Middle+Ages

Middle Ages 1000-1500 Kaylee Stock, Makenzie Preston, Nicole Johnson “To have another language is to possess a second soul.” -Charlemange

Population boomed during the Middle Ages along with new ideas, beliefs, and struggles. The Catholic Church had been controlling the government and church system since the fifth century and continued to do so during the Middle Ages. They divided the territories of central Italy in what are known as papal states, which made it much easier for the popes to continue to be involved in political matters. Also, the church became involved in the feudal system during this time. They found this to be successful in gaining more power to the church and ended anyone who questioned their power or beliefs. This led to the torture of heretics, also known as unbelievers. Heretics were sought out and dealt with in often horrific matters. This led to the Inquisition in 1252. The Inquisition developed a regular procedure to find and deal with heretics. This event caused the church to gain much more power.

The culture during the Middle Ages was based mostly on society ranking. At the top of the social ladder were the Kings, then Lords. After those came vassals, dukes, counts, and barons. The bottom of the social ladder belonged to peasant or serfs who spent most of their life working for nobles or on a farmland. The housing of peasants was a simple cottage made of sticks and clay. The housing for middle class was nicer but crowded due to the narrow city walls of medieval cities. Because of the crowded environment cities were dirty and often smelled. Water pollution was also common, the citizens couldn't use the rivers and depended on wells instead. Public baths were common but were soon shut down due to pollution. Overall, the life of medieval residents was so overcrowded and unsanitary that it led to a horrific disease.

After many years of being at a high point in the world, Europe came crashing down with the disastrous event called the Black Death. The Black Death was caused by fleas that lived on rats and carried a deadly bacterium. The Black Death commonly caused bubonic plague and spread rapidly throughout Europe. This disaster caused 50 to 60 percent of Europe's population to die. With the Black Death also came in the decline of power. Also contributing to the decline was the loss of power that the church held. The church went through a series of problems that ultimately led to the Great Schism in 1378. The Great Schism was the event of two popes ruling at one time. This caused the church to lose much of it's political power and spiritual authority. With all of these events happening new issues began rising. War and political instability became those new issues. The Hundred Years' War started in 1337 and went on until 1453. It was won by France with the help of Joan of Arc and the new invention of gunpowder.

__**Terms:**__

Pope
The Bishop of Rome, approved this appointment justified churches. a germanic tribe that conquered present day France and neighboring lands in the 400s
 * Franks **
 * Counts** King's representives that ruled over an assigned region of the realm **Missi Dominci** known as the Lord's messengers; an official commissioned by the king or emperor to supervise the adminstration **Feudalism** land grants to nobles; the dominant social system in Medieval Europe

__**VIDEO:**__ A closer look at what affects the plague had on all of Europe. media type="youtube" key="9IjhQDnoCcY" width="425" height="350"

__ People: __ ** Charlemagne ** "holy barbarian" 768-814 "charles the great" United europe for the 1st time " king father of Europe" accomplished general, led his men to victory in the Battle of Tours; founder of feudalism in Europe William Marshal  Anglo-Saxon soldier that was named the greatest knight of all time, served 4 kings during the Middle Ages
 * Charles Martel **



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