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The Middle Ages 500-1500 AD, Western Europe. The Medieval Era The Dark Ages. The Middle Ages 500-1500 AD, Western Europe. The Middle Ages in Europe were influenced by… . Classical heritage of Rome Beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church Customs of Germanic tribes. The “Dark Ages”.
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The Middle Ages500-1500 AD, Western Europe The Medieval Era The Dark Ages
The Middle Ages in Europe were influenced by… • Classical heritage of Rome • Beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church • Customs of Germanic tribes
The “Dark Ages” • Business & trade declined as a result of invasion. • Money became scarce (hard to find). • People left cities & moved to rural areas, where they could grow their own food. • Learning declined. • The common language, Latin, evolved into many different languages (Spanish, Italian, French, etc).
Feudalism • A political & economic system based on land ownership • A peasant or serf worked the land of a lord in exchange for military protection.
Feudalism Structure of society like a pyramid: • King at the top • followed by wealthy vassals (nobles & church officials) • knights (protected & fought for their lords in exchange for a small fiefdom) • Peasants at the bottom (who owned no land but provided labor in exchange for protection. • Most peasants were serfs, people who could not lawfully leave the place they were born.
Manor • The manor was the lord’s estate. • The lord provided serfs with housing, farmland, & protection. The serfs tended the land, cared for animals, & maintained the estate. • Manors were self-sufficient communities, containing their own church, workshops, & mills.
Life of Peasants • Peasants paid taxes • for grinding grain in the lord’s mill • for marriage • 1/10 of their income to the church • Rarely traveled more than 25 miles from their manor • Lived in one & two-room houses, dirt floor, animals often slept in house to add warmth • Illness & malnutrition common • Average lifetime was about 35 years