1. D: 12/6/12
A: Notes on the Middle Ages
S: How did feudalism work?
H: None
w.o.d: Renaissance
Warm-Up: Renaissance Reading

2. Word of the Day
WORD DEIFINTION SENTENCE PICTURE
Period of
great Most of
achievement Europe’s well
renaissance in art and know artists
learning that and writers
began in Italy Became
in the 1300s Famous
and spread during the
Throughout
Renaissance.
Europe.

3. The Middle
Ages to
Colonization

4. I. The Middle Ages
A. Dark age for Europe.
B. Constant invastions and few resources required
that Europeans develop a new system for living.
C. This new system included all aspects of life,
political, economic, and social. It was called
feudalism

5. II. Feudalism
A. The economic portion of feudalism was
centered around the lord’s estates or
manors, and is called Manoralism.
B. A lord's manor would include peasant village,
a church, farm land, a mill, and the lord's
castle
C. Socially there were 4 classes of people
D. Politically only the nobles had a say in
government

6. III. Social Feudalism
A. King
I. Owned everything but gave some land, money & power to
the Lords
B. Lords
I. Ruled over the land from the King including all the people
in it but paid taxes
C. Knights
I. Protected the king, lords & land in exchange for a place to
live, money and food
D. Peasants/Serfs
I. Worked the land, paid taxes and had no power in
exchange for protection

7. IV. Manoralism
A. Manors were self sufficient; all economic
activity occurred on the manor.
B. This meant that little to no trading occurred
during this time period.
C. The serfs did all the working in the fields,
maintaining roads and were servants in the
castle

8. V. Role of the Church
A. Spiritual
I. Central to medieval life from baptism to death.
B. Secular
I. The Church was the largest land owner
II. Gained wealth through tithes
III. Had its own laws and courts which frequently
clashed with King’s.
IV. Some parish priests ran schools.

9. VI. Separation of the Church
A. Around 800 Western Europe was briefly
unified under Charlemagne
B. Charlemagne conquered many lands but split
Europe into Eastern and Western
Christianity
C. In the east they practiced Eastern Orthodoxy
D. In the west they were Roman Catholic

10. VII. The Crusades
A. In 1050 the Turks invaded and conquered
Palestine also called the Holy Land
B. Christians, Muslims & Jews all claimed this
land as their own.
C. The Pope called for the Crusades to free the
Holy Land

11. VIII. Impact of the Crusades
A. Cultural diffusion
B. Increase in trade
C. Trade route opened the door to build cities
D. The end of the feudal system as serfs began
to make money and used it instead of service

12. IX. The Bubonic Plague
A. Known as the black death the disease was
spread by fleas on rats
B. It started in China and moved as trade routes
opened up.
C. Between 1347 and 1353 the plague killed
over 60 million people in Europe & Asia

14. X. The Renaissance
A. During the Middle Ages philosophers worried
about what happened after people death
B. The Renaissance meaning rebirth marked a
change in thinking and people began to
question the church and worried about life
on earth
C. Huge gains were made in science, literature
and art
D. The Greeks & Romans were glorified

15. XI. Renaissance Art
A. Created some of the most famous paintings,
sculptures and architecture
B. Art was supported by the church, wealthy
nobles and royals
C. Art was detailed, realistic and study the
human form
D. Most well known artists were Michelangelo
and DaVinci

16. XII. Renaissance Literature
A. Dante wrote the Divine Comedy
B. Cervantes wrote Don Quixote
C. Shakespeare wrote many plays and sonnets
D. Machiavelli wrote The Prince
E. The printing press invented in 1300 allowed for
written works to be easily copied
F. Gutenberg was used the press to copy the Bible in
1453
G. As more books were printed ideas were spread
worldwide

17. XIII. The Reformation
A. Once the Renaissance started the church
realized they needed a change
B. The purpose was to stop people from leaving
the church to become Protestant
C. Protestantism was started by Martin Luther
who taught that God not the Pope was the
only one who could grant forgiveness this
started the Reformation and break off of the
church

18. XIV. Effects of the Reformation
A. Formation of Protestant churches
B. Loss of political & religious unity
C. Anti-Semitism or persecution of the Jews
D. Witch hunts

19. XV. Summary
A. Feudalism of the middle ages declined as
peasants fought with the nobles for power
B. The Renaissance sparked a new way of
thinking that caused people to leave the
church and the printing press helped these
ideas spread all over.
C. People begin to unite under strong monarchs
and new cities emerge and vie for power,
money & land even colonies