The document discusses several topics from the Middle Ages including the Crusades, monastic reforms led by Cluny Abbey, simony in the Catholic Church, the development of canon law by the papal Curia, new religious orders founded by Dominic and Francis of Assisi, Gothic and Romanesque architecture, the Hundred Years' War between England and France, military leaders like Saladin and Joan of Arc, failures of later Crusades, challenges to the papacy by figures like John Wycliffe and Jan Hus, and the Babylonian Captivity that weakened the Church's authority.

1. 1. Crusades - The Age of Faith also inspired wars of conquest. In 1093, the Byzantine
emperor Alexius Comnenus sent an appeal to Robert, Count of Flanders. The emperor
asked for help against the Muslim Turks. Urban II issued a call for what he termed a
“holy war,” a Crusade, to gain control of the Holy Land. Over the next 300 years, a
number of such Crusades were launched.
2. Cluny - Monasteries led the spiritual revival. The monastery founded at Cluny in
France in 910 was especially important. The reformers there wanted to return to the basic
principles of the Christian religion. To do so, they established new religious orders.
Influenced by the religious devotion and reverence for God shown by the new
monasteries, the popes began to reform the Church.
3. Simony - Bishops sold positions in the Church which is a practice called simony.
Simony is against the canon law of the church.
4. Papal Curia - The pope's group of advisers was called the papal Curia. The Curia acted
as a court too. It developed canon law on things such as marriage, divorce, and
inheritance. The Curia decided cases based on these laws.
5. Reform - Reforms were people who wanted to return to the basic principles of the
Christian religion in Cluny, France in 910. They established new religious order. The
pope reformed the Church and expanded and restored its power and authority. This new
age was called the Age of Faith.
6. Dominicans - Dominic, a Spanish priest, founded the Dominicans, one of the earliest
orders of friars. Because Dominic emphasized the importance of study, many Dominicans
were scholars. Francis of Assisi, an Italian, founded another order of friars, the
Franciscans. Francis treated all creatures, including animals, as if they were his spiritual
brothers and sisters. Women played an important role in the spiritual revival. Women
joined the Dominicans, Benedictines, and Franciscans.
7. Vaulted Arch - A vaulted arch is an architectural term used to explain an arch used to
provide space for a ceiling or roof. When vaults are built underground, it gives the
structure just enough resistance.
8. Gothic - In the early 1100's a style of architecture called Gothic developed in Medieval
Europe. The term comes from a German tribe called the Goths. Gothic buildings were
built upward instead of being heavy and gloomy like Romanesque buildings. Some
Gothic cathedrals were built in France. 500 Gothic churches were built between 1170 and
1270.
9. Romanesque - Between 800 and 1100, churches were built in Romanesque style. The
churches had round arches and a heavy roof held up by thick walls and pillars. The walls
had small windows which let in light.
10. Gargoyles - A gargoyle is an architectural figure usually carved out of granite that

2. could have a spout for water to come out of. Architects placed gargoyles on buildings to
divide the flow of rainwater to prevent damage.
11. 100 Years War - The 100 Years war was a series of conflicts between the years of
1337 and 1453 in the kingdoms of England and France. The kings of England owed
feudal land to the king of France. Edward III refused to give the land to the French king
named Phillip IV which caused his land in Aquitaine to be confiscated.
12. Saladin - In 1187, Europeans were shocked to learn that Jerusalem itself had fallen to
a Kurdish warrior and Muslim leader Saladin. Saladin was the first Sultan of Egypt and
the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Saladin led the opposition against the European
Crusaders.
13. Clermont - Clermont was led by Urban II. It was the site at which first Crusade was
called in the country outside Cluny around the 1100, where he called the knights to fight
in the crusade. He wanted to gain back the Holy Land.
14. Guilds - A guild was an organization of individuals in the same business or
occupation working to improve the economic and social conditions of its members. The
first guilds were merchant guilds. Merchants banded together to control the number of
goods being traded and to keep prices up. They also provided security in trading and
reduced losses.
15. Masterpiece - A few remarkable poets began using a lively vernacular, or the
everyday language of their homeland. Some of these writers wrote masterpieces that are
still read today.
16. Bourgeoise - Since the late 18th century, the bourgeoise describes a social class
characterized by their ownership of capital, and their related culture.
17. Vernacular - Vernacular is the native dialect of a certain region or population. The
vernacular is considered the national language.
18. Divine Comedy - The Divine Comedy was written by Dante Alighieri at around 1308.
It was written in Italian. It is seen as one of the greatest works in Italian literature. The
story explains Dante's travel through Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory.
19. Schlosticism - Aquinas and his fellow scholars who met at the great universities were
known as schoolmen, or scholastics. The scholastics used their knowledge of Aristotle to
debate many issues of their time. Their teachings on law and government influenced the
thinking of western Europeans, particularly the English and French. Accordingly, they
began to develop democratic institutions and traditions.
20. Chaucer - Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury at around 1386 in English. He was
known as the father of English literature and also the best poet of the Middle Ages.
Chaucer is a crucial figure in the development of vernacular.

