Blog Post 61 : Test Day

Today in class we took a test on Feudalism, i got an 80 better than I thought , and after we took the test we just chilled for the rest of the class

BLog Post 60: Study Guide for Feudalism test

Today in class were just reviewing for Feudalism and filling in a study guide; of vocab words: 

Feudalism- A term coined by historians to describe the type of government institutions, as well as the general social and political relationship, that existed among the warrior-landholders in much of Europe during the Middle Ages/who takes care of you and who you take care of

Feudal Compact- An arrangement between a lord and his vassal involving the exchange of property for personal service---A deal

fief- Property

vassal- A person who enters into a contract with their lord; lower of the two

knight- A person who pledged his allegiance to a lord, and in turn the lord would give him land for his protection

homage- A vassal’s act of promising loyalty and obedience to his lord; pledge of loyalty

serf- People who were bound to the land and to the lords for labor service a few days each week---- farmers,lower class people

baron- A great lord who exercised government authority over vast family territory --- the next step up from being a lord

peasantry- Lower end of the common people. Those who farmed on large plantations known a “manors” which were owned by a lord, or lady of the nobility (or member of the clergy)

estates- In the Middle Ages, the groups that made up society: often defined as those who pray, those who fight, and those who work

manor - The principal farming property and social unit of a medieval community, usually belonging to a member of the feudal nobility or to a Church institution

three-field-system - A method of crop rotation designed to maintain the fertility of the soil and to provide for a regular supply of fall and spring crops

internal colonization - The process of cultivating and settling in formerly wild land in medieval Europe --- Making the land your own

suburb - People who lived outside the walls of a town

guild - unions or an organization of merchants or craftspeople who regulated the activities of their members and set standards and prices

master - A craftsman who had the right to operate workshops, train others, and vote on guild business

journeyman - A licensed artisan who had served an apprenticeship and who was employed by a master and paid at a fixed rate per day

apprentice - A learner in the shop of a master; Beginner

masterpiece- The process done to become a master

water mill- A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping.

iron plow- A farm implement consisting of a heavy blade at the end of a beam, usually hitched to a draft team or motor vehicle and used for breaking up soil babow

Blog Post 59 : Review Notes

Today in class we reviewed the powerpoint we went over yesterday.

Blog Post 58: Chapter 11

Feudalism

• is a term used by historians to describe the governmental systems and the relationships between landowners and warriors 
• Warriors, known as knights, would pledge his allegiance to a lord, who would in turn given that knight land 
• Fief: Property; peace of land 
• Vassal: Servant, Knight , they take care of you 
• the lord would grant fief to the knight, who would then become the lord's vassal this was called the "feudal compact" 

Homage & knighthood 

• A vassal was required to pay a homage to his lord, usually this meant kneeling down and taking the lord's hands in his while speaking an oath of loyalty 
• Knight would start learning the way of "knight life" at age 13 or so 
• If the knight died the fief would revert to his son, though the lord would be the protector of that son / daughter 

The feudalization of the Church 

• Some clergy were known to fight as knights themselves

Feudal States 

• Barons: were lords of large territories who usually paid homage to a king 
• Your control of a larger area 
• Often a baron's army could outnumber that of a king, which kept a check on the king's power

The Manorial Estate 

• Medieval society was divided into 3 "estates": the clergy , the nobility, and the common people 
• Usually the peasantry framed in large plantations known as "manors" which were owned by a lord or lady of the nobility ( or a member of the clergy ) 
• To maintain the health of the soil the "three-field system" was used where 2 field were planted ( on the fall , one in spring ) and one field was left to reconstitute its fertility - then they were rotated 

The people of the Manor 

• The lord job was to oversee the crops, and just be a lord and run things 
• The wife / lady; ran the household oversaw servants, entertained guest and ran the manor when her husband was away 
• Most peasants were serfs
• They were bound to the land and their lords for "labor service" a few days each days 

 The Location and Appearance of Towns 

• Towns had fortified walls; to keep people in and keep those out, out 
• Residences also sprang up outside the walls in the suburbs 

Trade and Towns 

• Buildings for the craft guilds and the wealthiest families would also be in the center of the town 
• The life of townspeople 
• though townspeople were free, unlife serfs, they still had a hierarchy: merchants at the top, then skilled craftsmen and artisans, then unskilled laborers and apprentices 
• The leading families of the towns usually held all the governmental offices, though most adult males could vote 

The Guilds

• Merchants, craftsmen and artisans formed their own groups called guilds which regulated their trade and protected its members
• Craftsmen were classified as masters, journeymen, and apprentices
• Guilds participated in religious feasts and festivals social organizations and usually provided well for charities \
• 
  

Blog Post 57: Review Test

Today in class we just reviewed our test or pop quizzes we recently took.

