The Renaissance - Middle Ages

Question 1

When did the Middle Ages begin and with what event?

Answer 1

The Middle Ages began on September 4, 476 AD.

It began with the Fall of Rome/the fall of the Roman Empire.

Question 2

Why did Europe become such a violent place during the Early Middle Ages?

Answer 2

Time of Barbarians rule - Barbarian tribes tried to gain power. The Roman Empire lost all technology, money, power, etc. Everyone was fighting to be in power since the Roman Empire was no longer.

Question 3

Who is thought to be a key figure in bringing stability to Europe? What event lead to the power of this figure and how did he bring stability?

Answer 3

William the Conqueror
He fought King Harold and defeated him in the battle of Hastings so he could take over England.
He created the Feudalism Hierarchy in order to bring stability.

Question 4

Feudalism involved obligations among various groups within the feudal hierarchy. Create a chart to show the rights and responsibilities of each group.

Answer 4

1. King
   The king was responsible for giving the lords the fiefdoms and peasants, in return for the lords to provide the king with loyalty and military aid.
2. Lords
   The lords provide the king with loyalty and military aid. They provide the knights with protection, food, and shelter (manor) in return for the knights to provide the lords with homage and military service.
3. Knights
   The knights provide the lords with military aid and homage. They provide the peasants with protection, shelter. and food. In return the peasants provide the knights with money by paying rent, and they farm the land.
4. Peasants
   The peasants pay the knights rent, and farm the land.

Question 5

Why is the feudalism hierarchy often drawn in a pyramid shape?

Answer 5

The levels of each get more and more populated and less wealthy/important as you go down. The lower you are, shows the lower rank, and the higher you are, shows the higher rank.
There is 1 king at the top (needs the least amount of space because there is only 1 and he is the wealthiest), then lords (many lords, but not too many), then knights under (many knights that protect the land and people), and then serfs (many many serfs, so they needed the biggest space, and the serfs were the least wealthy, so they were all the way at the bottom.)

Question 6

What did Feudalism provide?

Answer 6

Safety/protection - It was able to keep people safe from war and the knights were very helpful. Protection was valued greatly, so this system helped the people at the time very much.
Stability - It made the fighting of who’s going to be in power end, so life in England was much more stable and safe.

Question 7

What did a lord’s strength depend on?

Answer 7

How much land was granted - The more land they had the stronger they were and the more people they had.

Question 8

What two things did a lord needed to defend his property and people?

Answer 8

In order to protect their property they needed:
Knights - to fight to protect
King - the lord needed to keep allegiance with the king, in order to get his knights and be able to handle affairs.

Question 9

How could a regular serf escape from serfdom? Explain.

Answer 9

If they escape secretly into the town (urban area), and stay away from the serfdom (fiefdom - rural area) for 366 days (1 year and 1 day), they would be considered a free man.

Question 10

How was life as a merchant different than peasant or lord?

Answer 10

Merchants were also peasants but had more freedom.
- They got paid
- They could marry who they wished
- They didn’t have to live on a fiefdom/serfdom
- They lived in Urban town.
- They could open their own stores.
Peasants couldn’t have any freedom.
- They lived on a serfdom/fiefdom and couldn’t leave
- They worked all-day
- They got no pay
Lords
- They were granted land from the king
- They lived on a manor
- They controlled affairs on the manor
- They guaranteed protection for the king

Question 11

How did a guild control society?

Answer 11

• Controlled production of goods and trade in the towns.
• Controlled prices of goods and set standards of quality
• Children could be trained as an apprentice, and then after years, they would take a test to become a journeyman and be admitted to the guild. After years and becoming masters, they could open up their own shop.

Question 12

Why was religion so important to people living in the Middle Ages?

Answer 12

• It was a central part of people’s daily lives.
• They wanted a good afterlife
• Lived in fear of God, so they would care more about their religion in order to have a good afterlife. Since they had a bad life presently, they valued religion in order to have a good life in the future.

