Term 1 Study Guide G9 Answer Key

Subject: History / Term 1 - Study Guide – Grade 9
1) Answer the following questions.

1. What is topography?
Refers to the land and elevation of land in a region
2. Describe where do most people in southern Europe live?
Most people lived on coastal plains or in river valleys where the land was flat
enough to farm
3. Do you think Europe’s major farming regions are in the north or the south? Why?
In the North because the land was flat and the soil was fertile with main rivers.
4. Elaborate how might the region’s climate affect how people live in Scandinavia?
Because of the mountains and hills in Scandinavia, people would have lived on the
coasts. It might have affected people because the climate was too harsh which
prevented them from farming.
5. Why did vassals have to serve lords?
Because they received land from the lords
6. What did knights or lords benefit from feudalism?
The lords received protection and loyalty, while the knights received land
7. How did William the conqueror help spread feudalism?
After conquering England in 1066, to reward his knights for their part in the
victory, William gave them large estates of land in his new country. This was the
beginning of feudalism in England.
8. What is the Manorial system?
An economic system in the Middle Ages built around large estates called manors
that were self sufficient
9. How do you think most of the serfs felt about the manor system?
A serf’s life was hard and difficult. Farm labor was hard, and they often worked in
the fields late into the night
10. Why do you think many peasants left their farms for cities?
The chance to make money in trade led many people to leave their farms and move
to cities.
11. What were the duties of obligations of lords to knight?
Military aid, gift of land, weapons, horses, and armor
12. What were the duties of obligations of knights to lords?
Military service, money on special occasions
13. Who is Eleanor of Aquitaine?
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most powerful people of the Middle Ages. She
ruled Aquitaine
14. Why did historians call the early Middle Ages the “Dark Ages”?
It was a time of increased warfare, decreased trade, and a decline in learning.
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15. Who was Clovis and how did his conversion affect the Franks?
Clovis united the Franks and became their king. Clovis converted to the Roman
Catholic faith. The Franks blended Germanic and Roman cultural practices
16. Why did Pope Leo III crown Charlemagne “Holy Roman Emperor”?
He conquered a vast empire and tried to recreate the glory of the Roman Empire
17. Why did popes have great power over the people?
Nearly everyone in the Middle Ages belonged to the Catholic church, People saw the
pope as God’s representative on Earth. They looked to him for guidance about how to
live and pray.
18. Define feudalism.
Socio-economic political system based on landownership. Giving land to nobles and
knights in exchange for loyalty and military service
19. How is feudalism different from other political systems?
Feudalism was an unwritten system of promises that governed the relationships

between lords and vassals. Oher political systems were written laws in a constitution.
20. What was the Holy Roman Empire?
It was the territory that grew out of Charlemagne’s empire that was approved by the
pope
21. Why was it called the Holy Roman Empire?
It was approved by the pope, the pope crowned the emperor, it was a
rebirth/recreation of Ancient Rome’s legacy.
22. How did emperors come into power?
They were elected by the nobles
23. What were the duties and powers of kings in the Middle Ages?
 Ruled their lands
 Controlled everything political
a. Tax rates
b. Armies
c. Land distribution
d. Laws
e. Created alliances
24. What were the duties and powers of popes in the Middle Ages?
 Decide what the Church would teach
 Write a bull: a letter written by the pope with a church policy and /or religious
teachings
 Decide when someone was acting against the Church
 Excommunication
 After the Roman Empire collapsed, many people looked to Pope as the leader
giving him power to crown or depose rulers
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25. What is a Bull?
A letter written by the pope to outline a church policy or religious teaching
26. Think of the powers of popes and kings. Who was more powerful and why?
Popes were more powerful using excommunication to dominate kings and emperors to
subdue them
27. Why were people afraid of being excommunicated?
This punishment was deeply feared because Christians believed that a person who died
while excommunicated would not get into heaven.
28. How did becoming a king in England and France differ from how it was done in the Holy
Roman Empire?
Kings in England and France inherited their thrones from their fathers. In the Holy
Roman Empire Emperors were elected by the Nobles.
29. Who was Charles Martel?
Mayor of the Palace [major domo] during the Merovingian dynasty. He stopped the
Muslim spread into Europe at the battle of Tours
30. What was the name of the Dynasty that was founded by Pepin the Short?
Carolingian
31. Who was the son of Pepin the Short? What did he do?
Charlemagne. He expanded the Frankish territory and created a vast Empire. He spread
Christianity, encouraged learning, and was crowned by pope Leo III Holy Roman
Emperor.
32. What is the Black Death?
The term “Black Death” probably came from these black-and-blue swellings that
appeared on the skin of victims. The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of
bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s.
33. What were some of the symptoms of the bubonic plague?
Symptoms, or signs, of the plague included fever, vomiting, fierce coughing and
sneezing fits, and egg-sized swellings or bumps, called buboes.
31. What impact will the plague have on the decline of feudalism?
Some historians estimate that 24 million Europeans died of the plague—about a third of
the population. The deaths of so many people speeded changes in Europe’s economic and
social structure, which contributed to the decline of feudalism.
34. Describe the importance of the Silk Road.
The Silk Road was highly significant and impactful to every territory through which it
ran. Not only was the Silk Road an important source of economic growth for the local
economies along the trading route, but the Silk Road allowed a populous merchant class
to emerge and many cultural and ideological philosophies to spread. A continuous, well-
maintained, and protected trade route also provided merchants with security as they
travelled.
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35. How did Florence become the most influential city-State?
Florence was a manufacturing center for the textile industry, later it became the most
important European banking and insurance center. Also, the Florentine coin, the
florin, was the most respected currency in Europe. The Medici family which was the
wealthiest family in Florence had great political power. They rose to prominence
through banking, becoming the chief bankers for the Pope. Often, peace or war was
determined by the will of one of the Medici; both Venice and Naples suffered military
defeats after Cosimo Medici denied them loans from the Medici bank. Finally, their
patronage and support for education, arts and literature made Florence the center for
Italian culture.
36. Why were the city-states so rich and powerful?
The Italian City-States became wealthy because of trade. They had strong trade ties with
Asia, the Byzantine Empire, and Arab merchants. They had played two important roles in
trade
37. Who was Marco Polo and how was he influential?
He was an Italian merchant from Venice. His book about his time spent in China
increased European interest in Chinese goods. This increased trade between Asia and
Europe.
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2) How does Feudalism work? Complete the chart.
Kings and Queens

Loyalty and
Land
Services
Powerful Nobles
Loyalty and Land and

Military Services Protection
Labor Lesser Nobles - Knights Protection
Serfs – Peasants – Freemen

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Subject: History / Term 1 - Study Guide – Grade 9

1) Answer the following questions.

Feudalism was an unwritten system of promises that governed the relationships

Kings and Queens

Loyalty and Land and

Labor Lesser Nobles - Knights Protection

Serfs – Peasants – Freemen

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