Introduction
Middle Ages
The year is A.D. 475 and the Roman Empire controls all of Europe. The city of Rome is a beacon of light and safety across a troubled continent. As a European, The Roman government gives you your cultural identity, law and order. Within one year, invading tribes of Germanic barbarians sac the city of Rome and overthrow the government. Buildings are destroyed, books are burned, people are murdered, the government collapses and chaos spreads throughout the Empire. Laws are forgotten, trade routes disappear and you are no longer sure of what tomorrow may bring! Who will protect you? How will you support your family? How will you carry on with life when the lights go out!
General Resources
http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/feudal.htmlhttp://www.cybraryman.com/middleages.html A large varietyhttp://worldhistory.mrdonn.org/middleages.html A large variety
http://coventrycathedraltour.org.uk/node.php?n=south_nave Virtual Tour of Cathedral
http://www.mrdowling.com/703middleages.html General over of many topics in Middle ages
Google Books: Great reads and images:
Google Book One: Religion, Castles, Townlife, Knights, food, clothing
Google Book Two: History, Church and everyday life.
Google Book Three: Easy read on all major topics.
Google Book Four: All major topics.
Quests for part one
Quest 1: Feudalism and Government
Define the following terms using the glossary in the textbook: Feudalism, fief, lord, vassal
Great Starting Link: http://middleages.pppst.com/manorlife.html
1. Explain how Feudalism functions?
Start here to help:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/feudal.html
2. What role does religion play in feudalism?
3. What were some of the various laws that people lived by?
Look here:
http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/feudal-system.htm
4. What did the government provide for the people? Go into great
detail.
5. What did the government not provide for the people? Go into great
detail.
6. Why do people agree to live in the feudal system?
7. Draw a visual of the feudal pyramid and explain how it functions
Quest 2: Social Life
Define the following terms using the glossary in the textbook: manor, knight, chivalry, serf
Life in Village or Manor
1. What was the manor? Describe what life in general was like in the manor.
Great Starting Link: http://middleages.pppst.com/manorlife.html
2. What were the different classes living in and around the manors and their roles in society?
3. There were many jobs/crafts for craftsman/artisans in the towns. List 3 and describe each.
4. Explain how you become a Knight and what a Knight does to train?
5. What was life like for children?
Quest 3: Religion in the Middle Ages
Define the following terms using the glossary in the textbook: tithe, canon law, Gothic
http://coventrycathedraltour.org.uk/node.php?n=south_nave Virtual Tour of Cathedral
1. What was the main religion in Europe during this time?
2. What was the role of the Church in people’s lives? Provide as
much detail as you can find.
3. Why were huge cathedrals built? What are some key architecture
components of the cathedral?
Quest 4: Science and Technology
Life in a Castle
Examples of Technology
Technology in Attacking Castles
1. What were some technological advances during this time? Look at
architecture, warfare, medicine, etc.
2. Explain 3 structural aspects of the castle and how it protected your village?
3. What technological advancements allowed massive buildings, like cathedrals, to be built?
4. What are new weapons being used during the middle ages?
After you have completed the first 4 quests, you must write at least 2 paragraphs explaining the
following:
How did life change in Western Europe during the Middle Ages?
Vocabulary: Moving into the time know as the HIGH MIDDLE AGES.
Before you begin section two you must complete this Vocabulary and turn in to your teacher:
Excommunication, Magna Carta, Pope Urban II, Richard The Lionhearted, King John, Saladin, Islam, Muhammad, Mecca, Qur'an, Crusades, Black Death, Silk Road, Cultural Diffusion.
Quest 7: The Crescent and the Cross
General on Crusades: http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/the-crusades.htm
General on Crusades http://historymedren.about.com/od/crusades/p/crusadesbasics.htm
Map of Crusades (Note difference between 1st and 3 travel plans): http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072957549/student_view0/chapter20/interactive_map_quiz.html
First Crusade http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/crusades.htm
Other Crusades: http://www.themiddleages.net/life/crusades.html
1. Who are the Muslims?
2. What do the Muslims control that the Christians want?
3. What were the Crusades mainly about? Go into detail to describe
The first Crusade and Third Crusade.
4. What did the Crusades say about the power of the Catholic Church in peoples’ lives?
5. What are the lasting effects of the Crusades—See Reading
Quest 8: Mongols and The Black Death
The Mongol Empire Lower reading level
The Black Death
Spread of the Plague
PBS videos investigating the Plague
1. Who are the Mongols?
2. What did the Mongols do? How much land did they control? Why
are they important in regards to Europe?
3. What traveled along the silk road to Europe in 1354? How did it
arrive?
4. Describe what happened when you caught the Black Death?
5. How did the Black Death effect the Feudal System?
6. How did the Black Death effect the power of the Church?