-
History Background
Section 3Standards-Based Instruction
Chapter 16 Section 3 455
Standards at a Glance
In this section, students will learn about forces that worked to
break down medi-eval society in Europe, including war-fare, famine,
and especially, the terrible Black Death.
Section Focus QuestionHow did warfare and the plague disrupt
life in Europe?Before you begin the lesson for the day, write the
Section Focus Question on the board. (Lesson focus: Wars killed
soldiers and civilians. They separated soldiers from their families
and from their peacetime occupations. The Black Death sickened and
killed millions, and terrified everyone. The uncertainty that these
troubles stirred up in the hearts of Euro-peans created general
social disorder.)
Prepare to Read
Build Background KnowledgeBriefly review Sections 1 and 2, then,
ask: Did these two sections present a more positive or a more
negative view of Euro-pean civilization in the Middle Ages? (a more
positive view) Then, have students skim the headings and
subheadings in Sec-tion 3 to see that those good times are about to
change. Introduce the concept of social structure by having
students predict how famine, warfare, and devastating dis-ease
might upset people’s ways of thinking about their social structure.
Write students’ predictions on the board and refer to them as
students read Section 3.
Set a Purpose■ Form students into pairs or groups of
four. Distribute the Reading Readiness Guide. Ask students to
fill in the first two columns of the chart.
Teaching Resources, Unit 6, Reading Readiness Guide, p. 72
■ Use the Numbered Heads strategy (TE p. T38) to call on
students to share one piece of information they already know and
one piece of information they want to know. The students will
return to these worksheets later.
The Battle of Agincourt A good example of the transition from
early to modern warfare is the Battle of Agincourt (AZH • in •
koor), fought in 1415, during the Hun-dred Years’ War. King Henry V
of England claimed the French throne in 1413. The French,
naturally, denied his claim, so Henry invaded France with a small
army. When the opponents met at Agincourt, the
English were outnumbered more than five to one. Their army was
made of longbow-men, however, not knights on horseback. In
addition, the battleground, a freshly plowed field that had been
rained upon for several days, was so muddy that horses and armored
soldiers had difficulty mov-ing about. With these advantages, the
English won a great victory.
L2
L2
Section
Section 3 The Breakdown of Medieval Society 455
3The Breakdown of Medieval Society
H-SS 7.6.7 Map the spread of the bubonic plague from Central
Asia to China, the Middle East, and Europe and describe its impact
on global population.
E-LA Reading 7.1.2 Use knowledge of Greek, Latin, and
Anglo-Saxon roots and affixes to understand content-area
vocabulary.
Reading Preview
Reading Skill
Use Greek Roots and AffixesSometimes you can combine two or more
roots to define a word. For example, the word disaster contains the
Greek root astron, meaning “star.”The Greek prefix dys- means
“hard; difficult; bad.” Think of the saying “it’s not in the
stars,” and you can see how “bad stars,” or “bad luck,”could come
to mean disaster:“a terrible event.”
Vocabulary Builder
High-Use Termsconflict (KAHN flihkt), p. 455survive (ser V�̄V),
p. 459
Key Terms and Peoplefamine (FAM ihn), p. 455Joan of Arc (john
uhv ahrk), p. 456epidemic (ehp uh DEHM ihk), p. 456bubonic plague
(byoo BAHNihk playg), p. 456scapegoat (SKAYP goht), p. 458
Background Knowledge In the previous sections,you learned that
the period between 1000 and 1300 was a timeof growth, wealth,
religious devotion, and learning in Europe.In this section, you
will read about a series of disasters thatthrew Europe into
turmoil.
Famine and WarfareAfter two centuries of prosperity, Europeans
faced disaster.
From 1315 to 1317, it rained so much that crops were
ruined.Cattle died of diseases brought on by the wet weather.
Manypeople died of starvation, and the years became known as
theGreat Famine. A famine is a serious shortage of food. West-ern
Europe had barely recovered from the famine when warbroke out.
The conflict began when Edward III of England claimed theright
to be king of France. The Hundred Years’ War betweenFrance and
England lasted from 1337 to 1453.