Question 13

Why do you think medieval people accepted without question what the church was telling them?

Answer 13

They wanted a good afterlife (Heaven). It was very important to them as their current lives were really bad and miserable, so they wanted to at least have a good afterlife. They didn’t want to go to Hell.

Question 14

Why do you think people would want to become a Monk or Nun?

Answer 14

People became Monks or Nuns in order to receive a proper education. They were the only ones that learnt how to read and literature, etc.

Question 15

Describe 3 ways in which the church was central to people’s lives?

Answer 15

It provided education
It provided laws for a better afterlife, which people valued greatly.
It guided people’s decisions religiously - made people do the right things and make the right decisions.

Question 16

The Church was the only organization at the time offering education. How did this role give the church power?

Answer 16

It made more people attend church, so it gave them more authority.
They could convince people of the right things.
Taught religion, so they could control/guide what the people did and their decisions.

Question 17

What were the Crusades? Who was involved? What were they fighting over? What was the main purpose of the Crusades?

Answer 17

• The Crusades were battles (about 8 main ones) that took place between 1096 to 1291.
• These battles involved three religious groups: Europeans living in western Europe, and the Muslim Turks. The Jews were also involved, as the Jews also thought of Jerusalem as their Holy Land.
  Crusades took place when the two parties (Muslims and Europeans) fought for the Holy Land - Jesus’ birthplace - Jerusalem.
• The main purpose of the crusades was to win control over the Holy Land - Jerusalem.

Question 18

What did Europeans bring back from war?

Answer 18

From war, Europeans brought back new ideas, knowledge, and experiences. They were exposed to new foods, cultures, clothes, weather, etc. In this case they had experienced many new things and saw the different lifestyles.

Question 19

What two things did the Crusades lead to? Explain them.

Answer 19

The Crusades led to the re-opening of the Silk Road. This allowed more trade to take place in Europe.
The re-opening of the Silk Road, however, spread the Bubonic Plague from Asia to Europe. This disease spread all throughout Europe and killed ⅓ of the population.
This disease, however, also led to the Peasant Revolt.

Question 20

What was the Bubonic Plague’s nickname?

Answer 20

The Bubonic Plague’s nickname was “Great Mortality” or “Big Death”. In the eighteenth century though, a new nickname was formed; “The Black Death.”

Question 21

One major cause of the plague was what and how did it spread?

Answer 21

One major cause of the plague was because of bacteria that was attacking Asia, then Europe. This bacteria is now known as Yersinia Pestis. This bacteria grew and grew due to the unsanitized and overpopulated streets in both Asia and Europe.
This bacteria spread by flies, that had once fed off of infected rats that carried this bacteria in heir bloodstream. When the fly would get infected and would bite a human, the human would be infected as well.
It also spread through the air. If you breathed the same air as an infected person, you would be infected very quickly as well.
Even the touching of clothes could transmit this disease.

Question 22

How did the plague reach Europe?

Answer 22

This plague reached Europe when 12 ships, full of sailors, arrived in Italy, from the Black Sea, after trade in Asia. There were infected rats aboard their ships, and many of the sailors had even been infected. This was the first occurrence of this plague in Europe.
The plague continued to travel through trade routes.

Question 23

Why were the peasants revolting and in what did it happen?

Answer 23

The peasants were revolting because of the way they had been treated; a tax was put on them, and their rent was raised in order to finance the Hundred Years War, the war that devastated the countryside. The Black Plague had also put ideas in their heads, ideas to revolt and fight against their treatment. It happened in/during the middle ages in the year 1381.

Question 24

What was the result of the peasants’ revolt?

Answer 24

The peasants were not successful in their revolt. They were sent back home and were told that if they tried to come near the king, or if they tried to hurt more people, they would be killed. The king promised many things but he turned on the peasants and beheaded their leader, so the peasants failed to stop the taxes, rent, etc.
Although they weren’t able to stop the taxes or reduce the rent, they were still able to reduce the taxes. This reduction was very small and didn’t change much though.

