Driving Questions:
1. What factors led to the beginning of the Middle Ages?
2. Why is the United States considered a descendant of the Roman political system?
3. How did the migration of Germanic and Gaulish tribes lead to the development of the Middle Ages and independent nation-states?
4. Why did feudalism and the manorial system develop in the Western Middle Ages? Explain the role of both systems politically, socially and economically.
5. How did Byzantium impact the development of western culture and lead to cultural diffusion throughout Eastern and Western Europe?
6. How did the Crusades stimulate the development of the middle class and commerce while lessening the nobles’ power?