The Postclassical Period in Western Europe, Known As the Middle Ages, Stretches Between

The postclassical period in Western Europe, known as the Middle Ages, stretches between the fall of the Roman Empire and the 15th century. Typical postclassical themes prevailed. Civilization spread gradually beyond the Mediterranean zone. Christian missionaries converted Europeans from polytheistic faiths. Medieval Europe participated in the emerging international community. New tools and crops expanded agricultural output; advanced technologies improved manufacturing. Mathematics, science, and philosophy were stimulated by new concepts.

1. What key religious event does the map above depict?

1. What region are the arrows emanating from?

1. To what region are 3 of the 4 arrows heading?

1. There is one area that seems to be a convergence point for most of the routes before moving. What is at the focal point of this area and why would they routes converge there?

1. Label the 4 routes on the key.

INTRODUCTION

1. How does Saint Godric exemplify the two key themes of the Postclassical age? (look back at your lecture notes)

1. What marked the beginning of the postclassical period in Western Europe?

1. What is this period referred to as? Give two names.

1. Which religion spread along with civilization in Europe?

1. List technologies and knowledge Europeans gained from other areas. (ex. technology X – country/region/people Y)

TWO IMAGES

1. How did some Muslims see Europeans?

1. Thomas Aquinas tried to explain how what three subjects involving rational knowledge and Christian faith fit together?

STAGES OF POSTCLASSICAL DEVELOPMENT

1. What caused the West to be so weak (politically and economically)?

1. Identify “Vikings” –

1. What institution kept learning alive during this rough period?

THE MANORIAL SYSTEM: OBLIGATIONS AND ALLEGIANCES

1. Identify “manorialism” –

1. Under manorialism, landlords (lords) and peasant laborers were tied together through political and economic obligations. List those duties below:

Political / Economic
Lords / Provided land for serfs.
Serfs / Could not leave the land.

NOTE: some peasants were not serfs. However, most became serfs because that was the only way to be guaranteed protection and have the right to hide within the castle walls when under attack.

1. What new technologies and techniques improved agriculture production?
2. Horse harness allowed horses (faster than oxen) to pull plows without choking.

1. How are serfs different from slaves?

THE CHURCH: POLITICAL AND SPIRITUAL POWER

1. What was the Roman Catholic Church modeledafter?

1. Where could potential conflict between popes and monarchs occur? (hint: bishops)

1. What did Clovis use Christianity for? (Similar to African kings converting to Islam)

1. Why would popes believe they were superior to monarchs?

1. What benefits did monasteries provide?

CHARLEMAGNE AND HIS SUCCESSORS

1. Identify “Charles Martel” and explain his impact on Islam in Europe -

1. Identify “Charlemagne” –

1. What did Charlemagne do to help revive European civilization?

1. What united Western Europe?

1. What kept them from uniting completely?

1. Identify “Holy Roman emperors” –

1. What evidence is there that the “Holy Roman Emperor” was not really seen as a ruler with much power?

NEW ECONOMIC AND URBAN VIGOR

1. Your book does not state but strongly implies that the horse stirrup was adopted by Western Europeans after contact with what group of people? (Hint: the stirrup is a military technology, allowing a rider to lean left or right without falling off and to swing a weapon harder or shoot a bow more accurately).

1. What happened to the Vikings in the 10th century?

1. What was a result of fewer raids and new agricultural technology?

1. What evidence is given of the new economic vitality of Europe?

1. How did the condition of serfs change as Europe’s economy improved?

1. When did the first universities develop in Europe? Besides religion, what topics did these universities teach and where did the knowledge come from?

FEUDAL MONARCHIES AND POLITICAL ADVANCES

1. Identify “vassals” –

1. Explain how the feudal system functioned.

1. How did Charlemagne, and later kings, pay those who served them?

1. What other method did kings use to bring more land under their control?

1. Who extended the system of feudalism into England and from what people was he descended from?

1. Who used this system earlier?

LIMITED GOVERNMENT

1. Identify “Magna Carta” –

1. How did the Magna Carta show the continued power of the aristocrats?

1. Identify “parliaments” –

1. Who held the power in the newly developed parliaments?

1. What was the key issue parliaments ruled on?

1. Identify “three estates” –

1. What was unique about Europe’s version of representative government? (Hint: it is one of your 7 principles of government)

