Middle Ages

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Medieval Map

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Middle Ages- The New Rome• *The time between Ancient and Modern Times• *Lasted over one thousand years• *Before the Middle Ages, Western Europe was part of the

Roman Empire• *This time period has 5 names:

– *Middle Ages– *Medieval Times– *The Dark Ages– *The Byzantine Empire– *The New Rome

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Charlemagne

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Charlemagne Becomes Emperor• *Charlemagne was also known as “Charles the Great”• He was the king of the Franks from 768-814 A.D.• *He conquered and united Western Europe• *He spread Roman Christianity throughout Europe• Charlemagne battled in over 50 wars• *In 800 A.D. he was crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor• He was crowned by Pope Leo III• *The Pope had the highest power• *The crowning started a power struggle between the Pope

and the Emperor

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Feudalism• *A system of government around the 800s• *This was developed as a way to keep the peace in Europe• *To help control their lands kings would divide their land into

fiefs– A fief is land a king or other powerful landowner would

give to nobles• *The nobles were called vassals• The nobles swore to give the king their loyalty, support in the

war, and promised to keep peace

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Feudalism• When nobles received a fief they would also receive a serf

– A serf was a peasant who worked the land• Serfs lived in villages around the house that belonged to the

fief’s owner• A settlement like this was called a manor• A manor was a large farming estate

– It was self sufficient– *It was like a small village

• *Knights were given fiefs (land) for protecting

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Feudalism

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The King• *A king was at the top of the feudal system

• He owned most of the land

• *He made the laws and was known as the ruler

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The Lords• *The lords were known as a noble, vassal, or

landlord

• They owned land

• *They got their land from the kings

• They lived in castles on a manor

• *They provided protection for the peasants

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The Lesser Lords• *They were known as the upper class

• *They owned the land that they got from the lords

• *They often worked in the church as a priest

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The Peasants• *They were also known as a serf

• *They could not own land

• *They had no rights

• *They did the work for everyone

• They got a place to live and were protected by the lords

• They did not live in the castle

• *Most people during this time were peasants

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Steps for becoming a Knight• *A Page

• *A Squire

• *A Knight

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A Page• A page ranged in age from 7-13

• He learned to ride a horse

• They also learned basic fighting skills

• They worked at the noble’s house

• He worked as a serving boy

• They also learned to hunt with falcons14

A Squire• A squire was usually between the ages of 14-20

• They took care of the knight’s horses and weapons

• They also dressed the knights in their armor

• A squire had advanced fighting skills

• They learned about tournaments

• The night before becoming a knight they would confess his sins and pray

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A Knight• A knight was usually 21 and up

• They were a soldier for the king and the lords

• He could own land that he received from the lords

• He wore armor and owned weapons

• Knights would eventually become lords

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A Knight• They practiced their skills in contests and

tournaments

• He was sworn to a code of chivalry (conduct)– Be honorable

– Be brave

– Be polite

– Protect the weak17

A Knights Weapons• Directions:

– Trace the different weapons into your notebook

– Use the definition page of a knights weapons to help you label each weapon

– We will go over the correct answers once everyone is finished

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Parts of a Castle• Directions:

– Cut out the picture of the castle and glue it into your notebook

– Use the definition page of parts of a castle to help you label each part of the castle

– We will go over the correct answers once everyone is finished

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Parts of a Castle• Fortress- A place with walls for defense• Outer Bailey- First courtyard inside the outer walls of the castle• Inner Bailey- Was the inner courtyard of a castle• Wall (Curtain)- Surrounded the courtyard of the castle• Keep- Strongest and most heavily equipped part of a castle. They

were sometimes round and sometime square• Drawbridge- Was a bridge that could be raised or lowered. Usually

located over a moat• Parapets- Low walls around the top edge of a tower or castle wall• Corbels- Stone projections in the walls that helped support

parapets

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Parts of a Castle• Machicolations- Holes in the parapets used for dropping all kinds of

things such as boiling oil, hot water, stones, etc.• Moat- A ditch around the castle, usually filled with water.• Barbican- A foreword gate of the castle, located before the main

gate• Postern Gate- A back gate, was supposed to be a secret• Arrow-Loops- Narrow openings in the castle’s towers, archers fires

arrows through theses• Portcullis- Main gate to the castle, it could be raised and lowered • Gatehouse- Living quarters over the main gate

