Final Flashcards
When was the Reign of Charlemagne?
768-814
Time period for European feudalism
Between 500 and 1000 CE?
When was the Reign of Clovis?
approximately 481-511
Augustine
(Roman Catholic Church) one of the great fathers of the early Christian church
Carolingians
Better government role; had counts in each county that reported back to the emperor; supported academics; Frankish kingdom
Charlemagne
Crowned by the Pope as the head of the Holy Roman Empire, which extended from northern Spain to western Germany and northern Italy. Divided the empire into counties headed by a count who reported directly to him. Began using the birth of Christ as a calendar reference.
Charles Martel
Helped the Merovingians defeat the Muslims at the Battle of Tours
Clovis
Most powerful king of the Franks; converted to Catholicism because he thought the Catholic god was helping him on the battlefield; saw himself as a liberator for Europe, freeing a Roman-Catholic population from their Arian overlords; became the first unifying force in Europe since the downfall of Rome.
Cult of the saints
This describes a particular popular personal devotion or abandonment to a particular diety or dieties again side stepping the clergy. Occurs both in the new world and in Europe
Feudalism
A medieval European political system that defines the military obligations and relations between a lord and his vassals and involves the granting of fiefs.
Five Characteristics of Feudalism
- Public authority was divided
- A lack of private property
- A dependent peasantry (controlled labor)
- A system of vassalage, centered on the fief
- Justice was decentralized
Fief
A portion of land, the use of which was given by a lord to a vassal in exchange for the latter’s oath of loyalty.
Magyars
Eastern Europe Raiders
Franks
A Germanic people who settled in the Roman empire; They were barbarians;
Mass
Most common catholic ceremony; performed by priests during which the physical elements of bread and wine were literally transformed into the body and blood of Christ;
Merovingians
Clovis and his successors, who were generally weak Frankish rulers who left the job of governing to palace officials. The best skill of these people was warfare, not administration. They defeated the Muslims under the leadership of Charles Martel
Monasticism
A way of life in which men and women withdraw from the rest of the world in order to devote themselves to their faith; where monasteries got their name.
Sacraments
Certain rituals of the church believed to act as a conduit of God’s grace, such as the Eucharist, penance, and baptism.
Serf
A peasant who lost his or her freedom and became permanently bound to the landed estate of a lord.
Vassal
a knight who has sworn loyalty to a particular lord
Vikings
Scandinavian Raiders
What were the characteristics of the Merovingian period? How did the Merovingian period compare to the Carolingian period?
Merovingian Period:
- A warring people, terrible at administration
- Unsophisticated law code
- no central authority
- Based on might rather than right
- known as one of the darkest times in Europe
Carolingian Period:
- Was more church based rule
- Not a lot of road building, centralization of the military
- Had a focus on education
What are the doctrines of medieval Christianity?
- Sacraments
- Cult of the Saints
- Monasticism
- Missionary work
What roles did the Catholic Church play in medieval European society?
Provided a sense of unity; it was the most powerful force in the region; Catholicism beat out Arianism.
Dates for the Crusades
1095-1270
Dates for the Reconquista
722-1492
Albigensian Crusade
The Pope and the King of France teamed up to eradicate a heresy of a bunch of people that called themselves the “pure ones”. These people lived an ascetic life and believed that God wouldn’t take something spiritual and make it material.
First Crusade
The Pope called all Christians to fight to retake the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks. They succeeded.
Second Crusade
Reinforcements for the first crusade to retain the holy land from the Muslims and take additional land if possible. It accomplished nothing.
Third Crusade
Also called the Kings’ Crusade because it was led by the Holy Roman Emperor, the king of France, and Richard the Lionheart, king of England. Called in response to the Muslims taking back the Holy Land. Were only able to capture enough territory to allow pilgrims access to Jerusalem. Roman emperor died en route to the Holy Land.
Fourth Crusade
Began with the sacking of Constantinople; Knights set up their own kingdom within Byzantine territory that lasted for half a century; showed the weakness of the Byzantine Empire, and meant the end of any possibility of a unified Christianity.
Reconquista
A fourteenth-century term used to describe the long Christian crusade to wrest Spain back from the Muslims; clerics believed it was a sacred and patriotic mission.
Saladin
Turkish leader of the Muslim forces that retook Jerusalem from the Christians.
Seljuk Turks
Pastoralist people who raided and traded with the Abbasid Empire; many converted to Islam; eventually overtook the Abbasid Empire.
