1. World History: Renaissance and Reformation Unit
Lights, packets, notes!
World History: Renaissance and Reformation Unit

2. The Renaissance came after the Middle Ages.
So let’s start there.

3. On The Middle Ages…

4. I. The Middle Ages: Intro
A. Where? Europe
B. When? 400s CE – 1350 CE
Note: BC = BCE & AD = CE
C. aka “The Dark Ages”

5. B. Rigid Social Structure: Feudalism 1. King 2. Lords 3. Vassals
II. Medieval Culture
A. Chaotic: Under the threat of various invaders, a military elite formed
B. Rigid Social Structure: Feudalism
1. King
2. Lords
3. Vassals
4. Knights
5. Peasants

6. C. Patriarchal Family
1. Women were subordinate to men – father, husband, oldest son.
2. Most marriages were arranged

7. D. Christian Religion
1. Catholic Church was dominant – ALL Christians were Catholic.
2. Life was hard and many turned to the Church for comfort in their daily lives and the hope of eternal life.

8. III. Key Happenings: The Crusades
A. Holy Wars waged by Europeans/ expeditions to deliver the Holy Land from Muslim control. (Example: Jerusalem)
B. Occurred from
C. Contact greatly improved life for Europeans but also had a disastrous effect: in 1348, ships brought back the Bubonic Plague

11. IV. The Bubonic Plague A. aka the Black Death
B. Carried by flea infested rats*** see notes!!!!!
C. Over one-third of the population or 25 million people died from it!!!!!!
D. Europe did not recover from the effects of the plague for over 100 years.
E. Has been said that the disease’s most terrible toll was on the human spirit.

12. 1. The Italian writer, Agnioli di Tura, reported: “I buried with my own hands five of my children in a single grave. No bells. No tears. This is the end of the world.”
2. And yet the human spirit is strong… is resilient; a rebirth would occur (it Italy) and that rebirth is known as the Renaissance!