Medieval prosperity ended in widespread hunger and a war that
ended the importance of armored knights.
Vocabulary Builderconflict (KAHN flihkt) n.disagreement, fight,
or war
SSMM16.book Page 455 Monday, February 28, 2005 11:24 AM
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Universal Access
456 Chapter 16
Teach
Famine and Warfare and The Black Death
H-SS 7.6.7
Instruction■ Vocabulary Builder
High-Use Words Before teaching this section, preteach the
high-use words conflict and survive, using the strategy on TE p.
441.Key Terms Following the instructions on p. 7, have students
continue to pre-view key terms.
■ Have students read Famine and War-fare, using the ReQuest
reading strategy (TE p. T37).
■ Distribute the worksheet Medieval War-riors. After students
have completed the worksheet, ask: If you were a medieval warrior,
which weapon would you want to use, the lance or the longbow, and
why? (Many students may choose the longbow because it looks easier
to carry and has a longer range.)
Teaching Resources, Unit 6, Medieval Warriors, p. 74
■ As students read about Joan of Arc, ask: How did Joan get the
idea to go to war? (She said that she was told to do so by heavenly
voices.)
Independent PracticeHave students begin to fill in the
Interac-tive Reading and Notetaking Study Guide.
Interactive Reading and Notetak-ing Study Guide, Chapter 16,
Section 3 (Adapted version also available.)
Monitor Progress
As students fill in the Notetaking Study Guide, circulate to
make sure they under-stand the impact that famine and wars had on
medieval society. Provide assistance as needed.
Answers
The name refers to her key role in the French victory over the
English at Orleans in 1429.
longbow, guns, and cannons
Reading Skill epi- : epicenter and episode; demos : democracy,
demographics, and pandemic.
L3
Advanced Readers L3
Gifted and Talented
Presenting Joan Joan of Arc’s extraordi-nary life makes her one
of the most intrigu-ing figures of the Middle Ages. Challenge
students, working individually or in small groups, to do some
further research about Joan of Arc. They can focus on distinct
parts of Joan’s life: her childhood as a peasant, her first
messages from the heav-
enly voices and the actions that she took when she heard them,
her participation in battles, her trial and execution, and her
legacy. Urge students to relate the bio-graphical material to
European society at the time. Have students make an oral
pre-sentation to the class.
L2
456 Chapter 16 A Changing Medieval World
The English won key battles early inthe war, partly because of a
new weapon:the longbow. Arrows from the longbowstruck with great
force, piercing the armorof French knights. Soon, both sides
wereusing even deadlier new weapons: gunsand cannons. Guns shot
through armor,and cannon blasts tore through even thestrongest
castle walls.
The tide was turned by a remarkableyoung peasant woman known as
Joan ofArc. Joan said that voices from heaven hadtold her to put on
a knight’s clothing andlead the French army to victory.
Joan led French soldiers against theEnglish. Her courage
inspired the French,who eventually defeated the English.
Joanherself was captured by the English andburned at the stake. The
French, however,still honor her today.
The Hundred Years’ War put an end tothe old feudal ways of
fighting wars.Armored knights and thick-walled castleswere no
defense against an enemy armedwith guns and cannons.
What new weapons were used in the Hundred Years’ War?
The Black DeathIn 1347, Europe was struck by a terrible
epidemic, a wide-
spread outbreak of a disease. The disease was the bubonicplague,
a deadly infection. It was called the Black Deathbecause bleeding
under the skin left black spots all over thebody. Victims usually
died within a few days, often in terribleagony. At the time, no one
knew what caused the plague.Today, we know that it was carried by
infected fleas that livedon rats.
The Spread of the Disease The epidemic began inCentral Asia.
From there, it slowly spread along the trade net-works that linked
China, India, and the Middle East. Beforereaching Europe, the Black
Death had killed millions in Asia.
For: More about Joan of ArcVisit: PHSchool.comWeb Code:
mxe-6163
The Black Death was a disease that spread from Asia to Europe,
killed millions, and led to the breakdown of the medieval social
order.
