Middle Worksheet For A High School Class

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*A higher order learning question. I will accept any reasonable answer.
2000-2001 Mike Dowling, The Electronic Passport at www.mrdowling.com. All rights reserved.
Fill in the Blanks
Use your study sheet to find the correct answers.
BETWEEN ANCI ENT AND MODERN
The Middle Ages is the period between a____________ and m__________ history. The early period of
the Middle Ages is known as the D______ Ages because the great c_________________________ of
G__________ and R______ had fallen. Life during this *e__a was *d__f____c__l__ and few people expected
conditions to i____________.
Civilization *f__o__r__sh__d in other parts of the world during the M________ Ages. M____________
in the Middle East and North A__________ studied and improved upon the works of the G__________. Other
civilizations prospered in sub-Saharan Africa, C________, India, and the A______________.
The M________ Ages ended about one *t________________ years after they began. Within the next
c__n__u__y, Europeans would learn of a New World across the *A______________ Ocean,
l______________ would spread, and s____________________ and a____________ would advance our culture.
Historians refer to the next period of *E_______________ history as the R____________________, or the
r___________ of E__________. The Renaissance was considered the b_______________ of m__________
history.
Answer in complete sentences
1. Why are the early Middle Ages called the Dark Ages?

*2. How did the destruction of Rome cause life to become more difficult throughout Europe?

*3. Why do historians refer to the Dark Ages as a period when Europe slept?

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FEUDALI SM
Feudalism was the s_________ of l________________ and p_____________________ during the
M__________ Ages. Peasants moved onto large m__________ as the R________ Empire crumbled. The
l________ of the m__________ protected the peasants, but often forced them to become s________. A serf
was similar to a s_______. Serfs could, in theory, *p__r__h__s__ their f___________, but few serfs were able
to afford to leave their m________.
1. What was feudalism?

*2. Why was feudalism adopted in Europe during the Middle Ages?

*4. Explain why German, Viking, and Magyar tribes contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire.

*5. If forced to choose, would you rather be a serf or a slave? Defend your answer.

6. Explain why the life of a sharecropper was sometimes better than the life of an independent farmer.

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PRI MOGENI TURE
*1. What was primogeniture?

*2. Is primogeniture a fair system of inheritance? Defend your answer.

*3. What do you think might have happened if land was equally divided among all children upon the death of a parent?

*4. Describe at least two chivalrous customs used in present day society.

*5. Why do you think it was important for knights to follow a strict set of rules?

6. How would a boy learn a trade during the Middle Ages?

*7. Why do you think it took so long to become a journeyman?

8. What is a dowry?

*9. If you were the second child of a nobleman during the Middle Ages, and your father valued your opinion,
what option would you choose? Explain your reasons.

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Fill in the Blanks
CHRI STENDOM
During the M_________ Ages, most E________________ had abandoned the p______________________
beliefs of the G__________, Romans, and C________ and became C__________________. Many people were
attracted to r_______________ life during the Middle Ages. The c__________ was often the only way to get an
e_________________. During the Middle Ages, the C________________ church was r________ by the P______.
Other c__________ included b____________, priests, n______, and m________.
Monks were m____ who lived apart from society in m____________________. They devoted their
l________ to p__________ and their b______________ influenced the entire c__________. The m________ served
as a__________________________ to uneducated k________ and l________. Monks often copied b________ by
h______ before the *i________________ of the p______________ press.
*1. Define Christendom.

2. Why would people want to join the clergy?

*3. List as many different clerical positions as you can think of. Use all religious faiths and try to think of
unique answers nobody else will have. You do not have to write out your answer in a complete sentence.

4. How were monks different from other members of the clergy?

5. Why were monasteries important to European society?

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THE HUNS
1. From where did the Huns migrate to Europe?

*2. Why do you think pastoralists would be more warlike than farmers?

*3. Why do you think the Huns had little interest in the lands they conquered?

4. How did the Romans keep Attila from attacking?

*5. Why do you think the Huns were less effective after Attilas death?

THE BARBARI ANS
6. How did the Romans feel about the people who lived beyond the borders of their empire?

7. How was the term barbarian originally used in the Roman Empire? people who lived beyond the borders of
their empire?

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THE BARBARI ANS
9. Why were the people who lived northeast of the Roman Empire called Germanic?

10. How were the Germanic tribes different from the Huns?

*11. Do you think the Visigoths were right to defeat Valens? Defend your answer.

