Chapter 10 Reading Guide: A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe – Flashcards
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What is the postclassical period in Western Europe referred as? What was its defining characteristic?
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The Middle Ages.The fall of the Roman Empire in 476
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Civilization extended to what areas during the period?
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Western Europe
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Which religion will spread along with civilization?
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Christianity
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What are some of the areas that Medieval Europe have contact with? What did Medieval Europe would gain as a result?
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Technology: tools from Asia, crops from Africa, papermaking from the Arab world (originally from China) Other: trade in the Mediterranean, mathematics,science, and philosophy from the Byzantines and Arabs
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Where was the center of the Roman Catholic Church?
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Rome, Italy
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Where is the center of the post classical West?
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France, the Low Countries, and southern and western Germany with England drawn in
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What caused the West to be so weak (politically and economically)?
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Frequent invasions from Vikings from Scandinavia, weak rulers, and subsistence agriculture
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What institution kept learning alive during this rough period?
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The Catholic church
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Define manorialism.
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The system of economic and political relations between landlords and their peasant laborers
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Describe the life of a serf.
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agricultural workers received some protection (administration of justice) obligated to turn over part of their goods to remain on the land they worked basically they were peasants with ties to the land
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What improved agriculture production?
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The moldboard (a better plow) and a three-field system
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What types of rights did serfs have?
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They could not be bought or sold, had ownership of their houses/lands if they kept up w/ their obligations, and could pass property rights to heirs.
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What did the Roman Catholic Church model their organizations structure after? Explain.
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The Roman Empire, there was a top authority (the pope), then regional churches headed by bishops who appointed and looked over priests.
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In what ways were the lines between church and state blurred?
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Often monarchs and local lords would appoint priests (confusing whether the pope or other leaders were in charge of the church)
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What did the pope do?
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regulated doctrine (fought back against heresies that threatened Christianity) sponsored military activity (ex: the Crusades)
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What did Clovis use Christianity for? (Similar to African kings converting to Islam)
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To gain more power and prestige over rivals
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What purpose did the monasteries serve?
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Monasteries disciplined the spirituality of those who wanted to live a life devoted to prayer and worship while abstaining from a material life, served as an example to ordinary people of a holy life, improved cultivation of the land, and promoted literacy by providing education.
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What positive strides did Charlemagne make toward civilization?
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Charlemagne restored some church-based education
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What united Western Europe?
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The culture unity centered on Christianity
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What kept them from uniting completely?
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Different languages (German, English, French, etc)
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What area claimed the title of "Holy Roman Emperor"? What was its true nature?
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Germany and northern Italy; the title meant little since the rulers became weak and local lords and city-states were rather independent-minded and had their own monarchs
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What economic gains did contact with the East bring?
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New agricultural techniques (the moldboard plow, the three-field system, and new horse collar and stirrup) and trading opportunities
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What innovation gave landlords military dominance?
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Stirrups (it allowed them to fight on horseback more efficiently)
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What happened to the Vikings in the 10th century?
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Vikings began to stop raiding and instead settled down (due to becoming Christianized).
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What was a result of fewer raids and new agricultural technology?
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Population growth
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What was evidence of the new economic vitality of Europe?
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The growth of towns and the loosening of the serfdom over time
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How did their economic vitality and urban centers compare to China?
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There were less towns in Europe and the towns Europe had were smaller than China's
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When did the first universities develop in Europe? What was the primary purpose to educate for?
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Around the 11th century. The primary reason for education was to train people for the clergy or careers in medicine or law.
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Define and explain feudalism.
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A political system where military elites (nobles, kings) who could afford horses and iron weapons would receive homage and pledges of loyalty from lesser nobles (vassals) in exchange for land. This land would then be subdivided and serfs would work the land for protection giving a portion of their earnings up the ladder.
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How is the governmental bureaucracy paid?
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They were paid with estates in exchange for pledges of loyalty and service.
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What other method did kings use to bring more land under their control?