3. 21. Inquisition - To unify their country under Christianity and to increase their power,
Isabella and Ferdinand made use of the Inquisition. This was a court held by the Church
to suppress heresy. Heretics were people whose religious beliefs differed from the
teachings of the Church. Many Jews and Muslims in Spain converted to Christianity
during the late 1400s. Even so, the inquisitors suspected these Jewish and Muslim
converts of heresy. A person suspected of heresy might be questioned for weeks and
even tortured.
22. Reconquista - In Spain, Muslims called Moors controlled most of the country until
the 1100s. The Reconquista was a long effort by the Spanish to drive the Muslims out of
Spain. By the late 1400s, the Muslims held only the tiny kingdom of Granada. In 1492,
Granada finally fell to the Christian army of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Spanish
monarchs.
23. Innocent III - Innocent III became the Pope around 1198 in January until he died. He
was one of the most powerful and influential pope. Pope Innocent supported the Catholic
Church's reforms. When he came into power, the canon law was refined. The most critical
decision that he made was organizing the 4th
Crusade.
24. Apprentice - Apprentices build their careers from apprenticeships. Most of their
training is done while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their
trade or profession, in exchange for their continuing labor for an agreed period after they
have achieved measurable competencies.
25. Journeyman - A journeyman is someone who has completed an apprenticeship and is
fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman
has to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as
a master. In parts of Europe, as in later medieval Germany, spending time as a wandering
journeyman, moving from one town to another to gain experience of different workshops,
was an important part of the training of an aspirant master.
26. Hanseatic League - The Hanseatic league was a confederation of merchant guilds and
their markets. They dominated trade across the coast of Northern Europe. The league was
created to take care of economic interests and privileges in the cities along the trade
routes that merchants visited.
27. Magna Carta - On June 15, 1215, John's nobles forced him to agree to the most
celebrated document in English history, the Magna Carta or Great Charter. This
document, drawn up by English nobles and approved by King John guaranteed certain
basic political rights.
28. Model Parliament - In November 1295, knights, burgesses, bishops, and lords met
together at Westminster in London. This is now called the Model Parliament because its
commoners, or non-nobles, as well as lords served as a model for later kings. Over the
next century, from 1300 to 1400, the king called the knights and burgesses whenever a

4. new tax was needed. In Parliament, these two groups gradually formed an assembly of
their own called the House of Commons.
29. Battle of Hastings - The Battle of Hastings occurred during the Norman conquest of
England. It took place not too far away from Hastings. King Harold II was killed in battle
by an arrow.
30. Common Law - Before the Norman conquest in 1066, justice was administered
primarily by what is today known as the county courts. Henry institutionalized common
law by creating a unified system of law that was common to the country through
incorporating and elevating local custom to the national, ending local control and
reinstating a jury system. Citizens sworn on oath to investigate reliable criminal
accusations and civil claims. The jury reached its verdict through evaluating common
local knowledge.
31. Power of the Purse - The person who owns the money and the people who are taking
the money. It was when representatives and people who have power take your money. It
was anywhere that people in power take your money. It is when people are giving up their
money to power. If people make taxes higher you can take them out of office so you get
more money back.
32. Great Western Schism - There were two popes. Each declared the other to be a false
pope, excommunicating his rival. The French pope lived in Avignon, while the Italian
pope lived in Rome. This began the split in the Church known as the Great Schism. In
1414, the Council of Constance attempted to end the Great Schism by choosing a single
pope. By now, there were a total of three popes: the Avignon pope, the Roman pope, and
a third pope elected by an earlier council at Pisa. With the help of the Holy Roman
Emperor, the council forced all three popes to resign. In 1417, the Council chose a new
pope, Martin V, ending the Great Schism but leaving the papacy greatly weakened.
33. Bubonic Plague - The Bubonic plague was a disease that circulated from mice and
fleas. The Bubonic plague, septicemic plague and pneumonic plague were said to be the
cause of the Black Death that went across Europe in the 14th
century.
34. Agincourt - The Battle of Agincourt was the most successful battle in the Hundred
Years War. The battle occurred in October of 1415 in an area which today is modern-day
France. The battle is notable for its use of the English longbows.
35. Joan of Arc - Joan of Arc was born a peasant in France. She led the French army to
many victories in the Hundred Years War. To this day, Joan of Arc is a significant figure
in the Western civilization.
36. 4th
Crusade - In 1204, the Fourth Crusade to capture Jerusalem failed. The knights did
not reach the Holy Land. Instead, they ended up looting the city of Constantinople. In the
1200s, four more Crusades to free the holy land were also unsuccessful. The religious
spirit of the First Crusade faded, and the search for personal gain grew. In two later