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Parts of a Castle• Murder Holes- Holes in the ceiling just after

the front gate. Used to drop large stones on attackers

• Rocky Ledges- Castles built on rock could not be seized by tunneling

• Armory- A place where weapons were kept

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Jobs in the Castle• Clerk- kept track of the King’s wealth

• Bailiff- collected the rent

• Archer- defended the castle, using arrows

• Jester- told jokes, juggled, and preformed magic tricks

• Executioner- he was in the dungeon, for beheading and torturing

• Butcher- he bought animals to be made into food

• Taster- tasted the food for satisfaction

• Spinners and Weavers- made clothes, baskets, and rugs

• Priest- was in charge of religious needs

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Jobs in the Castle• Minstrel- played music, danced, and sang for the King

• Butler- King’s personal servant

• Marshal- made sure people were safe and happy

• Constable- in charge of the knights

• Cup Bearer- set the table and stirred the drinks

• Peasants- servants for the King

• Baker- baked bread daily

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Jobs in the Castle• Advisor- gave advice to the King

• Recorder- kept records for the King

• Lady in Waiting- personal servant for the Queen

• Cryer- “Here Yee, Here Yee” announced the news

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Torture

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Torture in the Dungeon• People who didn’t pay

their taxes were some of the people that were tortured

• Tortures were also used to extract confessions

• Types of torture:

– Body Stretching

– Tongue Stretching

– Nibbling Rats

– Hanging Gallows

– Water Drips

– The Iron Maiden

– Manicles

– Gullitene27

Heraldry

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Heraldry• Heraldry includes a family motto and a family coat of arms.• A herald is the person hired to take care of the objects of a family's

heraldry• People used personal and family banners and shields to express

their identity and status in society• Heraldry includes a family motto and a family coat of arms. • The coat of arms followed a pattern, although each was distinctive. • As time went on, a family's heraldry was recorded so that no one

could copy the pattern or take it for themselves. • A distinctive coat of arms was used to identify each noble

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Heraldry• A distinctive coat of arms was used to identify each noble family. • Each item in the design had meaning. • Once a coat of arms was adopted by a family, the design was placed

on shields held by knights of the manor• It was placed on swords and on banners and even burnt into the

top of breads on special occasions. • The herald was responsible for teaching the sons and knights of the

fief to recognize the heraldry of other noble families. • It was important to be able to quickly recognize friend from foe. • The herald also acted as the announcer or the scorekeeper at a

joust.

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The Crusades

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The Crusades• *Three major religious groups all claimed Jerusalem as their holy

city– Christians, it was the place where Jesus was crucified and

ascended to heaven – Muslims, it was the place where Muhammad ascended to

heaven – Jews, it was the site of the ancient temple built by Solomon

• In 600 AD, Arabs entered the city and took control. • The Arabs allowed Christian and Jewish pilgrims to visit Jerusalem. • Jews and Christians could live in Palestine as long as they paid their

taxes

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The First Crusade• *The Problem:

• Around 1095, a new group of Arabs took control of Jerusalem.

• They closed the city to Jewish and Christian pilgrims.

• *The Solution:

• The Pope acted, he called for a crusade - a volunteer army whose goal was to retake Jerusalem.

• About 30,000 men left Western Europe to fight in Jerusalem.

• For knights, this was a chance to use their fighting skills.

• For peasants, this was a chance to escape from their dreary life in the feudal system.

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The First Crusade• *The Results:

• After about two years of harsh conditions the crusaders finally arrived in Jerusalem.

• After a two-month siege of the city, the city fell.

• *The crusaders had won back Jerusalem.

• Some men stayed and some headed home.

• Those who returned brought back new foods and new forms of culture.

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More Crusades• *It was a short victory.

• *Less than 50 years later, Muslims once again conquered Jerusalem.

• Again the pope called for a crusade to take back the city.

• The Second Crusade

– Lasted from 1147-1149.

– It was not successful.

• The Third Crusade

– Lasted from 1189-1192.

– It was not successful.

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More Crusades• The Fourth Crusade

– Lasted from 1202-1204.

– Instead of attacking Jerusalem, the crusaders attacked Constantinople.

– They stole statues, money, paintings and jewelry.

– They burned libraries.