E-LA 7.1.2 Use Greek Roots and AffixesThe Greek prefix epi-
in
epidemic means “at; on; upon; among.” The Greek root demos means
“people.” What other words contain either of these roots?
Why is Joan of Arc sometimes called the “Maidof Orleans”?
Fast FactsWho: Joan of ArcWhat: Catholic saint and French
heroine of the Hundred Years’ WarWhen: 1412–1431Where: FranceWhy
important: She led French forces to victory against the
English.
Fast FindHow: Go online to find out about Joan’s heroic role in
leading the French forces against the English at Orleans.
Joan of Arc
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History Background
Chapter 16 Section 3 457
Instruction (continued)■ Have students read The Black Death.
Remind students to seek clarification of any words or phrases
they do not understand.
■ Ask: What part of the world did the bubonic plague first come
from? (Asia) How was the plague an indirect result of Europe’s
growth and prosperity? (Growth and prosperity led to a rise in
travel and foreign trade. The infected rats arrived in Europe on
trading ships from Asia. Trade within Europe spread the disease
further.)
■ Call on one or more volunteers to read the quotation from The
Decameron. Ask: According to this passage, why did many people stay
indoors? (They could not afford to go away, and they hoped that
staying indoors would keep them from catch-ing the disease.) How
did this plan back-fire? (Many of these people got sick anyway.
People outside such a house, who might have helped or comforted the
sick, often did not know that people inside were ill until it was
too late.)
Answer
(a) through Asia by way of the Black Sea and then across the
Mediter-ranean Sea. (b) They were on trade routes.
Plague and Plague Again The plague outbreak of the mid-1300s was
not the only plague that Europe experienced. Perhaps the worst
occurrence of plague took place in the 1600s. Novelist Daniel Defoe
wrote of the 1665 outbreak of plague in England in A Journal of the
Plague Year. He describes the pitiful reliance of the people on
quacks who promised magical remedies. Officials
marked the houses of infected people with red crosses. Public
gatherings, such as fairs, were banned for fear of spreading the
infection. When travelers fled the cit-ies, people in the towns and
villages refused to let them enter the gates in fear of the
disease. Sadly, fear and ignorance of disease had not changed since
the Middle Ages.
Section 3 The Breakdown of Medieval Society 457
FRANCE
SPAIN
PORTU
GA
L
ENGLAND
GERMANY
ITALY
HUNGARY
POLAND
RUSSIA
ATLANTICOCEAN
Mediterranean Sea
BlackSea
40°N
30°N
50°N
60°N10°W20°W 0° 20°E10°E 30°E 40°E
N
S
EW
0 km
5000 miles
500
Azimuthal Equal-Area Projection
1347
1348
1349
1350–1351
K E Y
People infected with the plague rode merchant ships fromthe East
to ports throughout Europe. The disease made its waytoward southern
Europe through the Black Sea. It then movedthrough the narrow
corridor of land that serves as the geo-graphic boundary between
Europe and Asia. First Italy, andthen France, Spain, and England
were struck. Travelers carriedthe plague up rivers and on overland
trade routes, deep intothe heart of Europe.
Giovanni Boccaccio lived through the plague in Florenceand wrote
a detailed account of what he saw:
“The plight of the lower and most of the middle classes was . .
. pitiful to behold. Most of them remained in their houses, either
through poverty or in hopes of safety, and fell sick by thousands.
Since they received no care and attention, almost all of them died.
Many ended their lives in the streets . . . many others who died in
their houses were only known to be dead because the neigh-bours
smelled their decaying bodies. Dead bodies filled every
corner.”—Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron
The Spread of the Black Death
This map shows how the Black Death spread across Europe from
1347 to 1351.
(a) Describe Describe the route by which the plague reached
Italy.
(b) Interpret Maps What is simi-lar about the countries that
were first to suffer from the Black Death?
For: Interactive mapVisit: PHSchool.comWeb Code: mxp-6163
See “The Bubonic Plague” in the Reference Section at the back of
this book.
