed on the manor.  In return for their work, the lord provided protection for the peasants by maintaining an army.

Video- Feudalism: Life in a Castle

 Many peasants who worked on manors were serfs.  Serfs were not slaves, because they could not be bought or sold.  However, serfs did not have the freedom to leave the manor. So in this way, they were bound to their lord’s estate.

Key Term Manorialism- An economic system based on the manor and lands including a village and surrounding land which were administered by a lord.

Key Term Serf- A person who was allowed to have a house and a plot of land in return for paying rent to his or her lord.

 During the High Middle Ages, the economy of Europe began to get stronger.  Farms grew more crops, more people became prosperous, and the population grew significantly.  Soon a merchant class began to arise.

 Trade routes developed along rivers, and roads and towns sprang up along these routes.  These towns were also populated by peasants who, because of the improved economic conditions, were able to save money and leave their manors.

 The movement of peasants from manors to towns caused the system of manorialism to break apart, and feudalism to weaken.  The economic recovery also made kings wealthier. Kings hired powerful armies, gained control over their lords, and established control over large areas.

 During the Late Middle Ages, four powerful kingdoms developed into nation-states: England, France, Spain, and Russia.

Key Term Nation-State- A type of political organization in which a homogenous group of people have political sovereignty, or authority. A nation-state is an independent country that is made up of a single dominant nationality rather than many nationalities.

 During the High Middle Ages, many kings obtained more money, enabling them to form a strong army, gain more power over lords, and expand their kingdoms.  Kings gained power until nobles and church officials forced King John to sign the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta has become of model for people who want to establish a democratic government. Also, the strong kingdoms established by medieval monarchs developed into modern nations, such as Great Britain, France, Spain, and Russia.

 During the Early Middle Ages, two tribes dominated the kingdom of England—the Angles and the Saxons.  In 1066, William of Normandy and his forces defeated the Angles and Saxons at the Battle of Hastings.

 William became King of England.  As king he set up a strong central government and established an advisory council to assist him with governing.  Later, Henry II set up the English system of common law—laws that applied equally throughout England, including to the nobles.

 After the death of Henry II, Richard I, called Richard the Lion-Hearted, became King of England.  He proved to be an ineffective ruler spending most of his time away from England fighting in the Crusades.

 After Richard’s death, his brother John gained the throne.  King John angered the nobles with a series of laws and decrees that the nobles believed were unfair.  In 1215 CE John was forced to sign a document called the Magna Carta.

 The Magna Carta granted a list of rights to the nobles, thereby limiting royal power.  The common person, though, gained few rights from this document.  Even so, the Magna Carta later became a model for people who demanded democratic rights for all.

Key Term Magna Carta- A document that granted a list of rights to nobles and limited royal power. The common person, gained few rights from this document.

Video- The Magna Carta

 In the Early Middle Ages—specifically, the early 900s—French nobles chose Hugh Capet as their king.  This line of kings gradually expanded and strengthened the French kingdom.

 Large-scale warfare defined Europe in two major wars: the Crusades and the Hundred Years’ War.  The Crusades involved land in the Middle East. Both Christians and Muslims consider the land as a sacred place or Holy Land.

 The Crusades themselves were a series of military campaigns by Christian nations in Europe.  They were intended to stop the expansion of Islamic nations and reclaim Muslim-controlled lands that were considered holy by Christians in the Middle East.  Four major campaigns took place from 1095 to 1212 CE.

 The High Middle Ages saw the beginnings of the kingdom of Spain.  In 1469, Prince Ferdinand of Aragon and Princess Isabella of Castile married, thereby uniting the powerful kingdoms into one Spanish kingdom.

 Ferdinand and Isabella viewed Muslims and Jews as a threat to their crown and, as a result, welcomed the Inquisition in Spain.  The Inquisition, meant to stamp out non- Christian and nonorthodox practice and beliefs, was carried out across Europe.

 In the Spanish kingdom the Inquisition was the worst in Europe.  Muslims and Jews, as well as ordinary Spanish Christians, were accused, tried, tortured, banished, and killed.

Key Term The Inquisition- An attempt by the Catholic Church to fight heresy.