Blog Post 56: After Rome 500 - 700 A.D.

Germanic Kingdoms of Western Europe 

• The Germanic Barbarians 
• Barbarian warlords and their families who assimilated into Roman culture became the “nobles” or aristocrats of medieval Europe
• Germanic tribes who ruled former Roman lands sought to conquer and assimilate other barbarian peoples who lived beyond the frontiers and were still pagans
• More on Germanic Kingdoms
• The Angles and the Saxons (from Denmark and northwestern Germany) invaded Britain and assimilated the native Britons
• Most of the Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity in the seventh century
• Christianity became part of the government 
• The most powerful Germanic tribe was the Franks
• The real power lay with the “mayors of the palace” who were royal officials and nobles themselves
• Most powerful are the Franks; they stayed put in Germany & France though 
• The government has come more and more less important 
• Meanwhile, back in the Eastern Empire 
•  From "Eastern Empire" to "Byzantium" 
• The Eastern Roman Empire continued on while the west was now divided up by the barbarian tribes 
• When the emperor Justinian came to power in 527, he decided to reunite the entire Roman Empire by re-conquering the western territories
• Europe in the 500's just lost a lot of power 
• Justinian succeeded for a time, but the land he re-took was soon conquered by new barbarian tribes and a massive plague depopulated much of the west
• Its a Christian Empire now 
• Greek Byzantine emperors saw themselves as Roman emperors and the heads of the Christian Church
• It was getting hard to tell the difference between who had power and who was a churhc leader 
• the Church had  a lot of power 
• Byzantines preserved Greco-Roman art, architecture, philosophy and writing despite much of it being non-Christian
• Justinian built the massive domed Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom") in Constantinople, considered to be the most glorious church on earth at the time
• Was trying to restore Europe 
• Built one of the most glorious church 
• Third version finished in 537, the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia, Justinian’s cathedral was later a mosque and is now a museum
• Using knowledge of the geometry of curves, it has a dome supported by arches high in the air that remained a model for both church-builders and mosque-builders for more than a thousand years

Blog Post 55: Rome fades away

Two Emperors 

• Diocletian 
• rules from 284 - 303 
• Persecuted Christians 
• Thought Rome needed a bigger army ( 400,000 strong ) and needed a bigger government        ( 20,000 officials ) 
• Constantine 
• Rules from 306 - 337 
• Believed it was okay to be a Christian
• 313 - His Edict of Milan proclaims freedom of worship 
• Built a new capital in the East  
• Byzantium, but became known as Constantinople 
• The Struggle of the peasants 
• Life in the 4th century 
• People in the country are becoming bankrupted; by endless tax collection 
• New framing system: peasants work for elite landlords on large farms
• paying off debts and being "allowed" to live on the land, in exchange for endless back-breaking work
• Which leads to feudalism
• the empire is in its death row; becoming less and less an interests to the people
• The western Empire crumbles
• The power of Rome is decreasing; while the nomadic barbarians gain power
• Western Empire is too poor , and begins to be neglected 
• In 410 - Visigoths took over Spain, and captured and looted Rome itself 
• Vandals control Carthage and the western Mediterranean other barbarian tribes: 
• These are the people that got to take over in the 5th & 6th century
• Ostrogoths in Italy
• Franks in Gaul
• Angles and Saxons in Britain
• Invasions !
• 
• Paths of how Rome really couldn't defends itself from different people 
• They didn't have the army any more and really couldn't protect it 
• End of an Era 
• from the beginnings...
• • 500 BC - the monarchy is abolished
• • 450 BC - the Twelve Tables are established

• through the glory days.....
• 44 BC - end of the line for Julius Caesar
• 27 BC - 180 AD - the Roman Peace (Pax Romana)
• to the bitter end .....
• constant fifth century invasions by barbarian tribes left the western Roman Empire shattered and crumbling
• the last emperor was a teenage boy installed in 475 by his father
• barbarians deposed Romulus Augustulus without bothering to kill him