Middle Ages Dbq

Question 1

The collapse of the Roman Empire marked the beginning of the Middle Ages that lasted

from the 5 th Century to around the 15 th Century.

Question 2

Charlemagne, also called Charles the Great, was an emperor in the Middle Ages who

ruled Western European region from 768 to 814. Charlemagne ruled the Franks from 768, the

Lombards from 774 and the Romans from 800 and succeeded in uniting much of Europe in the

Middle Ages. Charlemagne lived from 2 nd April 742 to 28 th January 814 and was referred to as

patrician before 800CE and after 800CE he was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo IIIat St. Peter’s

Basilica in Rome.

Question 3

The intellectual and artistic leaders of the middle ages were the Normans that invaded

Ireland and worked for the

state, King Cnut of Denmark, who ruled England and worked for the
State, King David IV of Georgia who worked for the state. King Saint Stephen I of Hungary who
introduced Christianity and worked for both the Church and the State.

Question 4
The innovations centered on the plowing of land especially the heavy wheeled plow,
which had an iron plowshare that could cut through the earth easily.

Secondly, the use of horses

instead of oxen as working animals made it easier to plow the land as horses had more endurance

and could be controlled by voice commands. Thirdly, the use of crop rotation would store more

nutrients in the soil to make it more fertile.

Question 5

The Feudal system was a social system whereby the King owned all the land, a quarter

was for his own personal use, some was given to the church was the reaming piece was leased

out in exchange for work. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the people of Western Europe

needed protection from invaders and so the Kings invented the Feudal system to allow the

citizens to have whatever they needed with a considerable servitude to whoever granted them

their possessions. This enabled cooperation and security from the lower class to defend the upper

class. Feudal system benefited King William since he got knights from the barons to protect him.

The Feudal system benefited the upper class more as they had more powers and could tell the

peasants what to do.

MIDDLE

AGES3

Question 6
Castles provided protection from enemies, were used for surveillance, served as strategic
positions for war, and served as homes for the Kings and royalties together with their families
and servants.

Question 7
The Crusades were a series of religious wars between the Muslims and Christians that
were orchestrated to secure the holy sites that were regarded as scared by the two religious
groups.

The first Crusaders traveled to Byzantium in August 1096 and the main goal was the

Christian re-capture of the holy city of Jerusalem to free the Christians from the Islamic rule. The

first Crusaders succeeded in recapturing Jerusalem and ended the Islamic rule. The Fourth

Crusade was an armed expedition called by Pope Innocent 3 that intended to re-capture

Jerusalem through Egypt but instead ended up looting Constantinople City. Boniface of

Montferrat, the leader of the crusading army organized by Pope Innocent III sent envoys to

Venice, Genoa and other cities to negotiate contracts for transport to Egypt. The Fourth Crusade

was not successful but looted Constantinople. The Crusaders brought new cultures to Europe

such as the study of stars, food spices, and mathematics among others.

Question 8

The patronage system is a mutual system whereby a political party after being successful

in an election, would give the government civil service jobs to its supporters, relatives, and

family as compensation for efforts they put towards the political party’s victory.

Question

9
The troubadours and trouvères were medieval poet-musicians that formed one of the first
repertories of vernacular music to be scripted. The troubadours and trouvères made their living
by composing and performing the old lyrical poetry in many different places and were actors in
various social contexts. They lived and worked in France and served the royal, the lords and the
nobles.