Middle Ages Flashcards
When was the Middle Ages?
1100 - 1400 BCE
What is a motte?
It is a defensive mound of earth
What is the safest part of a motte & Bailey castle?
Keep
What was the name of the wooden fence around the motte & Bailey castle?
Palisade
What did a bridge do?
It connected the motte to the Bailey
What made it harder to reach the castle walls?
Moat
What is the Bailey?
It is the walled area ( by the palisade) where soldiers and animals lived
What was the name of the system society worked/ lived by in the Middle Ages?
The Feudal System
What was the Feudal System based on?
It was based on the allocation of land in return for services to the king
What was the name of the land that the king gave grants of?
Fief (a fief of land)
When barons & bishops got fiefs of land, what did the king get back in return?
He got a promise to supply him with soldiers in time of war.
What did a new noble pledge himself to be to the king?
His servant, his vassal.
What were the words of the oath a new noble pledged himself to the king?
“ Sire I have become your man”
How did the nobles get vassals?
The nobles gave the knights land, and in return they became the nobles vassal
Did feudalism stretch from the very bottom to the top of society?
Yes
Who were at the lowest part of the feudal system?
Peasants, they had few rights, little property and no vassals
What is a standing army?
A standing army is an army that is always ready to fight.
How many kings had enough funds to keep a standing army?
Few
Who depends on barons to provide knights and soldiers?
The King
In what countries did barons grow very powerful?
France and Germany
In France and German what did the barons do that was unheard of at that time ?
They governed their fiefs as independent states
Who were the most powerful and wealthy noblemen?
The Barons
When did William of Normandy conquer England?
1066
How many barons did William of Normandy have?
120
How many soldiers did the barons each provide the king?
5,000
Lords rented out most of their land to who?
The peasants, who worked for them
Who were the warriors of medieval society?
The Lords/ Knights
Who could be called to war at any time by the great nobles that granted them their fiefs
The Lords/ Knights
Who were expecting the world to end by the year 1000
Christians
What does papacy mean?
The popes
Serfs and children could not leave the manor without what?
The lords permission
What did the lord run that could levy fines?
He ran a manorial court
The lord charged his serfs to use his what?
His mill and his wine press
Men had to work how many days( per week) on the lords land?
3 days and on certain times of the year
How did peasants pay rent?
Money and goods
Peasants have to give mandatory what at the holidays?
They had to give mandatory gifts
If a man Chose to marry off his daughter, who did he pay?
He paid the lord
A surf paid a yearly fine if he did what?
He paid a yearly fine if he moved from the manor
What is manorialism?
A system of economic, social, and political organization based on the medieval manor
What is feudalism?
Feudalism describes the relationship between a lord and his vassals and the society itself
In the Middle Ages, what is the percentage of people that are serfs and who are lords?
10% lords & 90% peasants
Did medieval Europe have a mix of agricultural methods?
Yes
Where did most of the grain come from?
Most of the grain came from large manors with serfs who were unfree peasants who farmed the lands
What was a unit of economics, judicial and social organisation
The manor
What was a characteristic of southeast England, northern France, western Germany
A unit of economic, judicial and social organisations were common around these areas
Where did peasants live?
They lived in villages surrounded by fields
What type of houses did surfs live in?
They lived in stone houses with their extended family.
When stone was scarce what type of houses did they build?
They built A- frame houses with woven branches and clay ( wattle and daub )
What type of beds did they sleep on?
They slept on straw pallets
What was usually displayed in their rooms?
A crucifix
What did the surfs usually eat?
They usually ate grain with the addition of eggs, cheese,beans, oats, peas and a bit of meat ( mutton )
What did surfs drink?
They drank either beer, wine or cider depending on where they lived.
What does feudalism describe?
It describes the personal bonds among the elite society
What does feudalism refer to
It refers to a patron/client relationship between 2 freeman
What is a vassal?
A man who put himself under the protection of a lord in exchange for military aid
Lord and vassal came from what type of society?
They came from upper-class society
The vassal came to the aid of the the lord, what did the lord do for the vassal?
The lord came to the aid of the vassal
Could a vassal revive fiefs from other lords?
Yes
How many lieges/bosses did a vassal have?
He only has 1
What did being boiled alive mean?
It means being put in a pot of boiling water, alive and being boiled to death.
What is a brank?
A brank is a large iron framework placed on the head, forming a type of cage, there was a metal strip on the front that fit into the mouth, which was covered in spikes
What is a ducking stool?
A ducking school is a stool that was placed over a body of water, if you floated you were guilty and burned at the stake. If they sank they were innocent but died anyway, by drowning.
What does it mean to become whipped?
If you were whipped, you would be chained to a post, stripped to the waist and whipped
What is the pillory?
The person being punished would have to stand in the device in the middle of the market to be ridiculed by passer-by’s
What is beheading?
It is when your head is chopped up by an axe.
What does it mean to be burnt at the stake?
Being attached to a pole and had a fire set underneath you.
What does it mean to be hung?