– They destroyed churches.

• Over the next 70 years, there were several other crusade attempts

• They were motivated more by personal gain than by religious purpose.

• *None succeeded.

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Sign of the Crusade• *The Red Cross

• Each crusader had a huge red cross, made out of fabric, stitched onto their shirts or armor.

• It made all crusaders appear to be a unified army.

• It reminded the crusaders that they were fighting a holy cause.

• The red cross was added to flags and banners

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The Bubonic Plague

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The Bubonic Plague• *In the 1300's a horrible disease struck Asia, Africa, and Europe. • *The people called this illness the Black Death. • *People did not know that infected rats carried the disease.

• *Because living conditions were so cramped and dirty, people often live in close contact with rats.

• *Rats spread the disease to fleas that lived on the bodies of rats.

• *The fleas would drink the blood of infected rats and then pass the disease onto human by biting them.

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The Bubonic Plague• Infected people first broke out with red ring shaped marks with

dark center spots on their arms and necks. • They would run high fevers. • They became even more ill, and then they died.• In just two years, 25 million people died of the plague. • In ten years, the plague had killed over 1/3 of Europe's population.

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The Bubonic Plague• *Towns were not clean

• *People were sick everywhere.

• People threw their garbage out on the street. • *Whole families were wiped out. • *Whole villages were wiped out.

– People locked their doors trying to protect themselves.

– They carried flowers to ward off the smell of the dead and dying.

– People burned houses filled with the dead.

– Villages filled with the dead were burned down, to contain and kill the disease.

• Nothing worked 41

Role of the Medieval Church• Feudalism was not the only thing that had a big impact on the

social structure in the Middle Ages.

• The church was very important to the everyday lives of people and had a great influence on every part of society.

• In Europe in the Middle Ages, most people were Christians.

– Some people were Jewish and Muslim.

• All Christians in Europe in the Middle Ages belonged to the Roman Catholic Church.

• The majority of people went to church every week.

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Role of the Medieval Church• Nearly every major city had a cathedral, which is a large church.

• Townspeople were expected to contribute part of their earnings to the church.

• They also helped to build the cathedrals themselves.

• During this time, many people chose to live a religious life away from society.

• Men who chose this kind of life were called monks. – A monk is a man who lived in a monastery and studied and prayed.

• Women who chose this kind of life were called nuns. – Nuns lived in communities called convents. Both monks and nuns

cultivated crops, copied manuscripts, and helped the poor.

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The Renaissance• The Renaissance lasted about 250 years.

• It started in Italy, around 1350, and ended around 1600.

• *The word "Renaissance" means rebirth.

• *What was reborn was an interest in learning.

• Most people had not learned how to read or write.

• But slowly, people began to want to learn again.

• *This new beginning was called the Renaissance.

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The Renaissance• *The new interest in literature began to include art and music.

• *Then came an interest in science and exploration.

• All over Europe, people became fascinated with new discoveries, new inventions, new works of art and ways of thinking about things.

• Some of the famous people who lived during the Renaissance include :

– William Shakespeare,

– Christopher Columbus,

– Vasco da Gama,

– Copernicus,

– Michelangelo

– Leonardo da Vinci 45

Medieval Church Reform• *Up until the Renaissance, Christianity was split into two churches:

– Catholic church – Eastern Orthodox

• *But during the Renaissance, the Catholic church would be split again.• During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church had become very powerful and wealthy. • One of the practices that developed during that time was the selling of indulgences.

– An indulgence was a payment a person made to the church in return for a pardon for a sin that they committed.

• In other words, if you had the money, you could pay the church to forgive your sins. • The church, in turn, used this money to fund building projects. • The practice of granting indulgences angered many people in the church.• A movement had begun that resulted in a permanent split in the church

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Martin Luther• Martin Luther lived in the 14th and 15th centuries. • He was a German monk and theologian.

– a person who devotes his life to the academic study of his religion. • *Luther believed that it was wrong for the church to raise money by selling indulgences. • He believed that the only way for a Christian to be saved was to believe in Jesus Christ. • He believed that ordinary people should read and interpret the Bible for themselves. • They excommunicated Martin Luther

– Excommunication happens when someone has been officially asked to leave the church.

– People began to follow the teaching of Martin Luther, they became known as Lutherans.

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