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Marriage alliances and other feudal links with other great lords
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Who extended the system of feudalism into England? Who used this system earlier?
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William the Conqueror; used earlier in China
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Why would merchants and professionals be more loyal than nobles? (like the eunuchs of Islam)
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the merchants would be loyal to the king (who appointed them)
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1215 - How did the Magna Carta show the continued power of the aristocrats?
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The aristocrats had a greater say in matters of the kingdom and placed a restraint on the king (ex: the king couldn't issue new taxes without the approval of the lords)
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Who held the power in newly developed parliaments?
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The nobles and the church hierarchy (the House of Lords) and wealthy townspeople (the House of Commons)
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What was the key issue parliaments ruled on?
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Changes in taxation
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What determine a person's rights?
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The estate they were born into (if the parents were nobles so are the children)
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What was unique about Europe's version of representative government?
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Europe had a strong sense of checks on central power (the monarch)
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What does population growth tend to cause? And what was their motivation?
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Expansionist impulse; motivated by Rome's lost greatness and Christian passion
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What was the "reconquest"? About how long did it take?
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The reconquest the attacks waged on Muslim spain by Christians that sought to take Spain; lasted from the 11th century to 1492 (roughly 400-500 years)
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Who called for the First Crusade? When?
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Pope Urban II in 1095
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How were people persuaded to join?
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People were persuaded to join because they were promised to be absolved of sins and entry into heaven if they died in battle. Other people joined to win spoils from rich Arab lands.
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Which Crusade was victorious for the Christians?
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The First Crusade (mostly because of the surprise factor) in which Christians held Jerusalem for a year
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What Turk won back the lost land from the Christians?
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Saladin in the 12th century
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What was the motivation of the Fourth Crusade?
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Venetian merchants (merchants from Venice) strove to attack their rivals in Constantinople
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How did the West benefit from the Crusades though their initial goal was a failure?
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The West was now exposed to new cultures and greater knowledge and international trade was launched from Europe.
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What secular problem did the Church struggle with?
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The church was a very vast and wealthy institution and it was tempting for church officials not to take advantage of this to gain power.
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What was one way they sought to reform it?
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Reform movements like religious orders dedicated to service and poverty arose
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What did Pope Gregory VII institute to try to uphold the purity of the church? When?
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He tried to free the church from interference by feudal lords and tried to get priests to remain unmarried in the 11th century.
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What did Pope Gregory VII do to end state interference in the church?
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He excommunicated the Holy Roman Emperor (Henry IV) who favored state appointment and eventually the emperor ended state interference to get the pope's forgiveness.
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When was the High and Middle ages and what where its three aspects?
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Around the 12 and 13th centuries; Growing population, more agriculture, and rising cities
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What is the ideology that penetrated every aspect of life during the Middle Ages?
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The church's authority
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How did the classical era of Greece and Rome inspire the West?
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The West still read writings by Greeks and Romans and held them in high esteem.
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How did Christianity inspire a dynamic society?
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Religious officials were now a class of their own and sometimes rivaled the nobles.
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How could one innovation cause a chain reaction of growth?
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An innovation could inspire innovators to come up with more innovation.
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What was the focus of intellectual thought?
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Combining rational philosophy and Christian faith
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What did Peter Abelard contribute to the conversation?
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He brought to light the logical contradiction in Christian texts
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How engaged was the average person in the debate over reason and religion?
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Not that engaged; the book only mentioned scholars and clerics debating
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What view did St. Bernard of Clairvaux advocate?
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Bernard said that knowledge should only come from faith in God and reason was dangerous.
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How were schools in the West different from China?
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Schools in the West weren't tied to any one bureaucracy (because there was more than one bureaucracy in the West but only one in China)
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How did Thomas Aquinas link reason and faith?
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Thomas Aquinas said that faith was foremost but reason allowed people to better understand God, whom they had faith in
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What is scholasticism?
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Dominant medieval philosophical approach; so-called because of its base in the schools or universities; based on use of logic to resolve theological problems
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What was the Christian view of scientific research?