To have a rope wrapped around your neck and your you only died when you stopped breathing
What was a drunkards cloak?
The drunk was forced to don a barrel and wander throughout the street while the villagers jeered at him
When was the famine of the 1300?
1315-1317
By when were Europeans farming all the land that they could cultivate?
1300s
Because the Europeans were farming a the land they could get their hands on what crisis occurred?
A population crisis occurred
What change produced crop failure for 3 years?
Climate change, excessive rain
What percentage of peasants died due to the crop failure?
15%
What was a consequence of starvation and poverty?
Susceptibility to disease
What were the symptoms of the plague?
First you feel a little poorly and then you really smell and then you start to spit some blood and you get bulbous bubble all around you, then you die.
List the first 3 steps of the disease cycle.
- Flea drinks the rats blood that carries the bacteria.
- Bacteria multiply in the fleas blood.
- Fleas gut gets clogged with bacteria.
List steps 4&5 of the disease cycle.
- Flea bites human and regurgitates blood into human wound.
- Human is infected.
What was a famous saying during the plague?
The victim ate lunch with their friends and ate dinner with their ancestors
What does the “ danse macabre “ mean?
The dance with death
What were the attempts to stop the plague.
They include: doctors robes, leeching, flagellanti ( self harmers), they blamed the Jews, golden circle obligatory badge, Jew hat.
What percentage of Europeans died during the plague?
35-75%
Why did the baron have to ask the king for permission to build a castle?
He did this to prevent the nobles from gaining too much control/ power/influence.
When did King Stephan rule?
1135-1154ce
Why did the barons in 1135-1154 become so powerful?
They became so powerful because they didn’t have to ask for permission to build a castle
When did Henry 2nd become king?
1154
What king forced barons back into line?
Henry 2nd
How many illegal castles were pulled down in 1154?
Over 300
A castle was an obvious symbol of what?
It was an obvious symbol of the power and wealth and importance of the baron
What, other than the barons house, was the castle?
It was strong protection for them, and the local people, in times of trouble.
What are 3 adjectives used to describe the inside of castles?
Cold,dark and droughty
What were the barons private quarters called ?
They were called solars
What were solars ( private quarters ) like?
They were rich, lavish and colourful with tapestries on the walls
What thickness and height were the walls?
They were 5-6 m thick and 12-13m high.
What were the thin, narrow windows of a castle called?
Arrow slits
What were the rooms like? Why?
They were dark, from the lack of windows & smokey from the fires and torches used to light the place( which wasn’t very effective)
What were used to cover the arrow slits to prevent a drought
Tapestries
What supply did castles have in case of being attacked.
Water
What was a castles first line of defence
A moat, usually dry, sometimes filled with water
What was the main part of a castle and a manor?
The great hall
What type of table were meals served on?
Trestle tables.
What were the floors covered in?
Rushes
What did they do with the food they didn’t eat?
They threw the food on the floor for the dogs to eat
How long would food stay on the floor?
A few weeks, they would rot and mould before they were changed
What were the 8 defences that the defenders had?
- Moats
- Stored food and water
- Stone walls
- Machiolations
- Arrow slits
- Rocks , Fire and boiling water
- Catwalks for soldiers
- Keeps
What were the 8 attacks the attackers had.
- Battering rams
- Ladders
- Trebuchet
- Stone throwers
- Belfries ( moveable towers)
- Mining
- Catapult/Ballistae
- Siege
Who was the most important member of the feudal army
The knight was
What was a knights main occupation?
His main occupation was fighting
Who did a knight serve?
He served his master
Who did a knight defend?
He defended Christianity
What was the name of the set of rules sworn to all nights.
The Code of Chivalry
What had emphasis on in the code of chivalry?
Courage, loyalty and dedication to duty
Who did knights have to have courtesy and defend?
Women
Who did knights protect?
They protected the poor, the weak and the needy.
Where did the the Normans build the first castle?
England
Who were the Normans biggest enemies?
The Saxons
Which castles had to be built in a hurry?
Motte and Bailey castles
What are the 5 strengths of a motte and bailey castle?
- Quick to build
- Ressources easily available
- Provided living quarters for people & animals
- Easily ( kind of ) defended
- Portable- flatpack castles
List 3 weaknesses of a motte and bailey castle
- Wooden, easily burnt down, will rot.
- Labor intensive
- Bailey difficult to defend
What does a fore-building do?
It protected the entrance to the keep
What is a dormitory?
It is a place for women and children to sleep.
What was stored in cellars?
Food, arms, ammunition and prisoners were stored in the cellars
I what was the kitchen used for?
It was used for very basic cooking
What was the Great Hall used for?
It was used for eating and meetings
What was a square keeps strengths? (4)
- Impressive
- It’s a safe base to rule from
- Special features. Eg. Arrow slits
- Difficult to attack- thick walls, moats & drawbridge
What were the square keeps weaknesses?
- Expensive to make
- Time consuming to build
- Immovable
- Not impregnable ( could be broken into)
