Archiving, Advancing, and Protecting News, Information, Data, and Research Through Education
Lesson #1:
• Middle Ages / Feudalism
• Genghis Khan / Mongols
• The Black Death
Lesson #2
• The Italian Renaissance
• Niccole Machiavelli
• The Basics of Christianity
Lesson #3:
• Early Catholic Church
• The Inquisition
• The Protestant Reformation
• The Counter-Reformation
• Amish / Mennonites
Lesson #4:
• Intro to Absolute Monarchs / Divine Right
• Islam
• Ottoman Empire
• Feudal Japan / Shoguns
• Filial Piety / Mandate of Heaven (China)
• Ancient England / The Magna Carta
• The Russian Czars / Imperial Russia
The Middle Ages was the period in European history from the collapse of Roman civilization in the 5th century CE to the period of the Renaissance (variously interpreted as beginning in the 13th, 14th, or 15th century, depending on the region of Europe and other factors).
Near the end of the Middle Ages, the King–particularly in England, France, Spain, Russia,and Austria – began to extend his rule at the
expense of the nobles. By the 17th century, the king had become an autocrat, or absolute monarch. His supremacy was acknowledged by
commoners and lords.
Factors Strengthening Royal Power.
a. The Crusades and other wars killed many feudal lords.
b. The rising middle class supported the monarch to
assure protection of property and trade.
c. The introduction of gunpowder equipped the
monarch with a powerful weapon that could destroy
castles of feudal lords.
d. The Reformation provided the monarch with some
powers formerly held by the Catholic Church.
e. The awakening spirit of nationalism made the
monarch the symbol of national unity.
The Divine Right of Kings attempted to justify unlimited royal
power with these arguments:
a. The king ruled by God’s authority as God’s
earthly representative;
b. Obedience to the king was obedience to God.
c. A mutually supportive and reinforcing
Absolute monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch holds supreme autocratic authority, principally not being restricted by written laws, legislature, or unwritten customs. These are often hereditary monarchies. In contrast, in constitutional monarchies, the head of state’s authority derives from or is legally bound or restricted by...
The basics of Christianity begin with the early Catholic Church. The history of the Catholic Church consists of the formation, events, and transformation of the Catholic Church through time. The Early Catholic Church The tradition of the Catholic Church claims the Catholic Church began with Jesus Christ and his teachings...
The Italian Renaissance was a period in Italian history that covered the 14th through the 17th centuries. The period is known for the development of a culture that spread across Europe and marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity with proponents of a “long Renaissance” arguing that it...
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history and the second largest empire by landmass, second only to the British Empire. Originating in Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire eventually stretched from Eastern Europe and parts of Central Europe to...
We can’t get to the Middle Ages and Feudalism in World History without beginning with the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, c. 376–476, it was the process of decline in the Western Roman Empire in which...