1. Chapter 7

2.  What marks the beginning of the Middle Ages?  Fall of Rome  After the fall we see political, social, and economic decline  Europe was cut off from the rest of the world  The culture of this period > called the Medieval civilization

3.  Various Germanic kingdoms set up  Goths, Vandals, Saxons, and Franks Different from Romans > they were farmers and herders Divided Western Europe into smaller kingdoms  New power emerging across the Mediterranean  Religion of Islam  Battle of Tours > Charles Martel > Frankish king > stops Muslim advance into France

5.  King of the Franks > Charlemagne > Charles the Great  Reunites much of western Roman empire Charlemagne’s Achievements

6.  Magyars  Settled in present-day Hungary  Controlled much of Eastern Europe  Vikings  Home > Scandinavia? Norway, Denmark, and Sweden  Farmers, expert sailors, destructive raiders, traders, & explorers

7.  Medieval society > network of mutual obligations  Feudalism  Arose out of the need for protection  Loosely organized system of rule in which powerful local lords divided their landholdings among lesser lords (vassals)  Varied from place to place

8.  Feudal contract  Exchange of pledges  Vassal granted a fief (estate) which included peasants  Lord promised vassal protection for his loyalty & military service

9.  Monarch  Powerful lords  Dukes and Counts  Vassals (lesser lords)

10.  Lords battled with each other  Knights  Mounted warrior >usually fought on horseback  Training difficult Mock battles > tournaments  Defended castle (home of the lord)

11.  Code of Chivalry  Knights code of conduct Standard for behavior Bravery, loyalty, fairness in battle, etc.  Troubadours  Wandering musicians > sang about the deeds of knights  Basis for epic stories and poems

12.  Heart of the medieval economy > manor (lord’s estate)  One or more villages and the surrounding land  Most peasants on manor were serfs (bound to the land)  Tied to the lord through mutual rights and obligations  Farmed the lord’s land in return they were protected  Peasants guaranteed food, housing, and land  Manor > self-sufficient  Everything was produced there that was needed to live  Peasant life was harsh  Long working hours  Poor harvest = starvation  Disease was common