Online Textbook for History 1111

Learning Objectives

(Included in PowerPoint)

Upon successful completion of this lesson, students should be able to:

• Describe the influence of the Catholic church on daily life and politics in the Middle Ages, including controversies between the sacred and the secular.
• Discuss monasticism, its system of rules, and the contributions of monks to the preservation of knowledge.
• Explain feudalism as a political system.
• Detail the causes and results of the bubonic plague and its lasting effects on medieval Europe.
• Outline the major battles and events of the 100 Years War.
• Detail the influence of scholasticism and the rise of universities, including the work of Abelard and Aquinas.
• Explain the impact of cultures outside mainland Europe, such as the Norse and the Ottomans. 

Terms to Know

Thought Questions

1. Why was there a conflict between the sacred and the secular in the Middle Ages? How did Christianity affect the lives of people in this time period? Use specific incidents and examples to answer this question.

2. What were the causes and key events of the 100 Years War? Be sure to include the end results in your answer.

3. How did monasticism influence everyday life in the Middle Ages? How did it contribute to the rise of universities and scholasticism?

4. Using your developing skills in historiography, discuss when the Middle Ages began and ended. Provide evidence to support your thoughts. 

Discussion Questions

1. First, explain the basics of feudalism. Then, describe how King John of England disregarded these basic tenets. How did his nobles respond to his failure to serve as a good liege? (Hint: Magna Carta) The online content contains this information. There is also a link to the Magna Carta in the syllabus. 
2. For far too long, history has not been particularly fair to the contributions of "barbarian" cultures like the Vikings (or Norse) and the Rus. What achievements did they, in fact, give to medieval society that had a lasting impact? Please consult the reading from the BBC on our lack of primary sources materials, other than literature, written by the Norse people to assist you in your answer. 
3. Medieval thinkers struggled to balance the relationship between faith and reason, as you know from the readings. In fact, Averroes's "theory of the double truth" stated that the two types of knowledge were in direct opposition to each other. St. Thomas Aquinas took on the challenge of resolving this conflict in his writings. How did he accomplish this through his words? 
4. I already know ALL about the bubonic plague, so no descriptions or whatever here. What I want to know is...what were three long-term effects of the Plague? Consider effects on the lives of scholars, economics, religious institutions, and the coming Renaissance. What might have happened if the Plague did not reach Europe?
5. In the slide, we discussed the “end” of the Middle Ages and historiography. Please listen to the question I pose in the narration on interpreting when the Middle Ages ended and why. Now, thinking like a historian, answer this question and offer your explanations. 

Further Explorations

• St Benedict of Nursia
• Monasticism
• Labyrinths
• Chartres Cathedral
• Gothic Cathedrals
• The Crusades
• The Crusades.Org
• Arab-Islamic History 
  • [Scroll down to the section, The Crusades]

NOTE: From time to time, these web pages may "disappear." Please send an email to library@ega.edu if you find broken links, so they may be replaced.