The Middle Ages - Grosse Pointe Public Schools...of the Middle Ages because nation-states (countries) began to develop. These were ruled by a single government and eliminated the need

The Middle Ages

Ancient World (Greece and Rome)

B.C. – 500 A.D.

Ends with fall of Rome

Middle Ages Medieval Ages

Dark Ages

500 - 1500

Modern World 1500 – Today

Begins with discovery

of New World

Christopher Columbus

The CHURCH

The Roman Empire

had ruled over a large

part of the known

world.

Europe

Asia

Africa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAqU0ZrVUTI&feature=related&safety_mode=true&p

ersist_safety_mode=1&safe=active 3 min Horrible Histories - Rome

When their empire fell

apart there was no

longer a single ruler.

Europe broke into

many small kingdoms

with their own

governments ruled by

kings.

The Christian Church

became very

important.

The church gained

influence and power

and became very

controlling. They even

had political power.

The head of the

Christian Church was

the Pope.

He ordered the start

of religious wars

against the Muslims.

These wars were

called Crusades.

The Crusades were

meant to take over the

Holy Land (where

Jesus was born) from

the Muslims. This is

Israel today.

There were eight

Crusades and they

were all

UNsuccessful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TooOJGKlGc 5 min Horrible

histories Old Crone crusades

These Crusades

exposed the

Europeans to new

ideas and products

from Asia.

FEUDALISM

In the small kingdoms

of Europe most of the

land was owned by

kings.

The kings gave some

land called a fief to

nobles who were born

wealthy and powerful.

The nobles gave land

to knights

(mounted warriors)

in exchange for

protection.

This exchange of land

for military service

was called feudalism

or the feudal system.

Some knights owed service to more than

one noble. Sometimes those

nobles would go to war causing confusion.

The knights were

needed for protection

against the invading

Vikings from the north

and other invaders.

Training to be a knight

started as a page, a

boy born of noble

birth who practiced to

be a knight at age 7.

At age 14, a page

became a squire who

served a knight.

He helped a knight

with his armor and

learned the skills by

watching his master.

At age 21 a squire

became a knight if he

mastered the skills

necessary.

To practice their

skills, knights

participated in

contests called jousts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVY3gdqxvB0&safety_mode=true&persist_sa

fety_mode=1&safe=active Jousting 2 min

Two knights rode at

each other with a

lance trying to

unhorse each other.

Knights also

practiced chivalry.

This was a code of

conduct where

knights were to be…

brave, loyal, truthful,

generous, courteous,

gracious, kind to the

poor, kind to the weak

and to all women,

and protector of the

church.

The MANOR SYSTEM

The manor system

controlled most

economic activity in

Europe.

A manor was a large

estate (land) owned

by a noble or knight.

A noble might own

many manors and

travel between them.

A manor included a

large house or castle,

fields for crops, a village

for homes, often a

church, pastures for

the animals, shops and

mills.

The owner of the

manor (lord) gave

workers a place to

live, a small piece of

land to grow their own

crops,

but most of the food

went to the lord of the

manor.

The workers were

either peasant (free

farmers), or serfs who

were not free.

The serfs were

tied to the land.

(Owned as part of the land.)

Castles were built for

protection.

Often they had a moat

(water) surrounding

the castle with a

drawbridge over it.

As trade increased,

larger cities started to

develop, and the

manor system

became less

important.

JUSTICE IN

MEDIEVAL SOCIETY

There were several

ways to prove your

innocence:

Trial by Combat – You

fought your accuser.

If you won you were

innocent, if you were

killed you were guilty.

Trial by Ordeal – Put

your hand in fire or

into boiling water. If

your wounds healed

without infection you

were innocent.

You might be tied up

and thrown into a

lake. If you floated

right away you were

guilty. If you sank you

were innocent.

CHANGES

IN

MEDIEVAL

SOCIETY

The king of England

became very powerful.

King John believed the

king had the right to do

whatever he wanted.

This angered the

nobles of England.

In 1215, the nobles

forced King John to

sign the Magna Carta.

This document made

the written law the

supreme power, NOT

the king. The king

now had to obey the

law.

The Magna Carta was

the first step to

democracy. The USA

modeled its

Constitution after the

Magna Carta.

Magna Carta Constitution

The nobles became

the Parliament

(congress) of England

today.

The BLACK DEATH

In 1347 a disease

called the Black Death

swept through

Europe.

It was a series of

plagues called the

bubonic plague.

The disease was caused by fleas and rats. The fleas got it

from the rats and then passed it on to

humans. It spread quickly.

It was called the Black

Death because it

caused black blotches

on the skin.

Warning!!!!

Gross pictures next slide

Doctors wore these masks which had long

beaks containing antiseptic, strong-

smelling liquids, which they believed would

protect them from contracting the plague

themselves.

Up to 1/3 of the

people of Europe died

from this disease.

75 Million people died.

THE END OF

FEUDALISM

1337 -1453:

The 100 Years War

fought between

France and England.

Joan of Arc was a 16

year old girl who led

French troops into

battle.

She was captured and

executed but inspired

the French on to

victory over England.

This began the ending

of the Middle Ages

because nation-states

(countries) began to

develop.

These were ruled by a

single government

and eliminated the

need for Feudalism.

New weapons also

developed like

cannons which

knocked down castle

walls.

Crossbows could

pierce knight’s armor,

and longbows could

shoot more quickly.

This made castles and

knights less

important.