Key Term Heresy - The holding of beliefs that contradicted the teachings of the Church.

 During the 900s, Russia consisted of a group of principalities that were each independently ruled by a prince.

 Weakened by civil war, Russia fell to Mongol invaders led by Genghis Khan in the 1200s.  In the late 1400s, Ivan III drove the Mongols out of Russia, beginning the slow process of unifying the country.

Key Term Genghis Khan- Leader of the Mongol empire.

 Ivan IV, who became the first monarch to rule all of Russia.  This ruler came to be called the tsar.

 The Crusades—a series of military expeditions by European Christians to gain control of the Holy Land.  The Crusades failed to achieve their goal, but had a strong impact on the society of Europe and relations between Christians and Muslims.  The Hundred Years’ War—a series of conflicts between the English and French for control of France—raged on and off from 1337 to 1453.

Key Term The Crusades - A series of military campaigns by Christian nations in Europe over Muslim-controlled lands that were considered holy by Christians.

 During the First Crusade, the European armies conquered Jerusalem and other areas in the Holy Land, establishing four Christian states.

 In 1144, Seljuk Turks captured one of these states, and the Second Crusade was launched to recapture this state; it was unsuccessful, with European forces were defeated before they could even reach the Holy Land.

 The Third Crusade was launched in response to the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in  The Europeans won some victories but were outmaneuvered and they failed to recapture Jerusalem.

 Later the Forth Crusades would be launched and would fail to drive the Muslims from the Holy Land, and the enterprise was dropped once and for all in 1212 CE.

 Although the Crusaders succeeded in controlling part of the Holy Land for periods of time, they failed in their goal of permanently controlling the region.  Also, their efforts caused bitter feelings between Muslims and Christians for centuries.

Video- Legacy of the Crusades

 From 1337 to 1453 CE, the Hundred Years’ War raged between the French and English over control of France.  This conflict was not one long war, but rather a series of wars divided by various broken treaties.

 New weapons like the longbow and cannons helped England win the battles of Crecy and Agincourt during the Hundred Years’ War.

 Joan of Arc was a French peasant girl who believed she had religious visions.  These visions told her that God had chosen the French King, Charles VII, to defeat the English and drive them from France.

 Joan went to the king of France and eventually convinced him of the authenticity of these visions through her simplicity, passion, and courage.

 Joan soon gained command of the French army.  Inspired by Joan’s leadership, the French troops broke the English siege of Orleans, and the English fled.

 Joan was wounded and captured in a later battle, and later sold to the English, who convicted her of heresy and witchcraft and sentenced her to death.  She was burned at the stake in 1431.

 After Joan’s death, French troops employed the use of cannons to fight the longbows of the English and were able to drive them out of France by 1453, ending the Hundred Years’ War.

Key Term Joan of Arc- A French peasant girl who believed she had religious visions, during which she heard the voices of saints instructing her to defeat the English and drive them from France.

Reading Handout- Joan of Arc

 The Hundred Years’ War contributed to the decline of feudalism, as castles were no longer an effective defense against cannons.  The war strengthened the monarchs and central governments in both England and France.

Video- The Middle Ages

1. What were the Crusades? 2. How did the Hundred Years’ War end?

1. What were the Crusades?  The Crusades—a series of military expeditions by European Christians to gain control of the Holy Land. Although the Crusaders succeeded in controlling part of the Holy Land for periods of time, they failed in their goal of permanently controlling the region. Also, their efforts caused bitter feelings between Muslims and Christians for centuries. 2. How did the Hundred Years’ War end?  The Hundred Years’ War—a series of conflicts between the English and French for control of France—raged on and off from 1337 to Towards the end of the war French troops started to use cannons and longbows to fight the English and were able to drive them out of France by 1453, ending the Hundred Years’ War. The Hundred Years’ War contributed to the decline of feudalism, as castles were no longer an effective defense against cannons. The war strengthened the monarchs and central governments in both England and France.

 What has been the “muddiest” point so far in this lesson? That is, what topic remains the least clear to you? (4 minutes)

 Work with a neighbor and compare your muddiest point with theirs. Compare what things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)