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Universal Access
458 Chapter 16
Instruction (continued)■ As students continue to read about
the
Black Death, distribute the worksheet The Decameron. After
students have com-pleted it, ask: From what Boccaccio says, how can
you tell that the plague made people feel desperate? (Possible
answer: Out of fear, family members, even parents and children,
abandoned each other.) Why were many victims buried in mass graves?
(So many people died that there was not enough room in the
grave-yards for individual burials.)
Teaching Resources, Unit 6, The Decameron, p. 76
■ At this time, you can assign the work-sheet Famous Tales. (See
the Universal Access activity at the bottom of this page.)
■ Discuss why some Europeans blamed the Jews for the plague.
(Possible answer: Since the Jews were not Christians, they did not
participate in many of the community’s activities. They were
outsiders, and it often is easy to blame outsiders for anything
that goes wrong.)
■ As students finish reading Section 3, ask: What long-term
effects might have come from the people’s loss of confi-dence in
the Church? (Possible answers: The Church might have lost some of
its power over people.)
Independent PracticeHave students complete the Interactive
Reading and Notetaking Study Guide. (Adapted version
available.)
Monitor Progress
Tell students to fill in the last column of the Reading
Readiness Guide. Ask them to evaluate whether what they learned was
what they had expected to learn.
Teaching Resources, Unit 6, Reading Readiness Guide, p. 72
Have students go back to the Word Knowl-edge Rating Form. Rerate
students’ word knowledge and have them complete the last column
with a definition or example.
Teaching Resources, Unit 6, Word Knowledge Rating Form, p.
69
AnswerLink Past and Present Answers may vary. Students may say
it is less likely because of advances in medicine and
communication.
L1
English Language Learners L1
Less Proficient Readers L1
Special Needs
Using Paired Worksheets Hand out the worksheet Famous Tales,
which introduces The Decameron, a collection of stories told during
the Black Death in Italy, and The Canterbury Tales, a collection of
stories told during a pilgrimage in England, a genera-tion later.
Have students read the material
individually and then work with partners to answer the
questions. Check on stu-dents’ answers before calling on them in
the whole-class discussion of the work-sheet The Decameron. (See
above.)
Teaching Resources, Unit 6, Famous Tales, p. 75
458 Chapter 16 A Changing Medieval World
Image ssmm1294c06
Mill
ion
s
0
Year
25
50
75
1300 1355
Europe’s Population, 1300–1355
As many as one third of all Europeans—about 25
millionpeople—died between 1347 and 1352, when the plague
finallyran its course. Thousands of towns and villages in
Europewere completely emptied.
Jews and the Black Death Terrified people, lookingfor
scapegoats, blamed Jews. Scapegoats are people who areblamed for a
problem that they did not cause. Some Chris-tians, without any
evidence, claimed that Jews spread theplague by poisoning wells. In
many German towns, Jews wereexiled or killed. In Strasbourg, the
town council ordered thatthe 2,000 Jews convert to Christianity or
be burned to death.The pope issued an order that Jews should not be
killed orforced to convert. However, his order was widely
ignored.
Effects of the Black Death The short-term effect ofthe Black
Death was the loss of vast numbers of people fromevery part of
society: peasants, merchants, priests, scholars,nobles. A terrible
gloom descended over Europe. Peoplebecame obsessed with death and
disease.
With too few people to cultivate the land, much of the
landbecame overgrown with brush. Because so many peasants had
The Black DeathThe Black Death left medieval Europeans focused
on death. This painting shows people from all walks of life in
death’sembrace. The graph shows the population loss from the Black
Death. Critical Thinking: Link Past and Present Do you think it is
more likely or less likely that an epidemic like the Black Death
could occur today?
SSMM16.book Page 458 Monday, February 28, 2005 11:24 AM
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Chapter 16 Section 3 459
Assess and Reteach
Assess ProgressHave students complete Check Your Progress.
Administer the Section Quiz.