Question 25

How did the peasant revolt demonstrate a change in worldviews?

Answer 25

The peasants began to think for themselves. They didn’t rely on the nobles anymore. They disobeyed and left their lords on the Manor, and rebelled.
Although they were sent back, the Peasant Revolt made them start thinking for themselves, and made them see the world differently.

Question 26

In what way did trade affect the worldviews of Europe?

Answer 26

The trade affected the worldviews of Europe as, during trade, Europe was exposed to many new things; new cultures, new ideas, new inventions, new ways of life, etc. This affected their worldview greatly, as they were constantly changing their view based on what they had seen/been exposed to.

Question 27

What was exchanged along the Silk Road?

Answer 27

Many luxury goods were traded along the Silk Road, but it wasn’t only goods, it was also ideas/knowledge. These ideas included new cultures, religions, foods, languages, inventions/products, etc. Diseases like the Black Death were also exchanged from Asia and brought to Europe.

Question 28

Where was the silk road located?

Answer 28

It stretched from Asia, throughout Europe, and into a little bit of Africa/, it connected East Asia and Southeast Asia with South Asia, Persia, the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, and Southern Europe.

Question 29

Who was at the center of the silk road?

Answer 29

The Middle East was at the center of the Silk Road. They were like the “middlemen”. The Middle East would get goods from China and would be responsible for holding it for the Europeans. They would get goods from Europe and be responsible for holding it for China. These “middlemen” would also raise the prices at which the two sides would have to pay for the goods. If the Europeans gave the Middle East goods to hold that was $3, they would raise the price to $10. China would have to pay $10, and the middlemen would get more money.

Question 30

What was the Silk Road?

Answer 30

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes, stretching across Eurasia (Europe and Asia), and a little of Africa. It connected the East and West and was central to the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions. Diseases, like the Black Plague, were also spread along the silk road.

Question 31

What, besides trade goods, passed along the trade routes?

Answer 31

Disease: The Bubonic Plague was passed along trade routes. When traders traded in Asia and came back to Europe, they brought the plague with them.
Ideas: Ideas like religion, inventions, knowledge, etc were passed along through the routes.

Question 32

What goods did Italian merchants bring in by sea? Give examples.

Answer 32

The Italian merchants brought luxury goods by sea, that were not available in Europe. 
These included:
- Jewels
- Rugs
- Silk
- Muslin
- Taffeta
- Satin

Question 33

What was the most valuable trade good?

Answer 33

The most valued trade good was pepper/peppercorn. It was much more valuable than gold at the time.

Question 34

What goods did Europeans use to trade?

Answer 34

• Spices
• Silk
• Taffeta
• Muslin
• Satin
• Jewels
• Rugs
• Salt
• Iron
• Pepper/Peppercorn
• Cotton
• Tea
• Lead
• Timber
• Fur
• Wool

Question 35

How were these goods transported?

Answer 35

These goods were transported by:
- Camels
- Horses
- Caravans (group of people travelling on a trade expedition)
When being transported over water, they used ships.

Question 36

What factors contributed to the rise of trade between Western Europe and the East at the beginning of the Renaissance?

Answer 36

The factor(s) that contributed to the rise of trade between Western Europe and the East was The Crusades. When The Crusades took place, the Crusaders traveled to many different countries, fighting for Jerusalem, and in those countries, they came across valuable goods, that they indeed wanted. This began trade between Western Europe and the East, benefitting both sides.

Question 37

What impact might increase trade and business have on a society’s worldview? Link your answer to specific worldview elements.

Answer 37

Feudalism changed drastically. It created a new class and made the lords less dependable. This new class included peasants and merchants. The Feudal Hierarchy was less dependant on the lords and became more dependent and supportive of the peasants and merchants. This impacted/affected the societal and economic worldview elements.

Question 38

Feudalism eventually collapses. What were the two major reasons for the collapse of feudalism? Do not just list the event, be sure to explain how it helped lead to the collapse of feudalism.

