Feudalism

• Feudalism is a term used by historians to describe the governmental system and the relationships between landowners and warriors
• Warriors known as knights
• they would pledge their allegiance to a lord, who would in turn give that knight land
• the lord would grant a fief (property)to the knight, who would then become the lord's vassal (servant) -  this was called the "feudal compact"
• the vassal must fight for the lord when he needs it and attend his court once a month

Homage and Knighthood

• A vassal was required to pay homage to his lord, usually this meant kneeling down and taking the lord's hands in his while speaking an oath of loyalty
• Men were apprenticed to older knights before they could become a full knight themselves
• When a knight died, his fief would revert to his son, thought his lord would be protected of that son if he was underage

Feudalism of the Church

• Some clergy were known to fight as nights themselves

Feudal States

• Barons were lords of large territories who usually paid homage to a king
• Often a baron's army could outnumber that of a king, which kept a check on the king's power

Peasants and Lords

• Medieval society was divided into three "estates": the clergy, the nobility, and the common people
• Usually the peasantry farmed on large plantations known as "manors" which were owned by a lord or a lady of the nobility
• Iron plows and water-powered grinding mills helped with agricultural production, but the yield was still miniscule by today's standards
• To maintain the health of the soil, the "three-field system" was used where two fields were planted and one was left to reconstitute its fertility - they were rotated
• Villages spring up on and around manors with small cottages for the peasants and large manor houses for the lords and ladies

People of the Manor

• Most peasants were serfs, meaning they were bound to the land and to their lords for labor service a few days a week
• The serfs were responsible for the "internal colonization" of Europe, that is the cultivating and settling of previously uninhabited land 

The Growth or Trade

• The agricultural boom after 1000 allowed tor the establishment of many towns across Europe

The Location and Appearance or Towns

• Most medieval towns were surrounded by fortified walls
• Residences also sprung up outside the walls in the suburbs
• Towns were dominated by a main church and a central market place
• Buildings for the craft guilds and the wealthiest families would also be in the center of town

Life of Townspeople

•  

Passing the Test

Today in West Civ, we went over the test that we took last week. I actually passed it and i was so proud of my self. Mr. Schick was too. Becca brought in cookies for every one and the were delicious and i want more. I don't know if she made them or if she bought them. They were delicious either way and i want more. Mr. Schick was so proud of me and i even did better than the smart kids of the class. I am retaking a test that i failed a while ago and the highest i can get on that is a 70 percent. I have to study very hard to get this grade. When i do pass it might bring my grade up a little and i won't have to go to summer school for his class. Well wish me luck!

After Rome 500-700

The Germanic Barbarians

• Barbarian warlords and their families who assimilated into Roman culture became the "nobles" or aristocrats
• Germanic tribes who ruled former Roman lands sought to conquer and assimilate other barbarian peoples who lived beyond the frontiers and were pagans
• The Angles and Saxons invaded great Britain and assimilated the native Britons
• Most of the Angelo-Saxons were converted to Christianity in the 7th century
• The most powerful Germanic tribe was the Franks
• But the real power lay with the "mayors of the palace" who were royal officials and nobles themselves

From the "Eastern Empire" to "Byzantine"

• The eastern Roman Empire continued on while the west was now divided up by the barbarians
• When the emperor Justinian came to power in 527, he decided to reunite the entire Roman Empire by reconquering the western tribes
• He succeeded for a time, but the land he re-took was soon conquered by new barbarians and a massive plaque depopulated most of the west

Christian Empire

• Greek Byzantine emperors saw themselves as Roman emperors and the heads of the Christian Church
• Byzantines preserved Greco-Roman art, architecture, philosophy and writing despite much of if being non-Christian
• Justinian built the massive domed "Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom") in Constantinople, considered to be the most glorious church on earth at the time

