Feudalism
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Read this brief description of Feudal life, as it was in England in the Middle Ages. |
Knights
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1. How old was a boy when he was sent away to start training as a knight?
2. What was the boy called during his first stage of training? 3. How long did the first stage last? 4. What did he learn during this first stage? 5. From whom did he learn in the first stage? 6. What was the boy called during the second stage of training? 7. What did he learn during this second stage? 8. From whom did he learn in the second stage? 9. At what age did the boy become a knight? 10. To what modern day American event might the medieval tournaments be compared? |
Lords & Nobles
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1. What was the lord of the manor's primary duty?
2. What form of rent did the villagers (serfs) pay to the lord? 3. Most of life's necessities were produced on the fief. What are two examples of things that had to be brought in to the fief? 4. What was the lords' and ladies' favorite past time? 5. What animals helped them in this pursuit? 6. Who was the lord's most important official? 7. What were the duties of the bailiff? 8. Who was the bailiff's assistant? 9. What were his duties? 10. What functions did the manor host? |
Women in the Middle Ages
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1. What institution taught women how to behave? 2. Who were women supposed to obey? 3. Why could most women not stay at home? 4. What additional duties did they have? 5. What is an "alewife"? 6. What other jobs might urban women have? 7. How did the way single and married women dress differ? 8. What is the traditional word for a single woman? Where did this word come from? 9. What did the nunneries offer to women that life outside the convent did not? 10. Economically, how were single women landowners better off than their married counterparts? |
Town Life in the Middle Ages
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1. What led to the growth of the towns?
2. Who were the most exalted members of a town? 3. Why did merchants support the king and a strong central government? 4. What did the merchant guilds regulate? 5. What three stages did a boy go through in order to become able to own a shop and be fully accepted by a craft guild? 6. From where does the term for the second stage come, and what does it mean? 7. If a serf escaped to a town, how long did he have to stay there in order to remain free? 8. What was the penalty for a thief caught with stolen goods? 9. Why did the buildings of cooks, barbers, and brewers have to be whitewashed and plastered? 10. In addition to ringing a bell to announce news, what other job might the town crier perform? |
The Black Death
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1.How was the Black death spread to others? 2.Where did the black death start? 3.What would happen if a rat, carrying the infected fleas, would bite a person on the leg or arm? 4. Why was the plague called the Black Death? 5. After the black death had been in Europe for five years, how many people had died from it? 6. What affect did the black death have on Medieval society? 7. Why were Europeans susceptible to the plague? 8. Describe what would happen to a person who became infected with the plague. 9. Approximately how many Europeans died from the Bubonic Plague outbreak? 10. What was one religious response to the Black Death? |
Merchants & Trade
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1. Who were the earliest medieval merchants?
2. By the beginning of the 14th century (1300), what was England importing? 3. By the beginning of the 14th century (1300), what was England exporting? 4. Where did the double-entry ledge originate? 5. Whom did merchants hire to help with paper work? 6. With what did merchants mark their papers? 7. Of what were most of the medieval coins made? 8. Where was the first gold coin since Roman times minted? 9. Where was European banking born? 10. How did banks make a profit? |
Medieval Churches & Monasteries
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1. What building was at the heart of Medieval life?
2. Who appointed the local parish priest? 3. How much of their income were the common people expected to give to the church? 4. Where do we get the expression "scot free"? What did it originally mean? 5. Where did people sit in the churches before the 15th century? 6. Besides the regular church, what other religious institution played an important role in the Middle Ages? 7. How did most abbeys support themselves? 8. Where were most books produced? Who made them? 9. What was one of the main ways that monasteries acquired money in the Middle Ages? 10. What two events led to the decline of monasteries in England? |
Medieval Entertainment
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1. What were 5 popular games played by people in the Middle Ages that are still played today?
2. How often did Medieval people have feasts or festivals? 3. Where does the word bonfire come from? 4. Which outdoor Medieval sports are still played today? 5. Why did the church not like the tournaments? 6. How did tournaments get started? 7. What does it mean to keep "mum"? What modern performers are similar to the mummers? 8. Why did the church not like many of the festivals celebrated by the people in Medieval times? 9. Mayday celebrated the coming of what season? What did villagers do on Mayday? |
Crime & Punishment
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1. What was the definition of a "criminal"? 2. Who dealt with minor crimes? 3. What were the punishments for minor crimes? 4. Who dealt with major crimes? 5. What were the punishments for major crimes? 6. What was the sheriff's job? 7. What is a "gaol"? 8. Why did the prisoners die before they came to trial? How could a prisoner starve to death? 9. In order to stop highway robbers, what did a 14th century law require lords to do? 10. What is the source of our expression "trial by fire"? |