Urban II
Pope who called for the first Crusade at the Council of Clermont
What were the causes of the Crusades?
Muslims controlled the Holy Land; The Byzantine emperor feared Muslim Turks would destroy Constantinople; Byzantine leaders began asking Western European rulers for help; the pope offered remissions of sins for those who fought in the crusades.
What were the results of the Crusades?
- Increased trade for western Europe
- End of Islamic political control of Spain
- Decline of the Byzantine Empire
- Failure to retain the Holy Land
- Creation of a European identity
- Greater conformity to Christian doctrine and practice
- Made religious unity worse among Christians
How are the Crusades, the Reconquista, and the repression of Christian heresies related?
The Crusades were the end of Muslim dominance. They were all meant to unite all faiths, but even though Christians were willing to convert to Muslim, the Muslims weren’t willing to convert to Christianity.
Date of Mongol conquest of Song China
1276
Date of when Temujin proclaimed Chinggis Khan
1206
Chinggis Khan/Temujin
Sometimes spelled Ghengis, this is a title given to the Mongol ruler starting with Temujin, it means Great Ruler. Goal was to create a Mongol identity that was not dependent on clan ties or family ties.
Empire of the Great Khan
Khanate/Empire led by Kublai Khan known for its unification of China and for encouraging trade; located in China
Golden Horde
Mongol rule in Russia and Eastern Europe. Russians called the Mongols “Tartars”
Hülegü
Grandson of Chinggis Khan and ruled the mongols as they expanded into Muslim territory; was sent to overthrow the Abbasids in Persia; Conquered Baghdad; ruled the Il-Khan Empire
Il-Khan Empire
Created after the fall of the Abbasids; ruled by Hülegü
Karakorum
Capital of the Mongol Empire, but it wasn’t really spectacular
Khanate of Central Asia
A place where the Mongols were able to maintain their nomadic way of life.
Khubilai Khan
Grandson of Chinggis; under his rule they completed their conquest of China
Pax Mongolica
The “Mongolian Peace” that helped unite warring tribes and increase trade
Tamerlane
Mongol ruler who was born a Muslim and spoke Turkish; saw himself as the next Chinggis Khan; wanted to reunite the empire, but died before he got the chance.
Turks
Turkic speakers from Central Asia, originally nomads, who spread westward into the Near East and into India; had a more lasting impact on world history when they became dominant in the Islamic heartland and founded a series of states and empires there.
Yuan Dynasty
Chinese dynasty ruled by the Mongols after capturing all of Song China; best known ruler was Khubilai Khan
Why were the Mongols able to create such a huge empire?
They had superior tactics, weapons, organization, horseman, archers, and weren’t afraid to use new military technologies. They were very mobile, so they were hard to defeat. They established a system of tribute, which allowed them to just live on their own land if they paid tribute.
What successor states emerged after the death of Chinggis Khan?
- The Khanate of Central Asia
- The Il-khan Empire of Persia
- The Khanate of the Golden Horde
- The Empire of the Great Khan
What were the effects of the Mongol conquests?
- A psychological legacy of horrors
- The transfer of power in the Middle East from Arabs to Turks
- The spread of Islam throughout the steppe lands
- Increase of trade and travel throughout the Eurasian world
Date of the European Commercial Revolution
1050-1350
Date of the first world system economy
1250-1350
Cathedral Crusade
The period when Bishop’s authority strengthened and they returned to urban power
Commercial Revolution
A dramatic change in the economy of Europe at the end of the Middle Ages. It is characterized by an increase in towns and trade, the use of banks and credit, and the establishment of guilds to regulate quality and price.
Gothic
The term for the architectural and artistic style that prevailed in Europe from the mid-twelfth to the sixteenth century. Built to let in as much light as possible; known for stain glass windows.
Romanesque
The best example of the Romanesque style is the abbey church of Vézelay in Burgundy; the walls were often covered in artwork
Scholasticism
A method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities
Causes of the European Commercial Revolution
(FInAPT)
- End of the Foreign invasions
- Agricultural Expansion
- Population Growth
- Increase in Towns
What did European social structure look like in the Middle Ages? How was that social structure changing?
It was based on feudalism; eventually the structure began to disappear because of developments in technology which caused new social units to occur.
How are cathedrals a symbol of urban cultural and revival? Who built the cathedrals?
It showed their devotion to God; Bishops and town magistrates were a major force behind cathedral building
What is the first world system economy, and how did Europe participate in it?