Teaching Resources, Section Quiz, p. 84
To further assess student understanding, use the Progress
Monitoring Transparency.
Progress Monitoring Transparencies, Chap-ter 16, Section 3
ReteachIf students need more instruction, have them read this
section in the Interactive Reading and Notetaking Study Guide and
complete the accompanying question.
Interactive Reading and Notetaking Study Guide, Chapter 16,
Section 3 (Adapted version also available.)
ExtendHave students go to PHSchool.com to research the Black
Death. Have them share with the class information that was not
covered in their textbooks. Provide stu-dents with the Web Code
below.
For: Help in starting the Extend activityVisit: PHSchool.comWeb
Code: mxe-1603
Writing Rubrics Share rubrics with stu-dents before they rewrite
their para-graphs.
Score 1 Rewrite does little or noth-ing to make the paragraph
more per-suasive or more appealing.Score 2 Rewrite makes some
chang-es, but the resulting paragraph still may be vague and
unappealing in tone.Score 3 Rewrite sharpens the focus and
increases its persuasiveness, improves the tone, but there still is
room for improvement.Score 4 Rewrite makes the focus much clearer
and greatly increases its persuasiveness.
Answer
Infected rats traveled on trad-ing ships. Fleas that carried the
disease lived on the rats, bit people, and spread the illness.
Section 3 Check Your Progress
1. (a) The English king claimed the French throne. (b) New
weapons put an end to the feudal ways of making war. Feudal lords
could no longer depend on armies of armored knights to win battles.
Feu-dal ties between lords and knights broke down.
2. (a) It killed millions and terrified every-one. (b) Possible
answer: Peasants who survived were able to demand better working
conditions and higher wages. They also revolted.
3. too small to see with the unaided eye
4. Possible answer: when widespread crop failure meant that many
people died of starvation.
5. Possible answer: where millions of peo-ple sickened and
died.
6. Possible answer: by saying that the Jews were to blame for
the disease.
7. Paragraph revisions should sharpen the focus on changes in
feudal warfare and should make the paragraph more inter-esting to
read.
L2
L1
L3
Section 3 The Breakdown of Medieval Society 459
Section 3 Check Your Progress
died, manor lords were desperate for workers. Serfs whosurvived
demanded wages for their work and left manors towork where wages
were highest. Manor lords attempted topass laws to limit the serfs’
movements.
Peasants across Europe revolted. In 1381, English
peasantsmounted the Peasants’ Revolt, killing local lords and
burningmanors. Although the revolt was put down, the traditional
tiesbetween lords and their serfs had been broken.
In the old medieval world, everyone had a place in societythat
was fixed at birth. After the Black Death, people were nolonger
tied to a stable social and spiritual community. Theybegan to act
on their own as individuals. After the Black Death,people of the
Middle Ages began to enter the Modern Age.
How did the Black Death spread across Europe?
Looking Back and Ahead In this section, you sawhow famine, war,
and disease disrupted the medieval world.In the next chapter, you
will see how Europe recovered fromthese disasters and entered a
period of cultural revival.
For: Self-test with instant helpVisit: PHSchool.comWeb Code:
mxa-6163H-SS: 7.6.7; E-LA: Reading 7.1.2
Comprehension and Critical Thinking1. (a) Recall Why did
England
and France fight the Hun-dred Years’ War?(b) Analyze Cause and
Effect How did this war contribute to the break-down of medieval
society?
2. (a) Describe How did the Black Death affect people in
Europe?(b) Analyze Cause and Effect How did the Black Death change
the relation-ship between lords and peasants?
Reading Skill3. Use Greek Roots and Affixes
Use the Greek roots micro-(small, or tiny) and -scop(look, or
view) to help you define microscopic in this sentence: Bubonic
plague is caused by microscopic living things carried by fleas.
Vocabulary BuilderComplete each sentence by adding a second part
that fur-ther explains the first part.4. In the early 1300s,
Europe
was struck by famine _____.5. Medieval Europe was devas-
tated by an epidemic _____.