12. Why did Alaric order his troops to not molest women or destroy churches?

*13. Is Cinderellas Castle an example of Gothic or Romanesque architecture? Explain why.

*14. Describe another famous building that is built in either the Gothic or Romanesque style. (This may be a
very difficult question. You might want to ask for help. I will accept any answer, but you must at least
attempt to answer)

15. Why is Stephen King considered a Gothic writer? Can you think of any other Gothic writers?

16. Why are some teenagers drawn to Gothic music and fashion?

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Fill in the Blanks
THE BYZANTI NE EMPI RE
The Byzantine Empire was centered around the city of C__________________________, a city named for
C____________________, a Roman e_____________ who moved there ________ years ago. The leaders of the
B________________ Empire considered themselves the *s__________________ to the Romans, but in time the
R________ influence gradually disappeared.
Constantinople is no longer found on the map. Seljuk T________ moved into the empire from Central A______.
The Turks were M_____________, so the Byzantine emperor asked P______ Urban II to assist in a h______ war against
the Turks. The Pope agreed, and launched the first of many C______________ to free the B________________
Empire of u____________________. The Turks were able to withstand the C________________ assault and eventually
c_______________ the B________________ Empire.
THE BYZANTI NE EMPI RE
1. Why do we refer to the empire centered in Constantinople as the Byzantine Empire?

2. What modern nations comprised the Byzantine Empire?

3. What was the language of the Byzantine Empire?

4. Why did the Byzantine Emperors fear the Seljuk Turks?

*5. Why did Pope Urban II launch the First Crusade?

*6. Use a college level dictionary to find a definition of Byzantine that does not directly refer to the Byzantine
Empire. What does this new definition of Byzantine tell us about the Byzantine Empire?

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Fill in the Blanks
THE MOORS
The Moors were M____________ who ruled S________ for several *c__nt__r____s. The M________ built
Spain into a center of c____________ and s____________________. They were t______________ of the
C__________________ and J______ of their *c________________. Spain enjoyed a g__________ a____ under the
M________.
1. Who were the Moors?

2. What is a caliphate? 10% BONUS: Write the name of another city that can be described as a caliphate.

*3. Write a paragraph that explains why Spain enjoyed a golden age under the Moors. Your paragraph must include a
topic sentence, two support sentences, and a conclusion that restates but does not repeat the topic sentence.

4. What was the Reconquista?

5. How did Ferdinand and Isabella unite Spain?

*6. Queen Isabella is associated with a great discovery the same year she and Ferdinand expelled Muslims and Jews from
Spain. What was the great discovery, and how many years did it take place after the fall of the caliphate of Cordoba?

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THE FRANKS AND CHARLEMAGNE
The Franks were a G______________ tribe that conquered most of present day F__________
and G____________. Clovis was a Frankish leader to f__________ his subjects to c____________ to
C______________________ about ________ years ago. A subsequent *F______________ leader,
Charles M__________ kept M__________ forces from invading F__________.
The greatest Frankish k______ was C____________ the G________, or
C___________________. Charlemagne hoped to u_________ all G______________ tribes into a
single C________________ kingdom. On Christmas Day, AD800, Pope L____ placed a c________ on
C____________________s head and proclaimed him A______________, emperor of the H______
R________ E__________.
Charlemagne hoped to regain the glory of the R________ Empire, despite his own
*i____i__e__a__y. He set up s____________ through his e__________, and provided f_________
that allowed m________ to c______ the works of G________ and R________ authors.
Charlemagnes empire crumbled shortly after his d________, but the term H______ R________
Empire was used to describe different F______________ and G__________ lands for another
*m_l__e__i__m. The last Holy Roman Emperor decreed himself emperor of A_____________ in
order to keep N_____________s forces from attacking.
1. Who were the Franks?

*2. What do you think was the religious faith of most of the Frankish people before Clovis converted them
to Christianity?

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*3. How might the history of western civilization be very different if Charles Martel was defeated in 732?

*4. Write a paragraph that describes at least two of Charlemagnes goals. Your paragraph must include a
topic sentence, at least two support sentences, and a conclusion that restates, but does not repeat the
topic sentence.

5. How did Pope Leo III repay Charlemagne for defeating the Lombards?

*6. Why did Charlemagne not invite the Pope when he passed his crown to his son?