Integration of several trading zones all over the continent, including even the very edges, Western Europe and China.
What were the effects of the first world system economy?
Caused tensions between temporal and spiritual powers; spread disease more rapidly
When did the Black Death arrive in Europe
1347
Black Death
The plague that first struck Europe in 1347, killing perhaps one-third of the population.
Boccaccio
A famous medieval author who wrote a book containing one hundred stories called The Decameron. Each of the ten characters told one story a day, for ten days, to their companions as a way to pass the time.
Bubonic plague
In this type of plague, the bacteria move into the lymph nodes in the armpits, neck, or groin, which causes them to swell, resulting in the classic sign of the plague, the bubo. Buboes are accompanied by a high fever, delirium, and bleeding under the skin, resulting in dark splotches. These splotches may be the origin of the term “Black Death.” For between 30 and 70 percent of those who catch the plague, death follows between two and four days later.
Flagellants
Wandering bands of men who traveled from town to town putting on plays that represented the sins they had committed, like perjury, usury, adultery, and murder. Then they stripped to the waist and whipped themselves with knotted cords. They did this both as penance for their own sins and to warn others to repent as well. They claimed to be on a divinely appointed mission, spreading repentance from town to town until the plague disappeared.
Saint Roch
A plague saint. He was a new saint who had died of the plague while tending other plague victims. He’s always portrayed pointing to the bubo on his thigh and with a dog because, according to legend, a dog brought him bread to keep him alive.
What is the plague, and what causes it? What were the major plague outbreaks in history?
It is caused by a bacteria known as Yersinia pestis. It is a disease of small rodents, and can infect almost anything. Once its host dies, it searches for another victim.
The plague of Justinian (from 542-543), the Black Death (began in 1331), and the 1860’s epidemic that went from China to San Francisco.
What was the cause of the Black Death? How did people react to it?
Infected Rats with fleas in China caused an outbreak in Hebei province wiping out 90% of the population. It then traveled along with the Mongols until it reached the Black Sea in 1346. There, rats that had the disease got on ships and spread to most parts of Europe.
- Differing attitudes towards churches during the plague.
- They would shun their neighbors because they thought the plague was spread by contact, or by air, so they would wear bird masks and such.
What were the results of the Black Death?
Resulted in a major demographic collapse all across Eurasia. Trade collapsed as well. Farmers gained more land and helped create a more diverse economy. Serfdom was extinguished. Recovery from the plague.
Dates for the Voyages of da Gama, Diaz, and Zheng He
da Gama: 1497-1499
Diaz: 1488
Zheng He: 1405-1433
Bartholomew Diaz
Portuguese explorer. In 1488, he sailed around the Cape of Good Hope.
Caravel
A small, maneuverable, three-mast sailing ship developed by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century that gave the Portuguese a distinct advantage in exploration and trade.
Christopher Columbus
Italian navigator who discovered the New World in the service of Spain while looking for a route to China (1451-1506)
Ferdinand Magellan
Portuguese explorer who found a sea route to the Spice Island by sailing around the American continent. His crew was the first to circumnavigate the world.
Ming dynasty
Succeeded the Yuan Dynasty
Prince Henry of Portugal
Said to have started the school of Navigators, but in reality he just supported navigators and sailors who were trying to acquire Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa.
Treasure ships
The ships of Zheng He. They were the biggest and best ships in the world.
Vasco da Gama
Portuguese explorer. In 1497-1499, he sailed from Portugal to India and back. The first explorer to sail around Africa and reach India
Yongle
Chinese Ming emperor who sent out a large fleet of ships to invite the foreign states to establish a tribute-trade relationship with him and the Chinese Empire.
Zheng He
A Chinese Muslim of Turkish ancestry. Commander of the Treasure Ships.
Why did Europe become interested in exploration at the end of the medieval period?
pg 461-62. Political competition and warfare led to economic competition and the race to see who could capture more of the existing trade routes, or even find new ones.
How did the trade and exploration attempts made by the Europeans and the Chinese differ? How were they similar?
Europeans sought to explore due to internal competition and demand. The Chinese only wanted to show people their dominance and wanted tribute-trade alliances. They were similar in that they discovered new ways to build ships…
Why did Chinese maritime activity decline in late fifteenth century?
They were expensive and required a lot of men. At this time the Jurchens were invading China and causing problems so China had to put more of their resources into building the wall instead of ships.