Answer 38

• Black Plague: This played a huge role in the collapse of feudalism. The Black Plague impacted the feudal system because after the plague had ended, Lords encouraged peasants to work on their farms, as they were in great need of labor for the land they owned. The Lords would not let the peasants back to their original land because they needed them. There weren’t enough peasants to work the land, so they were over worked. This upset the feudal system in Europe because the whole point of this system was to tie the peasants to the land. This sort of ended the feudal system, as no one really followed what it was for.
• Peasant Revolt: The over working of peasants because of the Black Plague and the taxes that were put on them to help finance war upset the peasants. They began to get upset and revolt - making the Peasant Revolt. This made peasants leave their land and fight for their rights. They were no longer tied to their land, but instead they were rioting and rebelling. This caused feudalism to fall, as there were no more peasants.
• Trade/URBANIZATION: Trade added a new social class - the middle class. This changed feudalism and made it weaker. People began to leave their land (mainly peasants) and fled into the city/urban areas where they could be involved in this trade, and become wealthy merchants. This also made feudalism fall.

Question 39

Why did people’s attitude towards the church begin to change? You should be able to list and explain two things.

Answer 39

• Black Plague: People saw it as a punishment from God, and he wouldn’t help them. They began to stop relying on the church and its teachings because they weren’t helping them through the plague.
• Trade: Trade brought in new knowledge, like new religions, so people began to start to change their way of thinking. They began to use the knowledge from these new religions - like Buddhism, and began to change their religion. Also other knowledge impacted them, through the spread of ideas. This made them stop relying on the church and rely more on the ideas they were learning.
• Science/writing: New scientific discoveries, like anatomy, challenged the church’s teachings. People began to believe these teachings more than the church’s teachings. Also, when the bible was translated, they began to interpret it differently. This made them rely on their own interpretations, and less on what the church taught them.

Question 40

Be able to provide information about how each of the following factors affected medieval society. How did these factors affect social structures? Refer to the feudal hierarchy, how did these factors begin to change the feudal hierarchy.

• The Black Death
• Changing Technology
• Increase in Wealth
• Rise of Towns
• Knowledge Transfer From Other Cultures
• The Crusades
• The Peasant Revolt

Answer 40

• Black Death: The Black Death had killed many people during the middle ages (lords, knights, and peasants). This meant that there was a little amount of peasants that were still willing to work the land for the lords that were still alive. Since there was such a little amount, and the lords were desperate for the land to be farmed, peasants began to go to different fiefdoms, in order to get paid more. This changed feudalism, as the peasants were no longer tied to their land, but instead were moving around different lands. Some peasants abandoned their land completely and moved into the cities.
• Changing Technology: There was a lot more new technology that was being introduced by trade and was also being invented. There was new technology for farming, which interested people. This technology was most popular in the city, so people fled into the city, leaving their land and homes, in order to use and experience these new technologies.
• Increase in Wealth: Wealth increased with trade, so people wanted to become involved in trade, so they could become wealthy as well. People wanted to become wealthy merchants and fled to the city in order to get involved in trade. Also, since there was a small number of peasants that were still working and farming land for the lords, they demanded higher pay. The lords did end up paying them a larger pay because they were desperate for someone to farm their land.
• Rise of Towns: People began wanting better lives in the city so they moved into their urban area. Feudalism fell because people were no longer tied to their land and jobs, but wanted better lives (mainly peasants.)
• Knowledge Transfer from Other Cultures: Knowledge transfer made people see that feudalism wasn’t the answer to stability, and learned about new lifestyles and ways to improve/change feudalism through ideas they exchanged.
• Crusades: People began to trade because of the crusades, and with trade, new ideas and knowledge began to flow. These new ideas led to new views of feudalism.
• Peasant Revolt: Peasants began leaving their fiefdoms/serfdoms, and no longer worked. This made the peasant part of feudalism fall, which made the rest fall as well.