Medieval Europe was divided into four main land regions with varying farming capabilities. Rivers served as important trade routes, and the Gulf Stream gave Europe a mild climate. Powerful rulers like Charlemagne and William the Conqueror controlled large empires until they fell apart. Feudalism and the manor system organized society into hierarchies with lords, knights, and serfs. The Catholic Church was very influential. Crusades were launched to regain the Holy Land but also increased trade along routes like the Silk Road. A third of Europe's population died in the Black Death plague between 1347-1352.

1. Chapter 14 Medieval Europe

2. Geography of Europe

3. Europe-The second smallest continent
I.Four Major Land Regions
a. Northwest Mountains-poor farming soil
b. North European Plain-flat lands make
for Europe’s most fertile farmland
c. Central Uplands-much rocky land;
minimal farmland
d. Alpine Mountain System-mountain
chains, wide valleys, good farmland

4. II. Rivers
a. Many rivers served as major transportation
routes.
i. Volga River: Europe’s longest river
ii. Danube River
iii. Rhine River

5. III. Climate
a. warm, mild climate because of the Gulf
Stream, a current which carries warm water
to Europe from the Gulf of Mexico.
b. Deforestation: cutting down forests to clear
land-allowed for planting on fertile farmlands

6. Lesson 2: Rulers and Invaders
A European Empire
I. Domesday Book
a. keep track of the
number of people in
England
b. helped ruler set up
a tax system

7. II. Charlemagne
a. ruler crowned emperor by Pope Leo III
b. Controlled a large empire and worked to keep it
strong
c. The kingdom fell apart after his death due to
attacks by the Vikings

8. Invaders
III. Vikings
a. Fierce pirates or
warriors from
Scandinavia that
invaded the empire
b. At first they raided to
steal goods, then set
up trading centers
and trade routes.

9. IV. William the Conqueror
a. ruler of Vikings in the North
b. settled troops in northern France
c. became Christians and church leaders

10. A Change in Government
V. King John’s leadership
a. Most kings of Europe were strong and just,
exceptexcept King John.
b. demanded more military service and greater
amounts of tax money from the people
c. sold royal positions to highest bidder
d. When he lost an important battle, a civil war
broke out in England.
e. Instead of facing defeat he signed the Magna
Carta.

11. VI. Magna Carta
a. Document that contained a list of promises made
by King John in order to end the civil war in England
b. also known as the “Great Charter”
c. contained 63 clauses that mostly helped the lords
and other landholders
d. Most important about the Magna Carta was that it
limited the power of the king The king now
had to obey the law.

12. Lesson 3: Life in the Middle Ages
The Church
I. Christianity
a. During the Middle Ages, Christianity played a
major role in the lives of Europeans.
b. The Pope was as powerful as a king.

13. c. Focus: Built cathedrals
with
magnificent stain- glass
windows
i. entire town worked for
years on churches
d. Monasteries and convents,
home to monks and nuns,
served as centers of
religion and education.

14. Feudalism
II. Feudalism
a. Because the Middle Ages did not have a strong
central government, a system of Feudalism was
created by people to meet their needs for justicejustice
and protection.and protection.

15. b. Social structure
Monarch
Lords
Knights
Serfs

16. c. Lords pledged loyalty and military support
(protection) to the monarchy.
d. In return, the monarchy gives these lords an
estate.
e. On lord’s land, the lord receives a large % of
crops and income, taxes others, maintains
order, enforce laws, and protect serfs.

17. Feudalism Declines
III. Serfs
a. Lower class of people that live and
work on the land (sometimes called
peasants)
b. Unlike the other three groups, they
had no loyaltyno loyalty to one another.
c. Could not be bought or sold
separate from the land
d. Could not leave land without lord’s
permission

18. IV. Knights
a. trained warriors on horseback
b. gave military support
c. Code of Chivalry: a code of behavior in
which the knight agreed to certain behaviors
i. ready to die for the church
ii. give generously to all
iii. used strength to stand against injustice

19. The Manor System
V. Manor System (NOT FEUDALISM)
a. the way of organizing agricultural labor (farm
help) and manage feudal lands
b. allowed the lord of the manor, along with knights
and serfs to be self-sufficient (meet one’s needs)

20. c. Parts of the Manor System:
i. Manor house and village: home to the lord,
church, serfs’ cottages (make small village)
ii. Farmland -three-field rotation
• Serfs were assigned one strip of land from each
of the fields
•One field planted in fall, one field planted in the
spring, third field left alone to stay fertile.
•As a result, each piece of land stays fertile.
iii. Meadowland: animals grazed on the land
iv. Wasteland: unusable land
d. Surplus food was sold in market places.
e. Towns grew because of surplus foods from the
manors.

22. Guilds
VI. Guilds
a. group of people united by a common interest
b. Merchants, bakers, goldsmiths, etc. had guilds
that allowed the group to:
i. work together to buy large quantities of goods
cheaply and control the marketplace of each
town.
ii. control the quantity and quality of production
iii. disallow non-members of the guild to sell
goods within the town.
iv. guarantee a fair price for goods
v. prevent competition

23. Medieval Women
VII. Medieval Women
a. Married women had few rights in making their
own decisions.
b. Unmarried women who owned land did have
some rights, but they lost them once they were
married.
c. A LADY (or noble woman)’s actions were always
directed by either her father or her husband.

24. Lesson 4: Crusades, Trade, and the
Plague
The Crusades/ East and West
I.Crusades
a. Constant fight between Christians and
Muslims over Palestine which was considered the
Holy Land for both groups.

25. b. Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus asked Pope
Urban II to provide Christian knights to help fight
against the Turks (Muslims from Central Asia)

26. c. Crusades
i. Eight major military expeditions organized by
Christians in western Europe
ii. Kings, nobles, knights, peasants and townspeople
became crusaders in attempt to win back
Palestine.
iii. Crusaders also fought to gain more economic or
political standings.
iv. During the Crusades while on journeys to the
Holy Land, crusaders traded and increased
commerce with people from around the world.

28. Trade Grows/The Silk Road
II. Trading
a. Most people’s needs were met on the Manor
but still bartered for other goods they
wanted that were unavailable on the manor
b. Local guilds set up tents and stalls to sell
goods at many fairs.
c. To serve these fairs, European trade routes
linked up with Muslim trade routes, and the
Silk Road.

29. d. Goods from other lands would reach the trader
through a series of middlemen.
e. On the Silk Road, caravans toto China carried ivory,
gold, and precious stones.
f. On the Silk Road, caravans fromfrom China carried fur,
silk, and ceramics.

31. The Plague
III. Bubonic Plague
a. Epidemic that killed 1/3 of the European
population between 1347-1352
b. First seen in China.
c. First European case in Genoa, Italy, a seaport
town.
i. Because of traveling sailors, it then spread
to many different areas.
d. Fewer people (due to the deaths from the
plague) led top serfs being more valuable to the
lords and able to move up in society.