End of the Roman Empire :(

Dioclecian

284-303

Rome needs a big army

Rome needs a big government

Constantine

306 - 337

Cool to be a christian

313 - Edict of Milan

Byzantium- changer to Constantinople

The Struggle

Country dwellers are getting bankrupt by taxes

New farming system: peasants work for elite landlords

Peasants can avoid taxes, but they are getting hit just as hard by the landlords

Paying off debts and being "allowed" to live on the land, in exchange for endless back-breaking work

Landowners hold local power as counts and bishops, wielding more real power than faraway empire

Foreshadowing feudalism

Western Empire

Rome's poer is decreasing

Barbarians gain

Western Empire is too poor

Huns migrate from China and take Roman empire

Vicigoths take spain and actually capture and loot Rome

Vandals control Carthage and western Mediterranean

Other Barbarian tribes:

Ostrogoth's

Franks

Angels 

End of an Era

From the beginning

500BC monarchy is abolished

450 bc twelve Tables

Through the glory days

44 BB end of the line for Julius Caesar

27 BC - 180 AD - Pax Romana

To the bitter end

Constant fifth century invasions by barbarians tribes left the western Roman Empire

The last emperor was a teenage boy installed in 475 by his father

Barbarians desposed of Romulus Augustus without bothering to kill him

476 - last emperor gone

The Hardest Test of My Life

Today in West Civ we had a test, and it was by far the hardest teat i had ever take from Mr. Schick. There were easy questions on the front, but when i turned the page i died a little inside. There were 3 essays and one was an entire page. there were two that were only a half of a page. the exam i took for Mr. Schick, last year, was actually easier. I hope the exam this year will be easier but i doubt that.

Test Question

What is Pax Romana, and what does it mean? 
- Roman Peace 
What language is it? 
- Latin
Who is Diocletian? 
- the guy who killed all dem Christian people 
Who is Constantine? 
- The person who saw the sign in the sky and it said "Conquer by this" and put a cross on the shields of his soldiers 
How long was the Pax Romana?
- 207 years 
Who were the people that Jesus hung out with?
- Prostitutes and poor people 
What does Gospel mean?
-Good News 
What was the battle Constantine faught after he saw the sign? 
- Milvian Bridge
Edicts of Diocletian? 
-wanted to burn the churches and scripture 
- arrest bishops, and clergyman
- if they wanted to be freed the would have to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods 

- All men, women, and children to come to the public space and make a collective sacrifice together and if they refused they would be killed

he moved the capital to Byzantium and named it after himself, Constantinople 

Edict of Milan

- could not persecute people for their beliefs 

In 300 AD, how many people were in Rome? 

-60,000,000 

Predestination? 

- God knows what you are going to end up doing 

    

 
 
 

PowerPoint and Q and A Day

Today in class we went over a PowerPoint that Mr. Schick made. It wasn't that long but it was full of information and Mr. Schick explained things in great detail. When he was done that he set us loose to answer questions that were on one of the slides. We got to work with partners and i worked with Damian and Andy. We got all the questions done and had a little time to go ever them so they were right. These are the questions and answers that we did during class:

Q. Why did Diocletian persecute Christians?

A. because he wanted everyone to worship the Roman gods, and disturbed the faith that he believed in.

Q. What was Constantines connection with Christianity?

A. He was visited by a dream the night before, and was told to mark all the shields with a cross, by God. he got visited again by God, and he told him to make a standard, the labarum, for his army in that form.

Q.How did Constantine reconstruct his Empire?

A. because he defeated Maxentius and Licinius. he easily defeated his enemies, and was the first known Christian in the Roman Empire. He converted the entire army to Christianity.

