Life in the Middle Ages

Changes in Farming Oxen are replaced by horsepower

Horses required more upkeep but could plow 3x as much land

Three-field system- allowed farmers to grow crops in more of an area (with a two-field system ½ of the land needs to rest)Increased amount of food for villagersAllowed better resistance of diseaseLonger life

Population growth!!!

Changes in work Guilds- a group of business people

working together to improve conditionsHelped maintain prices of goodSet standards for quality of workHelped maintain proper wagesMonitored working conditions

A growing market place We begin to see a commercial revolution

Result of expansion of trade and business Trade

Mostly in town on fair daysAs towns need more workers we see

population growth– towns turn to cities! Banking

As traders sell good at fairs they need a way to exchange currencies

Illiterate no more! Christian scholars began visiting

Muslim libraries Study of Greek scholars Building of universities

Mostly sons of artisansThomas Aquinas- scholar that argues

that religious truths could be proved by logic (influenced by Aristotle)

The Crusades

Who are they Crusader- someone who fights on behalf

of a religious cause 1096- 50,000-60,000 knights become

crusaders With a red cross on their armor, 3

groups went on a journey from which few would return

Cause of the Crusades Pope’s goals:

Pope Urban II claimed to be the leader of all Christendom (what better way to show power than with an army of knights from all of Europe’s kingdoms.)

Hoped to reunite Byzantine and Roman Christians (Byzantines denied the pope a supreme head)

Knights’ goals: (mixed motives) If they died on the Crusade, pope promised forgiveness of their sins Crusades were a chance to win glory in battle Wealth from conquered lands

Merchant’s goals: (played little part in the early Crusades) Some supported it with loans, cash, ships to transport armies- all for

a big fee Wanted control of key trade routes

The 1st Crusade 1097- met outside the walls of Constantinople (mostly

Frenchmen) Prepared for battle but not for the 2-year trek to Jerusalem.

Suffered from heat, thirst, hunger, fever, and battles along the way Finally 12,000 knights (less than ¼ of the original army)

reach Jerusalem Capture the city

A dreadful slaughter follow○ Muslim men and women chased down the streets and murdered○ Jews were herded into a temple and burned to death

All in all they won a narrow strip of land (400-650 miles) 4 federal Crusader states were carved out of this territory, ruled by a French duke or count

The 2nd Crusade Crusaders states were vulnerable to

Muslim counterattack1144- Edessa reconquered by the Turks

Create a 2nd Crusade to recapture the city

Crusaders were unsuccessful (people were shocked at the loss and pushed the Church for a 3rd Crusade.)

3rd Crusade (The king’s Crusade) Led by 3 of Europe's most important monarchs

(Phillip II of France, Frederick I (Barbarossa) of Germany, and English king Richard I (the Lionheart))Barbarossa fell from his horse and drownPhillip caught a fever and went home or fought with

Richard King Richard got sick and Saladin send his

personal physician to help. The two come to a truce- Muslim rule where

unarmed Christians could freely visit the city’s holy places.

Effects of Crusades Call to go to Holy Land encourages thousands to leave

homesFor women, this meant a chance to manage affairs on the

estate or operate shops and innsExpansion of trade between Europe and Southwest AsiaLessened the power of the Pope

○ Weakened feudal nobility ○ Increased power of kings

Fall of Constantinople weakened the Byzantine Empire For Muslims

Left a bitter taste in their mouth For Jews

Crusades were a time of increased persecution