The Middle Ages

1
The Middle Ages
2
Do Now
What does the term perspective mean? How can
perspective influence how we think? How can
perspective influence what we do?
TIP FOR NOTES Write the date in the left margin
of the page, on the first line
TIP FOR NOTES New Chapter Heading Renaissance
3
(No Transcript)
4
Maps and World History

• Watch a segment of this video on Maps, Time,
  and World History
• Take notes on the video, using the worksheet as
  a tool

5
Perspective Maps

• Review first 3 questions on worksheet together
• What is a word we can use to describe the
  perspective of Mercators map? Where is Mercator
  from?
• What conclusions might people draw from
  Mercators map?

6
Perspective Maps
What conclusions might people draw from Peters
map?
7
Perspective Maps
What conclusions might people draw from a map
like this?
8
Perspective Maps
What conclusions might people draw from a map
like this?
9
Perspective

• Mercators map is an example of Eurocentric
  thinking
• Besides maps, how else might a Europe-centered
  perspective influence what Europeans do or say?

10
Do Now
When you see the phrase The Dark Ages today, it
will appear in quotation marks. Why is it in
quotation marks? Think about perspective
11
The Dark Ages

• also known as The Middle Ages
• approximately 500-1500 C.E.
• the Middle because it was between fall of
  Roman Empire and beginning of the Renaissance

12
The Dark Ages

• Petrarch was an Italian scholar during the 1300s
  who loved Greek and Roman writing.
• He used the terms dark and light to
  describe ignorance or learning. He believed that
  Europe was in the dark after the light of the
  Greek and Roman empires were gone.

13
The Dark Ages

• Historians, and others, since Petrarch continued
  to use the phrase Dark Ages.
• They argued that Europe was in a state of
  cultural decline during this time because it
• Did not support learning
• Created very little culture (art, literature,
  architecture, etc.)
• Was repeatedly invaded
• Had no central government
• Had a bad economy
• Was basically a miserable place to live

14
The Dark Ages

• Who is it dark for?
• Who might not be living in the dark at this
  time?

15
The Dark Ages

• During the Dark Ages, there were many
  advancements in knowledge. Only they were taking
  place outside of Europe.
• For example, in the Islamic world
• algebra invented by Al-Kharizmi (825)
• number system developed by Muhammad ibn Musa
  (850)
• astrolabe developed by a Syrian woman named
  al-Asturlabi
• lots of universities (madrasa) located in
  mosques that were centers of knowledge in law,
  literature, religion, science, and medicine

16
The Dark Ages

• What do you think
• Is the Dark Ages a fair description for the time
  period? Explain.
• Who might it be fair or unfair to? Why?
• Should we call it something else?

17
Do Now
What do you think are the elements of a healthy
society? Make a short list.
What should people have access to?
How should power be distributed?
18
Hierarchy
a vertical system of organizing people or groups
by status or authority
19
Feudalism
Hierarchical system in which each person is
another persons servant
20
Feudalism

• relationships based on land and service
• fief - land granted to vassals (local rulers) in
  exchange for service
• kings relied on vassals for rallying troops,
  collecting taxes
• vassals pledged loyalty to serve the king

21
Feudalism

• nobles/vassals had much freedom, because their
  work was considered noble.
• peasants increasingly lost freedom in many
  places (ex England, France) and became serfs
• serfs had little/no rights because their labor
  was not considered noble

22
Feudalism

• no social mobility / class was inherited
• more than 90 of the population were peasants
• peasants lived in villages and developed a sense
  of community, shared resources

23
The Church

• the church at the center of peasant villages
• religious feasts and festivals marked changing
  seasons
• men and women had to pay taxes to the church
  (10 of their crops or income)

24
The Church
also had a hierarchical structure
25
Feudalism

• kings had less and less control / local rulers
  collected more taxes, built castles
• local church figures exercised much power

26
Feudalism
27
Feudalism

• On the worksheet
• Read the description and write the name of the
  social class in the blank space provided.
• Do this independently!

28
Feudalism
Discuss with a neighbor What could go wrong with
this system? As a pair, write as many responses
as possible. As a class, share and compare.
29
Feudalism
LEGOS!
30
Do Now
Review What does hierarchy mean? What kinds of
hierarchy existed during the Middle Ages? What
events or changes in society might disrupt these
hierarchies?
31
The Black Death

• Why?
• constant clearing of land (forests) for new
  farms where the soil is not good -gt bad nutrition
• peasant farms get smaller
• -gt people make less money
• climate cools / bad winters / bad harvests -gt
  famine

32
The Black Death

• Why?
• people moving to cities and towns
• bad harvests high food prices for townspeople
  -gt famine
• famine leaves people weakened
• people in cities live very close to each other
  (and animals!) -gt breeding ground for germs

33
The Black Death

• bubonic plague had existed for some time in
  Asia, but Europeans were not exposed yet -gt no
  immunity
• traders from Genoa (Italy) out at Black Sea
  catch disease flee their trading post and head
  home
• fleas living on rats carried the bacteria, and
  traveled in the cargo

34
Mapping the Black Death
Working in groups Read and follow the
instructions on the handout to chart the course
on the Black Death
35
Discuss
How has using a map helped us understand the
plague? What valuable information do we get from
the map? What information might be missing or
absent? (Remember the importance of
perspective.)
36
Do Now
What is a catastrophe? How can a catastrophic
event change someones perspective? How can a
catastrophic event change the way many people
within a society think?
37
Remembering 9/11
We all are familiar with what happened on this
date in 2001 But how do you think those events
changed the way that people viewed the world? How
do you think different people reacted? What did
they have in common? What might they have seen
differently?
38
Remembering 9/11
As you watch this video, pay attention to the
perspective of these two women. How did 9/11
influence their perspective? Respond to
questions on the worksheet to help you think
about this.
39
Catastrophe Perspective
What kinds of things did people in the Middle
Ages believe in? What do you think their
perspective was like? How do you think the Black
Death changed their perspective?
40
The Black Death

• 1348-49
• one-third of Europes population (54 million)
  killed by the plague
• crowded cities have higher death rates
• people had NO IDEA what was killing them / did
  not know how to treat it

41
The Black Death

• people obsessed with death in general
• some become more religious (self-discipline,
  abstinence), believed the plague was caused by
  God who was angry at sinners
• extreme groups of penitents (people who pray for
  their sins) whip themselves in public (called
  flagellants)

42
The Black Death

• other people take on the view that life is too
  short and should be celebrated
• feasts, corruption, desire for luxury - people
  indulge themselves to move on (ex The Decameron
  by Giovanni Bocaccio)

43
Discuss
How did the two events we discussed today change
peoples perspectives? They are very different
events in very different times, but do they have
anything in common?
44
The Black Death

• food prices drop (less mouths to feed) /
• survivors wine and dine
• peasant farmers and workers able to make more
  money because nobles were in need of extra hands
• peasants revolt sometimes and win better
  conditions
• nobles gradually losing power, kings gain more
  power