Medieval Europe Study Guide

Question 1

When did the Western Roman Empire collapse?

Answer 1

476 AD

Question 2

What did Europe look like after the fall of Rome?

Answer 2

Germanic leaders seized power and a lot of the region was divided into small kingdoms that were constantly at war

Question 3

What were the effects of the collapse of the empire? What was lost?

Answer 3

The trade started to decline and formal laws became rare

Question 4

Who filled the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Empire?

Answer 4

The Catholic Church

Question 5

What did the Catholic church provide people in this chaotic time?

Answer 5

The church provided stability

Question 6

The church provided what to people? (forgiveness of sin)

Answer 6

Salvation

Question 7

What could the Church do to people they were unhappy with?

Answer 7

They could excommunicate them from the church

Question 8

How do the answers to questions 6 and 7, show the power of the church?

Answer 8

It represents how much influence the church had over everyone

Question 9

This person is known as Charles the Great and was King of the Franks.

Answer 9

Charlamagne

Question 10

What is Charlemagnes legacy across Europe?

Answer 10

Charlamagne is known for uniting most of the Germanic kingdoms together

Question 11

A system of rule where people trade their work and obedience for protection

Answer 11

feudalism

Question 12

Why did Feudalism start in Western Europe?

Answer 12

Kings couldn’t manage and defend all of the kingdoms on their own so they would sell a piece of land to lords who would manage that land for them

Question 13

Explain the Feudal hierarchy and the relationships? (what was exchanged at each level?)

Answer 13

Kings hire nobles to manage the land and the noble hires knights to protect the land and serfs to work on the land

Question 14

Who really held the most power in Feudal Europe?

Answer 14

The nobles

Question 15

What was the expectation of vassals to their lord?

Answer 15

To pay taxes and protect the lords

Question 16

What group was the biggest?

Answer 16

Serfs and Peasants

Question 17

Why were serfs powerless in this society?

Answer 17

They had no skills or education to help them earn money

Question 18

What was the code of conduct a knight was supposed to follow?

Answer 18

Knights are to be brave and courteous and never shrink from a challenge

Question 19

What was the sign that knights used to represent their families called?

Answer 19

A coat of arms

Question 20

What were the 3 stages of becoming a knight?

Answer 20

First a page, then a squire, and finally a knight

Question 21

What was the manor system in feudalism?

Answer 21

An estate on a land owned by a noble/lord and run by a serf

Question 22

The manor system was called self-sufficient, why?

Answer 22

The peasants produced everything they needed on their own by growing it

Question 23

Why was a castle important in the feudal system? What was the most important role it served?

Answer 23

The castle was a way to defend nobles and their family from attackers. The most important role was that it was a centre for important conversations about local government and laws

Question 24

Christianity

Answer 24

the most dominant religion in Europe

Question 25

A tithe (10% of your income)

Answer 25

What people were expected to give to the Church

Question 26

A series of religious wars made by the Europeans

Answer 26

the Crusades

Question 27

Who was fighting in the Crusades?

Answer 27

Christians and the Mulsims

Question 28

Jerusalem

Answer 28

city being fought over the most because it was considered the holy city of every religion

Question 29

How was the Church able to convince people to join the Crusades?

Answer 29

By promising immediate forgiveness of sins if you die in battle

Question 30

What was the Black Plague? (What are some other names for it?)

Answer 30

A fatal disease that spread across Asia and Europe and is also known as the bubonic plague and the Black Death

Question 31

China

Answer 31

Where the Plague began

Question 32

Fleas on Rats

Answer 32

Main carriers of the Plague

Question 33

about 25 million people in just 5 yrs

Answer 33

amount of people that ended up dying because of the Plague in Europe

Question 34

What direction did it spread and why?

Answer 34

It started south and spread north because it was carried by rat-infected sailorships

Question 35

An exchanged estate of land

Answer 35

Fief

Question 36

Vassal

Answer 36

A lesser nobleman who received land from a noble in return for military service

Question 37

A person who lived and worked on a nobles private land

Answer 37

Serf

Question 38

The basic unit on a land owned by a lord

Answer 38

Manor System

Question 39

Self-Sufficient

Answer 39

Being independent and not needing any help

Question 40

A period in European History from 500 to 145

Answer 40

Middle Ages

Question 41

Leader of the Roman Catholic church

Answer 41

Pope

Question 42

A system of rule where people trade their work for protection

Answer 42

Feudalism

Question 43

Crusades

Answer 43

A series of religious wars made by the europeans

Question 44

Forgiveness of sin so people can go to heaven

Answer 44

salvation

Question 45

excommunication

Answer 45

Removing someone’s membership to a church

Question 46

A large church building

Answer 46

Cathedral

Question 47

Lowest rank at the church

Answer 47

Monk/Nun