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It was not seen as very important.
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List of examples of syncretism as Christianity were adopted in Europe
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People believed and worshipped God as well as believing in magic rituals and celebrating pagan festivals
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What was the purpose of medieval art?
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To serve the glory of God
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What was the popular architectural form? (look to image 10.5 on page 228)
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Gothic Architecture
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What was the subject of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales?
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Bawdy behaviors (secual matters in comical ways)
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What was the change in formal language used in literature and plays? Why is this a big deal?
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-Development of literature in spoken languages, or vernaculars (native language), of Western Europe -Helped develop separate European languages and focused largely on secular themes
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How had serfs' economic standing change?
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Serfs were nearly free farmers and only had a handful of obligations to their landlords
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How did this affect the interaction between aristocrats and peasant?
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Aristocrats often pressed serfs to pay higher rents and taxes which created tension
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How did Europe's level of technology compare to other areas?
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The agriculture, in addition to other fields of science, was not as advanced as east Asia or other parts of the world
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Who was opposed to the use of money?
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Christian moralists and most ordinary people
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Give examples of the first capitalist ventures.
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Trading and banking operations starting up in Europe and big merchants investing funds in trading ships and their goods
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What group of people benefited from the rejuvenated Mediterranean trade post-Crusades?
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Italian merchants
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What commodities were mainly sought?
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Polished goods of the East (spices and luxury goods)
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What was an example of a commercial alliance formed?`
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the Hanseatic League (cities in northern Germany and Scandinavia)
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Where was it better to be a merchant? (Christian, Muslim, or Indian societies) Why?
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Muslim societies because since Muhammad was a merchant, there are many beneficial commerce laws in Islam and merchants are not frowned upon OR Christian societies (in Europe) at first morally frowned upon trade but there were less interference from the government in trade so a merchant could prosper and become powerful
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What was the purpose of a guild?
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To give the members of the guild security and mutual control/an equal share in any endeavor (no monopoly)
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What area of specialized technology did Europe lead the world?
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Clockmaking
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How did advanced agriculture change women's lives (just like every other time)?
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It put limits on them
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How did this conflict a little with the original ideals of Christianity?
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Women were seen as equal to men in Christianity (all souls are equal) but women were not equal in medieval society/culture despite Mary and other female religious figures having cultural prestige
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What new institution valued women's contributions?
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Monastic groups/nunneries/convent
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Compare and Contrast women in Christianity and Islam.
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Both: seen as less important than men, couldn't lead religious service Christianity: higher status, less segregated, less confined to household Islam: had property rights
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What European conflict weakened and strained their governments and treasuries?
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The Hundred Years War (fought by England and France)
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What were the military turning points during the Hundred Years' War?
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the use of archers (main one) Joan of Arc lifting the English siege of Orléans by leading the army of Charles VII (of France) Battle of Castillon, which ended the war with French victory (cannons played a decisive role)
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What were the other signs of decline (remember Conrad Demarest's Model of Empire)?
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Not enough food for the growing population, land used up, famine, population decline, plagues (ex: the Black Death/bubonic plague), social disputes
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How was the role played by aristocrats challenged at the end of the medieval period? How did they combat the declining role?
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Professional armies and new weaponry (cannons and gunpowder) challenged the military prowess of the aristocracy; They turned the military expertise into competitive games they hosted (tournaments of jousting, duels, etc)
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In what ways did the church lose some of its role/influence? Why?
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French kings pushed influence of them (even moved the seat of the Pope from Rome to Avignon), many claimed to be the Pope, church officials were more concerned with politics than spirituality, and other religious (but still Christian) groups rose up against the church by preaching against the church hierarchy
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Why is this period in European history referred to as backward?
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Advancement in intellectual areas was discouraged by church officials after the time of Thomas Aquinas (so no new intellectual gains were made and Europe remained at the same level of intellectual advancement for decades and even centuries in some cases). Also, Europeans were not tolerant of other cultures (ex: Muslim culture was frowned upon)
