Vocabulary Words for Unit 11

Feudalism:
 A term coined by the torians to describe the type of government institutions, as well as the general social and political relationships that existed among the warrior-landholders in much of Europe during the Middle Ages.

Feudal Compact: 
An arrangement between a lord and his vassal involving the exchange of property for personal service.

Fief:
A grant of land and accompanying government responsibilities and power.

Homage:
A vassal's act of promising loyalty and obedience to his lord.

Vassal:
Another word for "servant", who served the lord that owned him in exchange for a fief.

Knight:
A vassal who was required to protect the lord and pledge his allegiance to him, in exchange for a fief. They also must go through training with an older knight before they could become one themselves.

Serf:
People in charge of exploring and settling on unexplored or unclaimed territory.

Barons: 
Lords of large territories who usually paid homage to a King.

Peasantry:
People who farmed on large plantations known as "Manors" which were owned by a lord or lady of the nobility (or members of the clergy).

Three-Field System:



(more to come)

*Notes on Chapter 11 (Manors, Towns, and Kingdoms)*

The Feudal Compact
-Feudalism is the relationship between landowners and warriors.
-Warriors known as knights, would pledge his allegiance to a lord, who would in turn give that knight land.
- The Lord would give land to the knight (or fief, which is property)
- The knights would them become the Lords vassal, or servant, (This was known as the "feudal compact")
-The Vassal was required to defend the Lord when necessary, and attend his court once a month.

Homage and Knighthood
- A Vassal was required to pay homage to his Lord, usually requiring to pledge your allegiance by kneeling     down and taking the lord's hands while speaking an oath.
-Men were apprenticed to older knights before they could become a knight themselves.
-When a knight died, his fief would be passed down to the next generation (if he was a male of course)

-Some Clergy would be known to fight as knights themselves

Feudal States
-Barons were lords of large territories who usually paid homage to a King (Kings ruled a country).
- Often a Baron's army could outnumber that of a King, which helped protect the King even more.

Peasants and Lords
- Medieval society was divided into three "estates": the clergy, the nobility, and the common people.
-Usually the peasantry farmed on large plantations known as "manors" which were owned by a lord or lady of the nobility (or members of the clergy)
- Iron plows and water-powered grinding mills helped with agricultural production, but yield was still minuscule by today's standards.
-To maintain the health of the soil, the "three-field system" was used where two fields were planted (on in fall, one in spring) and one field was left to reconstitute its fertility- them they were rotated.
-Many villages sprung up on and around manors with small cottages for the peasants, and a large manor house for the lord and lady.

The People of the Manor
- The Lord oversaw everything that happened in the land.
-The Lady of the House took care of the manor and helped make decisions with the Lord
- Most Peasants were serfs, meaning they were bound to the lands and to their lords for "labor service" a few days each week.
- Serfs were also in charge of exploring and settling on unexplored land.

The Growth of Trade
-The Agricultural boom after 1000 allowed for the establishment of many towns across Europe.
-Most of the Trade could have been things that were raised on an average manor.

Trade and Towns
-Most Medieval towns were surrounded by fortified walls.
Residences also sprang up outsides the walls in suburbs.
-Towns were dominated by a main church and a central marketplace.
-Buildings for the craft guilds and the wealthiest families would also be in the center of the town.

The Life of Townspeople
-Though townspeople were free, unlike serfs, they still had a hierarchy: merchants at the top, then craftsmen and artisans, then unskilled laborers and apprentices.

The Guilds
-Merchants, craftsmen, and artisans formed their own groups called guilds, which regulated their trade and protected its members.
- Craftsmen were classified as masters, journeymen, and apprentices.
- Once became a master after spending years learning as an apprentice, working as a paid journeyman foe a number of years, and completing his "masterpiece"
-Guilds participated in religious feasts and festivals, social organizations and usually provided well for charities.

(credit to Gavin Lewis's WCIV student textbook)

Getting Back Our Tests Today

Today in class we got back out tests from last week. One of them was a Barbarian Quiz about the foreign invaders that brought about the end of the Roman Empire. Many people in my class had either gotten a high grade or a perfect score. In fact, our class had the highest scoring average of all of Mr. Schick's freshman classes. I however, didn't do as well as I wouldn't have liked. We also got out "Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire" tests back today. We reviewed some of the questions on the test, and Mr. Schick even hinted to us that some of the questions he mentioned on the test might be questions that he may ask on the final exam. Tomorrow we will probably read more about the collapse of the Roman Empire.