*7. How did Napoleon assert his superiority over the pope?

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Date: 11

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THE VI KI NGS
The V_____________ were fierce w______________ from S____________________ whose many raids
threatened the security of C____________________s empire. The Vikings were skilled s____________. A Viking
ship could hold as many as one h____________ men, but displace only t________ feet of w________. The
V__________s advance s____________ skills allowed them to a__________ quickly and without w____________.
The Vikings sailed well beyond S_____________________. At first they were interested only in
p____________. Later the Vikings s____________ down and c________________ the a________ they
c______________. By the tenth c____________, the V____________ controlled parts of B____________, France,
and R__________, and they raided lands as far away as E________. About 980, E______ the R____ began a
settlement in G________________. His s____, Leif E____________, apparently founded a settlement modern
C______________ province of N______________________. The Vikings named the new land V____________,
which means L______ of G__________. The Vikings a_________________ Vinland after about 35 years, but
some h__________________ suggest the Christopher C______________ was aware of the legends of the
V____________ when he set sail in 1492.
1. What modern nations comprise Scandinavia?

2. What important skill did the Viking possess? Explain why that skill was essential to the Vikings.

*3. Why do you think the Vikings abandoned their settlement in Vinland?

*4. Suggest a reason why we do not know the exact location of Vinland.

*5. Look carefully at the family name of Erik the Reds son. Explain why he was probably the first person
in his family to have a last name.

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Date: 12


Fill in the Blanks
THE NORMANS
The Normans were V____________ who settled in northwest F__________. They adopted the F__________
language and C______________ faith, but they retained the V__________ sense of a________________. The Normans
invaded E____________ in 1066, and imported F__________ speaking c_______________, cooks, and s____________.
The N__________ conquest created a F__________ military state. The N____________ built the T________ of
L__________ to p____________ the c___________, and to r__________ the E____________ people of the p________
of the N____________. The Normans completed a thorough c__________ and kept thorough t____ records in the
D______________ Book.
The N__________ conquest was the beginning of c_______________ of h__________________ between
B____________ and F__________. The two nations fought the H____________ Years W____, and competed for
c______________ in the New World. Britain and F__________ did not truly become a__________ until the
t________________ century, when they combined to defeat the G____________ and other nations in World War II.
1. Why do we call the Vikings who settled in northwest France the Normans?

2. What Norman ruler invaded England in 1066?

*3. Give one example where modern English language reflects the high status of the Normans and the low
status of the English.

4. What is the Domesday Book?

5. Why did the Normans build the Tower of London?

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Date: 13


Fill in the Blanks
THE BUBONI C PLAGUE
The Bubonic P__________ was a great s______________ that claimed close to ____% of the people of Europe.
The plague began in C________ where it killed about 35 m____________ Asians. Rats aboard European ships that
traded in C________ carried the disease back to Europe. F________ that fed on the b________ of the r______
transferred the d____________ to the E______________ people.
The plague spread in part because of poor s_____________ conditions in Europe. Europeans often ate s________
or diseased meat because r______________________ had not yet been I______________. People were often advised not
to b________ because open skin p_________ were thought let in the plague. Death from the p__________ was generally
quick, but very *p____________. Victims first noticed a__________ limbs and would v________ blood. The l________
nodes in the n______, armpits, and g________ would s________ until they b________.
1. Why was the Bubonic Plague also known as the Black Death?

*2. Use a college level dictionary to define either bubo or buboes.

3. Describe the role of rats and fleas in the Bubonic Plague.

*4. Write a paragraph that explains how poor sanitary conditions in Europe helped spread the plague. Your
paragraph must have a topic sentence, at least two supporting sentences, and a conclusion that restates,
but does not repeat the topic sentence.

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*5. The Italian writer Boccaccio said victims of the plague ate lunch with their friends and dinner with
their ancestors. What did he mean?
When theItalian writer Boccaccio said victims of theplagueatelunch with their friends and dinner
with their ancestors, hemeant that

6. Describe the three stages of the plague.

7. Where are your lymph nodes?

8. How did the flagellants believe they could end the plague?

*9. Why did the flagellants persecute Jews?

*10. Write a paragraph that makes at least two connections between the Bubonic Plague and Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Try your best to make connections that no one else in class will think of. Your
paragraph must have a topic sentence, at least two support sentences, and a conclusion that restates but does not
repeat the topic sentence.

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