Questions & Answers: World History – The Medieval Age

Define feudalism as it was practiced in Europe in the Middle Ages.
A major element of the social and economic life of Europe, feudalism developed as a way to ensure European rulers would have the wherewithal to quickly raise an army when necessary. Vassals swore loyalty and promised to provide military service for lords, who in return offered a fief, or a parcel of land, for them to use to generate their livelihood. Vassals could work the land themselves, have it worked by peasants or serfs—workers who had few rights and were little more than slaves—or grant the fief to someone else. The king legally owned all the land, but in return promised to protect the vassals from invasion and war. Vassals returned a certain percentage of their income to the lords, who in turn passed a portion of their income on to the king.
A similar practice was manorialism, in which the feudal system was applied to a self-contained manor. These manors were often owned by the lords who ran them, but were usually included in the same system of loyalty and promises of military service that drove feudalism.

Discuss iconoclasm and how it led to conflict between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
Emperor Leo III ordered the destruction of all icons throughout the Byzantine Empire. Images of Jesus were replaced with a cross, and images of Jesus, Mary or other religious figures were considered blasphemy on grounds of idolatry.
The current Pope, Gregory II, called a synod to discuss the issue. The synod declared that destroying these images was heretical, and that strong disciplinary measures would result for anyone who took this step. Leo’s response was an attempt to kidnap Pope Gregory, but this plan ended in failure when his ships were destroyed by a storm.

Explain the influence of the Roman Catholic Church over medieval society.
The Roman Catholic Church extended significant influence both politically and economically throughout medieval society. The church supplied education, as there were no established schools or universities. To a large extent, the church had filled a power void left by various invasions throughout the former Roman Empire, leading it to exercise a role that was far more political than religious. Kings were heavily influenced by the Pope and other church officials, and churches controlled large amounts of land throughout Europe.

Discuss the formation of universities in the Middle Ages.
The rapid evolution in Christian thought that took place during the Middle Ages gave rise to the formation of the first universities. For the first time in Western Europe, young men would move to large cities to study theology, law, and medicine at formal institutions. In addition to this trend, the academic method known as scholasticism was developed, in which scholars would use logic and deductive reasoning in order to analyze a work or determine something of an abstract nature. Among the so-called scholastics, two schools of thought developed: those scholars who adhered to the ideas of Plato were known as realists, and those who followed Aristotle were known as nominalists. The word “realist” is somewhat confusing when used to refer to the work of Plato, who believed that our perceptions of objects were merely perceptions of the barest shadows of their reality. Another development of Christianity in this period was mysticism; Christian mystics believed that they could achieve union with God through self-denial, contemplative prayer, and alms-giving.

Describe faith and learning in Western Europe during the late Middle Ages.
Surprising though it may seem, one of the best things that happened to Christian thought during the Middle Ages was its contact with Islam. The complex philosophies of Muslim scholars helped spur the evolution of Christian theology. These in addition to the rediscovery of ancient philosophers such as Aristotle led Christians to begin to glorify reason as the God-given tool for investigating religious faith. Many assertions made by the new rational theologians, however, were dubbed heresy by many Church leaders, as more and more Christian thinkers were bemoaning the materialistic ways of the Church leaders.
One of the leading Christian thinkers of the Middle Ages was St. Thomas Aquinas, whose Summa Theologica outlined rational explanations for the belief in God and in the miracles of Christianity.

What was the Magna Carta and what was its purpose?
England, unlike many of the other regions of Western Europe, had been accustomed to a strong monarchy. This tradition was challenged in A.D. 1215, when noblemen forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, a document which gave feudal rights back to the nobles and extended the rule of law to the middle-class burghers. The Magna Carta made the formation of the Houses of Parliament possible. Over time, Parliament would evolve into a two-house structure: the House of Lords which contained nobles and clergy and the House of Commons which contained knights and burghers. The House of Lords was mainly occupied with legal questions, while the House of Commons dealt mainly in economic issues.

Outline the history of Islam and its role in bringing unity to the Middle East.
Born in 570 CE, Mohammed became prominent in 610, leading his followers in a new religion called Islam, which means submission to God’s will. Before this time, the Arabian Peninsula was inhabited largely by Bedouins, nomads who battled amongst each other and lived in tribal organizations. But by the time Mohammed died in 632, most of Arabia had become Muslim to some extent.
Mohammed conquered Mecca, where a temple called the Kaaba had long served as a center of the nomadic religions. He declared this temple the most sacred of Islam, and Mecca as the holy city. His writings became the Koran, or Qur’an, divine revelations he said had been delivered to him by the angel Gabriel.
Mohammed’s teachings gave the formerly tribal Arabian people a sense of unity that had not existed in the area before. After his death, the converted Muslims of Arabia conquered a vast territory, creating an empire and bringing advances in literature, technology, science and art just as Europe was declining under the scourge of the Black Death. Literature from this period includes the Arabian Nights and the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
Later in its development, Islam split into two factions, the Shiite and the Sunni Muslims. Conflict continues today between these groups.

Outline the general progression of the Crusades, including causes and major figures involved.
The Crusades began in the eleventh century and progressed well into the twelfth. The major goal of these various military ventures was to slow the progression of Muslim forces into Europe and to expel them from the Holy Land, where they had taken control of Jerusalem and Palestine.
Alexius I, the Eastern emperor, called for helped from Pope Urban II when Palestine was taken. In 1095, the Pope, hoping to reunite Eastern and Western Christian influences, encouraged all Christians to help the cause. Amidst great bloodshed, this Crusade recaptured Jerusalem, but over the next centuries, Jerusalem and other areas of the Holy Land changed hands numerous times.
The Second Crusade, in 1145, consisted of an unsuccessful attempt to retake Damascus. The Third Crusade, under Pope Gregory VIII, attempted to recapture Jerusalem, but failed. The Fourth Crusade, under Pope Innocent III, attempted to come into the Holy Land via Egypt.
The Crusades led to greater power for the Pope and the Catholic Church in general and also opened numerous trading and cultural routes between Europe and the East.

Describe the significance of the Black Death and how it affected medieval politics and economic conditions.
The Black Death, believed to be bubonic plague, came to Europe probably brought by fleas carried on rats that were regular passengers on sailing vessels. It killed in excess of a third of the entire population of Europe and effectively ended feudalism as a political system. Many who had formerly served as peasants or serfs found different work, as a demand for skilled labor grew. Nation-states grew in power, and in the face of the pandemic, many began to turn away from faith in God and toward the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome for government and other beliefs.