Europe

Notre Dame de Paris, built 1160-1260 CE, is one of the best-known Gothic cathedrals.

Europe

c. 1200-1450

Objectives

Explain how the beliefs and practices of the predominant religions in Europe affected European society.
Explain the causes and consequences of political decentralization in Europe from c. 1200 to c. 1450.

Judeo-Christian Traditions

Ashkenazic Jews resettled in Eastern Europe after their forced expulsion from Western European states during the Middle Ages.

Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and the core beliefs and practices of these religions continued to shape societies in Europe.

audio pronunciation guide:

Judaism

Jan Hus is considered the first Church reformer. He was burned at the stake for heresy against the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.

audio pronunciation guide:

Judeo-Christian Traditions Quizlet

Feudalism

A 13th century French representation of the tripartite social order of the middle ages – Oratores: "those who pray", Bellatores: "those who fight", and Laboratores: "those who work".

Europe was politically fragmented and characterized by decentralized monarchies, feudalism, and the manorial system.

audio pronunciation guide:

Feudal Europe Quizlet

Manors & Burghers

Serfs preparing fields for winter from the The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry, c.1410

Europe was largely an agricultural society dependent on free and coerced labor, including serfdom.

audio pronunciation guide:

The Hanseatic League

Assignment for Wednesday, 9/18/19:

Read the BBC News article "Hanseatic League: The first European Union?" and/or listen to the BBC radio programme "The Hansa Inheritance ".
Write responses to the following questions:

What was the Hanseatic League?
What signs of the Hanseatic League’s past live on in Britain today?
Describe the portraits of Hanseatic merchants by Hans Holbein the Younger.
What regions and what products were tied into the Hanseatic League’s trade network?
What factors led to Visby’s decline as an important center of trade?
German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the Hansa as a role model for the European Union. Explain this statement.
What economic innovations and inventions resulted from Hanseatic League trade?
What factors contributed to the decline of the Hanseatic League?