W. Johnson

1. The Crusades

Who-called by Pope Urban II

What-holy wars, to gain control of the Holy Land

Where-Europe

When-1st Crusade 1096-1099, 2nd 1147-1149, 3rd 1189-1191, 4th 1202-1204

Why-the Crusades had economic goals and religious motives. Their goal was to recover Jerusalem and Holy Land from the Muslim Turks.

2. The Crusading Spirit Dwindles

Who-Louis IX, won wide respect

What-Children's crusades and the Reconquista (Spanish crusades) took place.

Where-Europe

When-started around 1212

Why-Crusades became common and unsuccessful.

3. Growing Food Supply

Europe's great revival would have been impossible without better ways of farming. Expanding civilization requires an increased food supply. Farming was aided by a warmer climate that lasted from about 800-1200, enabling farmers to cultivate land in areas previously too cold to support crops. They also developed new methods to take advantage of more available land.

Using Horsepower: For hundreds of years, peasants depended on oxen to pull their plows. Oxen lived on poor straw and stubble and were easy to keep, but moved very slowly. Horses needed better food, but a team of horses could plow twice as much land in a day as a team of oxen. With the use of horses came the need for a new type of harness. Harnesses of the early Middle Ages went around the horse's neck and nearly strangled the horse when pulled. Before 900, farmers began using a new harness that fitted across the horse's chest, taking pressure off the neck and windpipe. Horses gradually replaced oxen in pulling plows and wagons.

The Three-Field System: Around 800, villages began to organize their land into three fields. Each year, they used 1/3 of the land for a winter crop of wheat or rye. In spring, they used a different 1/3 of the land to plant oats, barley, peas, or beans. The remaining 1/3 of land lay unplanted. To avoid exhausting the soil, they used this system. The previous method, the two-field system only allowed the villages to use one-half of their land each year. With the new system, they could use two-thirds of the land. As a result, food production increased. Villagers could eat more and the food was better for them, nutrition-wise. Population increased because well-fed people can better resist disease and live longer.

4. Trade and Finance Expand

Just as agriculture was expanding, so were trade and finance, which was due in part to the population growth. By the 1000s, artisians and craftsmen manufactured goods by hand for local and long-distance trade. Trade routes spread across Europe and Italian trade ships sailed the Mediterranean and the North African coast. Trades routes were opened to Asia.

Fairs and Trade: Most trade took place in towns. Peasants traveled to town on fair days, hauling items to trade. Cloth was the most common item. Other items included bacon, salt, honey, cheese, wine, leather, dyes, knives and ropes. Such local fairs met the needs of daily life of a small community. No longer was everything produced on a self-sufficient manor.

The Guilds: The fairs were made possible by the guilds, which controlled the crafts and trade. A guild was and association of people who worked at the same occupation. In medieval towns, guilds controlled all wages and prices in their craft. The guilds usually met in their own guild halls. AS towns grew, craft guilds were formed by skilled artisians. Guilds enforced standards of quality. Only masters of trade could become guild members. To become a master, a child was apprenticed to a master fo 5-9 years. The apprentice then became a journeyman and could work for wages. Journeymen whose products met guild standards, were welcomed as masters.

A Financial Revolution: The fairs and guilds created a need for large amounts of cash. The merchants, before selling goods for a profit, had to buy goods from distant places. This meant they had borrow money, but the Church forbade Christians to lend money at interest. For loans, the merchants turned to Jews called moneylenders. This was one of the few occupations allowed to them. In the Christian world, Jews lived on the fringes of society and were excluded from guilds and had to live in segregated parts of towns called ghettos. Eventually, the Church relaxed its rule on moneylending and banking became an important business.

5. Urban Splendor Reborn

All over Europe, trade blossomed and better farming methods caused a population growth. Scholars estimate that between 1000 and 1150, the population of Europe grew from 30 million to about 42 million. Towns grew and flourished.

