Medieval Europe This Year An Overview: Next Year An In-Depth Study

Let’s Give a Shout Out! I thought it only fair that I give a huge shout out to historyforkids.net. When we study Medieval Europe next year, we have a wide variety of resources. For this medieval overview, I got the material from historyforkids.net. Not trying to take any credit here, I’m just trying to keep it real!

The Early Middle Ages By the year 550, the Roman Empire had collapsed, leaving only small bits and pieces of its culture throughout Europe, such as the many roads they had built. 550 is an important year because we consider to be the beginning of the Middle Ages. It lasted through the end of the 1400’s. The “Early Middle Age” began in 550 and ended in the year 100.

Early Middle Ages Government Instead of ruling large areas, the people of the Early Middle Ages had a more local form of government. They had many kings for many lands instead of one emperor. The Catholic Church influenced how people behaved, and so did the peoples’ own customs.

Early Middle Ages Conflicts It was also a time of many leaders attempting to create their own empires, most of which fell, partially due to family conflicts and partially as a result of the invasions of the ninth and tenth centuries. These invasions hit Europe from every direction. Three groups – The Vikings – The Muslims – The Magyars Explored and caused quite a lot of havoc and destruction while doing so. It took Europe time to start trading, learning, and building again after these invasions.

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages were from 1000 to Life was picking up pace and improving during the High Middle Ages, in part because the climate of Europe got a little warmer. Areas that could not be farmed in the Early Middle Ages were suddenly new places to grow food and raise animals, and with more farming came more food. This meant that people were healthier than before, and they could store any extra supplies they had for later seasons.

High Middle Ages Cities The population grew during this time period and new cities were built and small towns expanded to become cities. The cities gave people a place to live where they would be protected.

High Middle Ages Life Was Good! The High Middle Ages might have been the best time period of medieval history. Education was thriving, people were making advances in technology, and despite the ups and downs of royals taking the throne and making decisions (good or bad), things were certainly moving forward.

High Middle Ages Terms Terms from the High Middle Ages – Feudalism Feudalism was a system of governing people based on loyalty. This loyalty went upward, almost like a pyramid. The lower classes were loyal to the noble classes, the noble classes to the king, and the king was loyal to the teachings of Christianity. – Knighthood Warriors for the king Code of Chivalry –a code of conduct for knighthood – Manorialism The Lord of the Manor ruled The serfs worked the land for the lord

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages saw everything grind to a long halt. The people of this period faced, including famine, plague, and wars over who should truly rule countries Despite the challenges the people of the Late Middle Ages faced, the end result was a movement toward new thinking and the beginning of a period known as the Renaissance-the turning point of European history.

Late Middle Ages Life Was Tough! Many people died or moved to already crowded towns because of a great famine from 1315 to Houses were built upward rather than outward, and streets were the sizes of alleys. The lack of sanitation practices of the time made conditions particularly bad-in other words, keeping things clean was a very hard thing to do. People dumped garbage and waste into the streets-the same narrow streets that were used to walk on throughout the city.

Late Middle Ages The Black Death From , what was known as The Black Death moved quickly across Europe, entering through port cities on the coasts and moving inland. Fleas, which carried the illness, leapt on rats, which in turn carried these fleas around on mainland Europe from ships entering ports. People who were already living in poor conditions easily caught the illness and an enormous percentage of Europe’s population died as a result. Medicine at the time had no real cures for the plague, and those who caught it often transferred it to other members of the household. It was a sad and devastating loss, and it took a very long time for Europe to become a thriving, healthy culture again

Late Middle Ages There Were Some Good Things Happened! However, from tragedy came many good things. People realized that there was much learning to be done, many improvements in thought and medicine to be made, and once the plague had ended and Europe began to rebuild itself. Language changed, even in places of learning. Middle English was spoken and used in writing, and literature became available to more and more people with the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the early 1400s. Banking and commerce developed, and trade began again, this time on a larger scale.

Late Middle Ages More Good Things! Art shifted to a new style, showing human life as it really was and producing some of the greatest artists of Early Renaissance Europe. Patrons, supporters of the arts, began to pay for works to be created, exploration was on the rise, and a return to Greek and Roman schools of thought emerged in the beginning of the Renaissance, signaling the end of the Middle Ages.

So In JH… We will have an in-depth study of Medieval Europe, but since this is the last slide of the PowerPoint, considered yourself medievally previewed! Is that a word? Shhhhhhhh it is now!