Height of Medieval Europe

1. Anti-Semitism
 By
1100 Christians blamed Jews for
their problems
 Some church leaders required Jews
to wear ID badges
 Were forced from their land and had
to become peddlers and money
lenders
 Many moved to Eastern Europe

2. The
Crusades

4. First Crusade
 Seljuks
Turks threatened Constantinople
 Pope Urban II inspired knights &
peasants to rise up against Muslims in
1095
 On the way to Jerusalem they also killed
many Jews
 When they conquered Jerusalem in
1099, they massacred most of the
people there

5. Second Crusade
 Muslims
regained some
land in 1145
 The Pope wanted it back
 Crusade was led by the
French king Louis VII
 Quarrelling and ineffective
leadership caused it to fail
in 1149

6. Third Crusade
 Muslim
leader Saladin
conquered Jerusalem in
1187
A unified force of kings, including King
Richard from England tried to regain it
Richard fought alone
Lost but gained pilgrims access to
Jerusalem

8. Effects
 First
Crusade gave western
Europeans a sense of power
 Weakened feudalism and gained
monarchs more power
 Crusaders learned much from the
Muslim and Byzantine worlds that
improved civilization and pulled them
out of the dark ages
 Opened up new trade routes east

9. Economic and
Cultural
Revival

10. Economic Expansion
 Advances
in agriculture increased
production
 Trade exploded as towns grew
Goods
from all over the world were
once again available
 Trade
made it necessary to develop a
money economy
Led
to banking, loans and a larger
decline of feudalism

12. Growth of Towns
 Dramatic
Increase in towns
Overcrowding,
Disease (Plague)

13. Development of the Middle
Class
 Guilds
governed business
Kept
quality of work, prices and
wages at a good level
 Artisans
made
& craft workers
up the new middle class
Governed towns
Funded the king

14. GUILD SETUP

15. Education
 Growth
of towns increased need for
education
 Around 1150 Universities began
popping up around Europe
 Greek, Roman, and Muslim writings
and science, kept safe by Muslims
and Jews, led to a cultural revival
 Thomas Aquinas silenced church
officials wary of “reason”

16. Medieval Literature & Art
 Troubadours
performed music about
knights and chivalry
 Many women, mostly nuns, were also
well-known writers & composers
 Most literature was in the vernacular
so that everyone could understand it
Geoffrey
Chaucer-”Canterbury Tales”
“Beowulf”
 Churches
were in the Gothic Style