Trade and Towns Grow Together: By the later Middle Ages, trade was the lifeblood of the new towns which sprang up all over Europe.The excitement and bustle of towns drew many people. No longer content with their old feudal existence, many serfs ran away, even though they were legaly bound to their lord's manor. This leaving of manors for towns, challenged the traditional ways of feudal society. Most medieval towns developed haphazardly. Streets were narrow and filled with animals and household waste, both human and animal. Houses lacked fresh air, light, and clean water; most people never bathed. The wood houses with their thatched roofs were fire hazards. Despite these drwbacks, the migration to towns continued.

Towns and the Social Order: So many serfs had left manors, that by the 1100s, according to custom, a serf could become free by living in the town for a year and a day. These runaway serfs made better lives for themselves in the towns. The merchants and craftsmen didnt fit into the traditional social order of noble, clergy and peasant. At first, towns came under the authority of feudal lords who levied fees, taxes, and rents. As trade expanded, the burghers, or town dwellers, resented the interference and organized themselves, demanding priviledges. These rights were sometimes won by force.

6. The Revival of Learning

Growing trade and cities brought a new interest in learning. At the center of the growth of learning stood a new European institution- the university.

Scholars and Writers: The word university originally described a group of scholars who met whenever possible. By the end of the 1100s, university buildings arose in Europe. Most students were the sons of burghers or well-to-do artisians. The goal of most students was a job in government or in the Church. A bachelor's degree in theology took 5-7 years of schooling and becoming a master of theology took at least 12 years of study. At a time when serious scholars and writers were writing in Latin, a few remarkable poets began writing in a lively vernacular, or the everyday language of their homeland. Some of these works are still read today. Dante Alighieri wrote The Divine Comedy in Italian. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in English. Christine de Pisan wrote The City of Ladies in French. Since most people couldnt read or understand Latin, these writers brought literature to many people.

The Muslim Connection: The revival of learning sparked European interest in the works of ancient scholars. At the same time, the growth of trade was accelerated by the Crusades, which brought them in contact with the Muslims and the Byzantines. These people had preserved the writings of the old Greek philosophers in their libraries. In the 1100s, Christian scholars traveled to Muslim libraries in Spain. Jewish scholars translated Arabic versions of works by the Greek writers into Latin. Europeans acquired a huge new body of language. Including science, philosophy, law, mathematics, other fields, and superior Muslim technology in ships, navigation, and weapons.

Aquinas and Medieval Philosophy: In the mid-1200s, the scholar Thomas Aquinassaid that most religious truths could be proved by logical argument. Between 1267 and 1273, he wrote the Summa Theologica. Aquinas' great work, influenced by ancient Greek thought with the Christian thought of his time. Aquinas and his fellow scholars who met at the great universities were called schoolmen, or scholastics. They used their knowledge of Aristotle to debate many issues of their time. Their teachings on law and government influenced the thinking of western Europeans, particularly the English and French. Accordingly, they began to develop democratic institutions and traditions.

A. Tumblin

7. England Invades Waves of Invaders

The Danish Vikings, Angels,and WIlliam the Conqueror were the people. They invaded Britain( Danish Vikings), were a germanic tribe who invaded Britain, (Angles), and invaded England with a Norman army. The time was the 800's. The place was England and Normandy. These events were important because they made a foundation for centralized government.

8. England's Evolving Government ( Magna Carta)

Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry Plantagenet, and John Softsword were the people who helped the government evolve. Eleanor was wife to two kings; owned a lot of lands in Normandy, Henry was Eleanor's husband, and John failed as a military leader, which gave him the nickname "Softsword".The time was 1147-1215. The place was England. The Magna Carta was important because the Parliament weakened the great lords, and provided a check on royal power.

9. Capetian Dynasty Rules France

The person who started this dynasty was Hugh Capet. The time was 987-1328. It took place in Paris( the heart of the dynasty). The dynasty was important because it set astride important trade routes, established bailiffs, and help increase royal power against the nobility.

C. Dunlap

10. A Church Divided