1. Identify “Hundred Years War” –

THE WEST’S EXPANSIONIST IMPULSE

1. What three factors came together with the result being more war and European expansion?

1. What was the “reconquest”? About how long did it take?

1. Who called for the First Crusade? When?

1. How were people persuaded to join?

1. Which Crusade was victorious for the Christians?

1. What Turk won back the lost land from the Christians?

1. What was the motivation of the Fourth Crusade?

1. How did the West benefit from the Crusades though their initial goal was a failure?

RELIGIOUS REFORM AND EVOLUTION

1. What secular problem did the Church struggle with?

1. What did Pope Gregory VII institute to try to uphold the purity of the church?

1. What did Pope Gregory VII do to end state interference in the church?

1. Identify “investiture” –

THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES

1. What were the 3 ingredients that created the “High” Middle Ages?

1. What is the ideology that penetrated every aspect of life during the Middle Ages and what was it starting to have to compete with besides the power of monarchs?

WESTERN CULTURE IN THE POSTCLASSICAL ERA

THEOLOGY: ASSIMILATING FAITH AND REASON

1. What early Greek philosopher was the key source of debate and inquiry in Western Europe and the Church during this period?

1. Over what did Peter Abelard and St. Bernard of Clairvaux argue?

1. Why were schools in the West in a sense freer than those inChina?(Hint: Church OR state)

1. Identify “Thomas Aquinas” –

1. How did Thomas Aquinas link reason and faith?

1. Identify “scholasticism” –

1. While the rediscovery of Classical knowledge, combined with Arab works, led to a resurgence of learning, it did not lead to much NEW scientific innovation in Western Europe. Why?

POPULAR RELIGION

1. The rise in popularity or interest in Mary and saints shows how Europeans were changing past interpretations of Christianity. How?

RELIGIOUS THEMES IN ART AND LITERATURE

1. How was medieval art similar to that produced in Islamic or Hindu societies?

1. Identify “Gothic” – (look to image 10.6 on pg 223)

1. What was the change in formal language used in literature and plays? Why is this a big deal?

1. Why might Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales be frowned upon by the Church?

CHANGING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FORMS IN THE POSTCLASSICAL CENTURIES

NEW STRAINS IN RURAL LIFE

1. As trade grew and flourished throughout Western Europe, lords avoided becoming merchants themselves but sought many new goods available. How did this affect relations between aristocrats and peasants?

1. How did Europe’s level of agricultural technology compare to other areas?

GROWTH OF TRADE AND BANKING

1. Why did Italians introduce banking?

1. What was the opinion of moneymaking/capitalism held by many leading Christians?

1. What commodities were mainly sought from Asia?

1. What group of people benefited from the rejuvenated Mediterranean trade post-Crusades?

1. Where was the Hanseactic League and what was its purpose?

1. Where was it better to be a merchant? (Christian, Muslim or Indian societies) Why?

1. What was the purpose of a guild?

1. What area of specialized technology did Europe lead the world?

LIMITED SPHERE FOR WOMEN

1. Compare & contrast women in Christianity and Islam.

THE DECLINE OF THE MEDIEVAL SYNTHESIS

1. What European conflict weakened and strained their governments and treasuries?

1. What were the other signs of decline?

1. Identify “Black Death” –

SIGNS OF STRAIN

1. What new methods of warfare presented the aristocracy with new challenges?

1. In what ways did the church lose some of its role/influence? Why?

1. When the Church turned against intellectual work and became more rigid, what affect did this have on thinkers and scholars?

IN DEPTH: WESTERN CIVILIZATION

1. List the defining characteristics of Western civilization. (Hint: 2nd paragraph)

1. What aspect of European society declined near the end of the Middle Ages?

THE POSTCLASSICAL WEST AND ITS HERITAGE

1. Why is this period in European history referred to as backward?

1. What progress was made in the West during the Postclassical age?

1. Who had comparable divided regional governments to Europe?

1. How was Europe unique?

GLOBAL CONNECTIONS

MEDIEVAL EUROPE AND THE WORLD

1. What two powers threatened Europe during the Middle Ages?

1. Make a prediction: your chapter ends with a key question for Europe: how to gain greater control over the benefits that came from world contacts (like trade) while reducing the sense of threat (because Europe was weak). How do you think some European countries will answer that question?

TIMELINE

Insert the following events into the timeline

1. Hundred Years War begins
2. First Crusade called
3. Black Death first appears
4. Reconquest of Spain begins
5. Charlemagne crowned emperor
6. Magna Carta issued

500 CE / 1000 CE / 1500 CE