History IB Notes

Unit 2: Middle ages & source evaluation

2024/10/21
Today:
​ About the test
​ New unit
​ Google presentation
​ Reading
​ Discussions

Next lesson: Punishments in the middle ages. Were they that violent


About the test
Tests have not been graded yet, will get the results later on in the term


New unit
What do we know about the middle ages
-​ Dark ages (?)
-​ 500CE-1500

, -​ Crusades
-​ Poor state of hygiene in the city
-​ Feudalism
-​ Role of religion (esp. Christianity in Europe)




Google presentation: Middle ages

Middle ages

Was the dark ages really dark?

Reformation: The conversion of multiple countries to protestantism

How people lived
-​ Most people lived in the countryside.
-​ Eastern Europe: Most farmers were serfs
-​ Serf: A person bound to the land & owned by somebody else
-​ Life expectancy: 35 years
-​ High infant mortality rate, affecting child mortality partially
-​ Highly patriarchal system, meaning low status of women
-​ Christianity forced a patriarchal system
-​ Men were placed south, women were placed north
-​ North symbolized the dark, South symbolised the light
-​ Viking sweden was more egalitarian than medieval Sweden

Map of the middle ages
-​ Several kingdoms were present in Europe
-​ Slow process to unify the state & its arms
-​ Differing languages
-​ Differing views on leadership

Organization of the state
-​ Feudalism
-​ Comes from feodoum (County)
-​ Was a custom that came from Germania
-​ Monarch at the top
-​ Gave land (counties) to Great men
-​ Great men
-​ Had to be trusted in order to make sure the ruler had authority
-​ Promised to raise armies to fight for the king
-​ Farmers
-​ Had to pay taxes, often in natural products (e.g. grain, honey)
-​ Counties