THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES UNIT REVIEW This is the last test of the quarter!

Question #1 The answer to this question must be detailed with information that supports your ideas. This is your LONG response question. What is FEUDALISM?

 After Rome falls, the western half of Europe falls into chaos while the eastern half continues on as the Byzantine Empire.  Western Europe goes into a situation where there are no “real” centralized governments.  The land of western Europe gets divided into many small kingdoms, each one ruled by a king that many times had no real power.  During this time, western Europe is invaded by a variety of attackers, the worst of them were the Vikings.  The Vikings attacked to steal. They stole all they could, including people who they would sell into slavery.  Nobles (who were rich and owned land) could no longer rely on a king to protect them.  In order to protect their property from these attacks, nobles needed to employ knights who would fight for them when the manor came under attack.  Since there is no money, knights were paid with a gift of land called a fief.

 Knights promised to serve the lord (noble giving them the fief) in battle in return for the land they received.  The knight now had their own manor where they could employ their own peasants who would work the land to produce food.  Just like the knights not getting “paid”, peasants did not get paid for their work either.  Peasants were given a place to live, a small piece of land to grow food and protection in return for their work.  This is what feudalism was all about, service given in return for security received. Knights gave service to their lord and received the security of land. Peasants gave service to their lord and received the security of safety.  What else could you add to this that has not been written above?

Question #2 The answer to this question must be detailed with information that supports your ideas. This is your MEDIUM response question. What is the MANOR SYSTEM?

Because of Viking raids, people during the Middle Ages do not travel very much. Since there is very little traveling, there is very little trade. Due to the lack of trade, everything you needed to survive had to be on your manor. The Manor System was a kind of economy. Since you could not trade for very much, you had to produce it. Food, water, clothing and metal objects all needed to be made on the manor. It was a system of using your manor to survive, hence the Manor System. What else could you add to this that has not been written above?

Question Numbers 3 & 4 These are your SHORT response questions. 3.What groups were attacking western Europe during the Middle Ages? Magyars, Muslims and Vikings 4.Why is this period of time called the Middle Ages? Because it is the period of time that acts like a link or bridge between Ancient History and Modern History. It is the age that is in the “middle” of these two. It lasted for the 1,000 years between 500 & 1,500 AD.