Term
| When did the Middle Ages begin? |
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Definition
| The Middle Ages begin with the fall of the western Roman Empire in 476. |
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Term
| How long a period of time did the Middle Ages last? |
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Definition
| The Middle Ages lasted for about a thousand years until the beginning of the Modern Period in the 1400s. |
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Term
| What natural resources did people have during the Middle Ages? |
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Definition
Dense forest,
good soil,
rich in minerals,
mountain |
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Term
| Why were the Dark Ages called "Dark"? |
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Definition
| It was a period of disorder with fierce tribal warfare in the Western Empire. |
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Term
| Why was there a decline in trade in the Middle Ages? |
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Definition
| Merchants faced invasions from both land and sea. Businesses collapsed and it was the end of the use of money. |
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Term
| Did cities increase or decrease in population during the Middle Ages? Why? |
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Definition
| Cities decreased in population and are abandoned as centers of administration as nobles moved to rural areas. |
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Term
| What happened to learning during the Middle Ages? |
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Definition
| There is a decline in literacy and learning because the nobles moved to the rural areas. |
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Term
| Describe the Germanic Kingdoms. |
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Definition
| The Germanic Kingdoms uncluded tribes of farmers, warriors and herders. They had no written laws and were small self-sufficient communities without a an organized government. |
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Term
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Definition
| The Franks were a Germanic people from the Roman province of Gaul, which they had conquered in 481. |
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Term
| What important thing did King Clovis do? |
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Definition
| King Clovis, who was a Frank, united the Franks and allied with the Roman Catholic Church. |
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Term
| Why did the pope crown Charlemagne emperor? |
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Definition
| Charlemagne was a war leader who helped Rome defeat the rebellious nobles . The Pope hoped to reunite the Christian community. |
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Term
| How did the eastern emperor react when the pope crowned Charlemagne emperor? |
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Definition
| The eastern emperor disagreed with the Pope's action and as a result, the split between the east and the west widened. |
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Term
| In what ways did Charlemagne encourage learning? |
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Definition
| Charlemagne educated officials at schools where they studied grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, music and astronomy. |
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Term
| In Charlemagne's time, in what language did officials write government records and reports? |
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Definition
| Latin. (It was a revival of the Roman Language.) |
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Term
| What did Charlemagne ask the respected scholor Alcuin to do? |
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Definition
| Alcuin set up a curriculum of study based on Latin learning. This becomes the educational model for medieval learning. |
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Term
| List 5 contributions that Charlemagne made. |
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Definition
1. He set up a strong, efficient government that served as a model for later rulers
2. He extended Christian civilization into North Europe
3. He built an empire across France, Germany and part of Italy
4. He reunited much of the old Roman Empire
5. He spread learning. |
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Term
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Definition
| They were Scandinavian war tribes, traders, farmers and outstanding explorers. |
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Term
| By the fourth century, the Roman Empire was divided into two parts. What were the capitals of each part? |
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Definition
| The western capital was Rome. The eastern capital was Constantinople. |
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Term
| Who was the emperor Justinian? |
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Definition
| Justinian was the emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He was an absolute ruler who controlled the armed forces, the economy and the Byzantine Church. |
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Term
| What was the Justinian code? |
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Definition
| The Code contained nearly 5,000 Roman laws and decided legal queestions that regulated whole areas of Byzantine life including: marriage, slavery, property, inheritance, woman's rights and crimes. |
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Term
| What major religious event occurred in 1054? |
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Definition
| The Great Schism split the Christian church into two parts: The Roman Catholic Church, centered in Rome and the Eastern Orthodox Church centered in Constantinople. |
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