*More Notes After Rome*

After Rome 500-700

The Germanic Barbarians

• They were the ones who became the 'nobles' and the aristocrats in Roman Culture.
• They decided to conquer and assimilate other barbarian peoples, and well as the former Roman land

• The Angles and Saxons invaded Britain and assimilated the native Britons (They were from Denmark and northwestern Germany)
• Most of the Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity in the seventh century.
• The most powerful Germanic Tribe were the Franks.
• The officials and nobles were the ones with the power because they were the "Mayors of the Palace"

• Eastern Roman Empire still continued on while the Western Empire was invaded by the Germanic Tribes. Eastern Empire was referred to as "Byzantium"
• Justinian came into power in 527 AD, and decided to reunite the Western Empire with the East.
• His plan worked for a while, but more Germanic Tribes continued to invade, while a massive plaque spread though the west. It depopulated much of the western side immensely.

• Greek Byzantine emperors saw themselves as Roman emperors 
• The Byzantines wanted to preserve the art, architecture, philosophy, and writing as much as possible, even though it went against Christian beliefs. 
• Justinian built the Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom") in Constantinople, which was the greatest church on earth at the time. 
• The Hagia Sophia was first a Christian cathedral, them a mosque, then a museum in the early 19 hundreds. 

*Conquerors of the Roman Empire*

Ostrogoths

Ostrogothic Kingdom

The Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian declared war on the Ostrogoths in 535 AD. During the 20 year war, the Ostrogoths conquered large parts of Italy.






Angles and Saxons
The Angles were people from German descent who conquered what is now modern-day Britain during the fall of the Roman Empire. The name England originates from the Angles.

*End of Roman Empire / Europe Takes Shape*

Today we took a test on the Roman Empire once again. This test was a bit different from past tests he has given us. Instead of 'multiple choice' or 'true or false' questions, this test was 'fill in the blank' and short response questions. Many of my classmates who took the test yesterday said that this test was very hard, and they were right. I worked to the very last minute because it was so long. Our new unit is 'Europe takes shape', which takes place during 700-1000 AD. Below are some notes on the chapter.

EUROPE TAKES SHAPE

The Carolingians

By 700 AD, the Frankish Kingdom, once the most powerful Kingdom in Western Europe, was falling apart. The wealthy family named the Carolingians took control of the Frankish Empire, and they had been the first to start fully developing western Europe. One of the family members, Charles, became the mayoralty (similar to king) of the new Empire. (Carolingians also translates to "children of Charles" in Frankish). 

Charles was nicknamed Charles Martel ("Charles the Hammer") because of his warlike and fierce personality. He was very generous with land, and gave it to his people as gifts or for respect. Some of the land given was from defeated enemies, while some of the land was from the Church. 

Charles son Pepin decided that power in the Kingdom needed to be lawful and rightful, with an organized structure of government. Over time, Pepin became a monk and missionary of the Kingdoms Eastern Lands. This was the first time in history that a king began his reign with a religious ceremony. 

Pope Steven II also anointed Pepin and his two sons to make sure they could rule the Empire well. Pepin claimed parts of Italy during his rule, and gained far wider power. This new "Roman" Empire was under the influence of Charles the Great. 

Charlemagne was Pepin's son and Charles Martel's grandson, and he was a very influential individual by contributing greatly to the evolution of western Europe. He had a very militaristic personality, and was always fighting a war. His military efforts helped him win over half of Italy. 

Charlemagne was a firm believer in Christianity. Local officials called counts helped make the decisions, and each count was in charge of a region of the Empire, or county. Occasionally, a group of counties would work together on an issue, and the man in charge of the group would be known as a duke. For taxation, he would use his many Estates for profit. 

Charlemagne made his capitol at Aachen. Charlemagne encouraged better education in his kingdom, so he set up clergy schools in Aachen. 

Study Guide for Test

What is an Edict of Milan?
The Edict of Milan was the order from Constantine to stop persecuting the Christians and to give them equal rights in the Empire, along with everything that has been taken from them. This was issued in February 313.

What is the Pax Romana?
The Pax Romana was a period of peace in the Roman Empire. It was about 207 years long
(27 BC - 180 AD) and was established by Caesar Augustus. With the accession of Augustus, it marked the end of the Roman Republic. Pax Romana is Latin for "Roman Peace".

Who were the people who Jesus associated with?
He talked with Tax Collectors, Prostitutes, and Sinners.

What does Gospel mean?
Good News

What was the average length of an Empire's term?
two and a half years, either due to assassination or dying in battle.

Who is Diocletian?
In 284 AD, Diocletian came into power. He increased his army to 400,000 men (1/3 bigger than Augustus) and recruited the newly conquered barbarians into the army. His new government had 20,000 officials. (10 times more than Augustus) and collected lots of tax money.


Constantine moved the capitol of Rome to Byzantine and named it Constantinople after himself.
Predestination

In 300 AD, 60 million lived in the Roman Empire.

(more to come)