6. Some Christians made Jews the scapegoat for the plague
_____.
Writing7. Rewrite the paragraph
below to make it more persuasive.
The Hundred Years’ War changed feudal warfare. New weapons were
developed. The longbow and the gun pierced armor. Cannons broke
through castle walls. Knights in armor could not win a battle
against longbows and guns. A lord’scastle could not protect
villag-ers from cannons. The old ways did not work anymore.
Vocabulary Buildersurvive (ser V�̄V) v. to continue living or
existing
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460 Chapter 16
ObjectivePrimary source materials can be a wonder-ful way to
study history; eyewitness accounts can yield great insights into
the time period and events being studied. However, because any
given primary source comes from one person’s perspec-tive, it is
colored by that person’s attitudes and biases. This Analysis Skills
lesson will teach students to check primary source material for
errors and signs of bias and to evaluate its overall
reliability.
Analyze Primary SourcesInstruction1. Have students look at the
Learn the
Skill section and read each step aloud. After each step is read,
have students repeat the instructions in their own words.
2. Practice the skill by following the steps on p. 460 as a
class. Model each step as students answer the questions. (1.
Mat-teo Villani, between 1348 and 1363 2. as sinful 3. probably
somewhat accurate; Pos-sible answer: He is judging everyone—even
people he doesn’t know.4. Answers will vary, but students probably
will express some doubt. Villani includes everyone in the world as
having succumbed to a shame-ful life, which is a gross
generalization and impossible to validate.)
Monitor Progress
Ask students to do the Apply the Skill activity. Then, assign
the Analysis Skill Worksheet. As students complete the worksheet,
circulate to make sure individ-uals are applying the skill steps
effectively. Provide assistance as needed.
Teaching Resources, Unit 6, Analysis Skill Worksheet, p. 78
ReteachIf students need more instruction, use the Social Studies
Skills Tutor CD-ROM to reteach this skill.
Social Studies Skills Tutor CD-ROM, Analyzing Primary
Sources
L2
L1
460 Chapter 16 A Changing Medieval World
“Those few discreet folk who remained alive . . . believed that
those whom God’s grace had saved from death, having beheld the
destruction of their neighbors . . . would guard themselvesfrom . .
. sins, and would be full of love and charity one towards another.
But no sooner had the plague ceased than we saw the contrary; . . .
they forgot the past as though it had never been and gave
themselves up to a more shameful and disordered life than they had
led before. . . . Thus, almost the whole city . . . rushed into
disorderliness of life. . . . There was no part of the world
whereinmen restrained themselves to live in temperance, when once
theyhad escaped from the fury of the Lord; for now they thought
thatGod’s hand was unstrung.” — Matteo Villani, Chronicle
1348–63
Analyze Primary Sources
History-Social ScienceResearch, Evidence, and Point of View
4Students assess the credibility of primary and secondary sources
and draw sound conclusions from them.
A primary source is information from someone who saw or had a
close involve-ment in what is being described. Primary sources
provide a strong sense of events and time periods. However, you
must ana-lyze them accurately and watch for bias. The following
excerpt describes life during and after the Black Death.
Learn the Skill Follow these steps to analyze primary
sources.
1. Identify who created the source and when it was created.
2. Identify the main idea. What does the writer want you to
think or believe?
3. Identify facts, opinions, inaccuracies, or bias.Sometimes it
is difficult to tell one from the other. Read with a critical
eye.
4. Evaluate the reliability of the source.Compare the
information in the source with other sources.
Practice the Skill Use the primary source above to answer the
following questions.
1. Identify who created the source and when it was created. Who
wrote the account? When?
2. Identify the main idea. How does Villani describe the
behavior of the survivors?
3. Identify facts, opinions, inaccuracies, or bias.Do you think
this account is accurate? Is there any evidence of bias?
Explain.
4. Evaluate the reliability of the source. Is this a reliable
source of information about the plague? Why or why not?
Apply the SkillSee page 463 of the Review and Assessment.
Text1: The copyright holder has not granted permission to
display this image in electronic format. Please see the teacher's
edition of your textbook for this image.