2024-2025
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC HISTORY
MODULE 3: MIDDLE AGES
KH
, The Middle Ages:
Topics covered in this module:
- What are the “Middle Ages”
- End of the Western Roman Empire
- The Eastern Roman Empire
- Feudalism and the Manorial System
- Religion and its e<ects on society and economy
- The rise of the “urban economy”
- Crises of the 14th century AD
Defining the Middle Ages:
5th Century AD - 15th Century AD
Start: Fall of the Western Roman Empire 476 AD
Rome was conquered by the Goths, facing mass migration from people/tribes from the North
(Northern Europe).
–
End: Fall of the Eastern Roman Empire / Byzantine Empire 1453 AD
The end of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, when it was invaded
and conquered by the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II. Other important historical events
indicating a turn in society at the time was the “Renaissance” (Rebirth of the culture of the Classic
Antiquity in the late 14th century AD), Christo<el Colombus arriving in America in 1492 creating
new trade routes (America was already discovered by the Norse Vikings but this knowledge was
never spread across the rest of Europe), and the invention of the printing press in the 1450’s.
Renaissance: A term used by the Italians but taken over and translated by the French to
describe a shift in culture from the so called “Dark Ages” (a nickname for the Middle Ages
mainly used by Italian humanists, philosophers, and intellectuals to describe the period
of the Middle Ages. They saw the Middle Ages as a period full of wars, plagues, diseases,
famine, poverty, and intellectual and cultural standstill. Today’s historians do not share
this vision as the Middle Ages did have some remarkable people, culture, and inventions.
Not study material:
- Unification of the Franks under Clovis in 5th/6th century
- Islam ~610 AD
- Al-Andalus (Muslim ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula) 711 AD – 1492 AD
- Rise of the Carolingians 8th century AD (Charlemagne “Holy Roman Emperor” culturally
significant for schools and libraries)
1
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC HISTORY
MODULE 3: MIDDLE AGES
KH
, The Middle Ages:
Topics covered in this module:
- What are the “Middle Ages”
- End of the Western Roman Empire
- The Eastern Roman Empire
- Feudalism and the Manorial System
- Religion and its e<ects on society and economy
- The rise of the “urban economy”
- Crises of the 14th century AD
Defining the Middle Ages:
5th Century AD - 15th Century AD
Start: Fall of the Western Roman Empire 476 AD
Rome was conquered by the Goths, facing mass migration from people/tribes from the North
(Northern Europe).
–
End: Fall of the Eastern Roman Empire / Byzantine Empire 1453 AD
The end of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, when it was invaded
and conquered by the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II. Other important historical events
indicating a turn in society at the time was the “Renaissance” (Rebirth of the culture of the Classic
Antiquity in the late 14th century AD), Christo<el Colombus arriving in America in 1492 creating
new trade routes (America was already discovered by the Norse Vikings but this knowledge was
never spread across the rest of Europe), and the invention of the printing press in the 1450’s.
Renaissance: A term used by the Italians but taken over and translated by the French to
describe a shift in culture from the so called “Dark Ages” (a nickname for the Middle Ages
mainly used by Italian humanists, philosophers, and intellectuals to describe the period
of the Middle Ages. They saw the Middle Ages as a period full of wars, plagues, diseases,
famine, poverty, and intellectual and cultural standstill. Today’s historians do not share
this vision as the Middle Ages did have some remarkable people, culture, and inventions.
Not study material:
- Unification of the Franks under Clovis in 5th/6th century
- Islam ~610 AD
- Al-Andalus (Muslim ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula) 711 AD – 1492 AD
- Rise of the Carolingians 8th century AD (Charlemagne “Holy Roman Emperor” culturally
significant for schools and libraries)
1