5. Crusades, armies marched not to the Holy Land but to Egypt. The Crusaders intended to
weaken Muslim forces there before going to the Holy Land.
37. Longbow/Crossbow - A longbow is a type of bow that is tall and usually was the
height of the person using it. It allowed the user to make a long draw. The longbows are
made from different woods from different cultures in Europe. During the Middle Ages,
the Welsh were known for their great skills with longbows.
38. Venice - By 1303, crossbow practice had become compulsory in the city, with citizens
training in groups. As weapons became more expensive and complex to operate,
professional soldiers were assigned to help work merchant sailing ships and as rowers in
galleys. Though Venice was famous for its navy, its army was equally effective. In the
13th century, most Italian city states already were hiring mercenaries.
39. John Hus & Jan Wycliffe - The papacy was further challenged by an Englishman
named John Wycliffe. He preached that Jesus Christ, not the pope, was the true head of
the Church. He was much offended by the worldliness and wealth many clergy displayed.
Wycliffe believed that the clergy should own no land or wealth. Wycliffe also taught that
the Bible alone, not the pope, was the final authority for Christian life. Jan Hus, a
professor in Bohemia, taught that the authority of the Bible was higher than that of the
pope. Hus was excommunicated in 1412. In 1414, he was seized by Church leaders, tried
as a heretic, and then burned at the stake in 1415.
40. Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy - In 1305, Philip IV persuaded the College of
Cardinals to choose a French archbishop as the new pope. Clement V, the newly
selected pope, moved from Rome to the city of Avignon in France. Popes would live
there for the next 69 years. The move to Avignon badly weakened the Church. When
reformers finally tried to move the papacy back to Rome, however, the result was even
worse. In 1378, Pope Gregory XI died while visiting Rome. The College of Cardinals
then met in Rome to choose a successor.

6. Crusades, armies marched not to the Holy Land but to Egypt. The Crusaders intended to
weaken Muslim forces there before going to the Holy Land.
37. Longbow/Crossbow - A longbow is a type of bow that is tall and usually was the
height of the person using it. It allowed the user to make a long draw. The longbows are
made from different woods from different cultures in Europe. During the Middle Ages,
the Welsh were known for their great skills with longbows.
38. Venice - By 1303, crossbow practice had become compulsory in the city, with citizens
training in groups. As weapons became more expensive and complex to operate,
professional soldiers were assigned to help work merchant sailing ships and as rowers in
galleys. Though Venice was famous for its navy, its army was equally effective. In the
13th century, most Italian city states already were hiring mercenaries.
39. John Hus & Jan Wycliffe - The papacy was further challenged by an Englishman
named John Wycliffe. He preached that Jesus Christ, not the pope, was the true head of
the Church. He was much offended by the worldliness and wealth many clergy displayed.
Wycliffe believed that the clergy should own no land or wealth. Wycliffe also taught that
the Bible alone, not the pope, was the final authority for Christian life. Jan Hus, a
professor in Bohemia, taught that the authority of the Bible was higher than that of the
pope. Hus was excommunicated in 1412. In 1414, he was seized by Church leaders, tried
as a heretic, and then burned at the stake in 1415.
40. Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy - In 1305, Philip IV persuaded the College of
Cardinals to choose a French archbishop as the new pope. Clement V, the newly
selected pope, moved from Rome to the city of Avignon in France. Popes would live
there for the next 69 years. The move to Avignon badly weakened the Church. When
reformers finally tried to move the papacy back to Rome, however, the result was even
worse. In 1378, Pope Gregory XI died while visiting Rome. The College of Cardinals
then met in Rome to choose a successor.