Christianity in the Pax Romana

A New Religion in the Empire

• Begins with Jesus
• Comes from the Gospels
• "     "  "means good news" 
• Was a Jew
• Set himself apart from other Messiahs
• One must strive for protection since God is perfect
• He sought out the imperfect society
• His followers believed he was the Messiah
• Both man and the son of God
• Human and divine
• Deemed a threat to roman rule
• Crucified
• People who tried to spread the word, apostles
• Paul of Tarsus, Jew who became a follower of Jesus after a vision
• He talked of "predestination"
• Well-traveled
• Found churches in many places
• Kept in touch with these new Christians by letters

Another Test

Today in class we had a test, and i failed. I thought i was going to do well on it but i guess not. Mr. Schick told us if everyone got an A, he would bring in food for us. But i do not think that is going to happen. I might bring in food but I don't know. I worked on the LO-2 notes but when i came back on they were gone. I do not know where they went but they are gone. I did my paper on Pax Romana and i hope that is going to bring my grade up but I dont know what i got on it. 

LO-2

End of the Videos

Rome 

• Rome was on the brink of Civil War
• People broke in and ransacked the home of Tiberius
• His wife was there
• His father's death mask was broken
• He is running for a second term
• His mother thinks he did this for himself
• It is all about making money

Election Day

• The senate wants to break up the election
• He wants to be king
• They must protect the republic
• They want to kill Tiberius
• Beat him to death with chairs and sticks
• There was no funeral
• His body was dumped in the River Tiber
• He had changed Rome forever
• It will take Rome 100 years to over come      
• The Overthrow of the Roman Republic
• The people who  fought in the war often lost their farms
• Reduced to the lowest citizens - proletarian"
• Had no property
• War profiteers traded in slaves, weapons and bought abandoned farms  to create Plantations
• "Just grab some land" (Tiberius Gracchus is NOT cool with that)
• Used their wealth to buy up ruined farms

More Movie Time

Today in class we continued with the videos. They are actually getting very exciting and cool. The Romans wanted to go to war with other people, but they were out numbered. Tiberius was the only one that they would negotiate with, and so they did. He made an path with the gods that the army would not attack. When the army got back to Rome the people greeted them because they brought back soldiers that were captured. The senate called Tiberius and the general in and sentenced both to death, but one of Tiberius' friends said it was the generals fault. They sentenced the general to death and Tiberius was let free. He ran for tribune and won. These videos are very cool. 

Video on the Greek Peoples

Today in class we continued to watch the video. It is actually different parts and we are on part 2. It is actually very cool and interesting. It is about Tiberius and how is father died and what they did to his body. Tiberius' brother-in-law told everyone, "the first to make it over the wall will win the crown." The wall was the wall to Carthage and they fought inside the city for six days until the Carthaginians surrendered. Before we stopped we saw that Tiberius' mother did not like all of the poor people in the city, but Tiberius did not mind. I hope the rest of the videos are cool just like the ones we have started.  

Mr. Schick's Rage/ Video

Today in class we went over the tests that we took the other day. Mr. Schick was not too happy with the grades. He got very angry and loud. I did not do well on the test and a lot of people didn't do well. After he was done yelling and going over the test. He showed us a video about Rome. We didn't get very far before the bell rang and we took notes on it. These notes are posted below and there aren't very many, because the class ended. 

 

 The Republic (500 years)

They turned to the Emperors

Gracchus: hater of kings - displayed his body

Tiberius Gracchus ^ his son

- respected his father

- was murdered by the aristocrats

- started a terrible civil war

- prepared to destroy Carthage

- first to climb the wall will be ruler

 

Test Day

Today, in class we took a test and i did not do well on it. I tried my best but I still failed. I studied for along time but still nothing. I even tried memorizing the song. Well I guess I can ask to retake it but i don't know if Mr. Schick will let me. But after the test we really didn't do anything and he told us to do other work or our blog for tonight. I am doing it right now and i did other homework during his class. I really hope he puts the blog grades in so i can see what i have to improve upon to pass his class.

Test Review

Today in class, we reviewed for the test and went over more of the song. He talked about what was on the test and what we needed to review. We are not able to use our blogs on it but if we know the song we will know most of the test. i do not know  if it is the scan tron or not. I do not usually do well on the scan tron. I need to pass this test and get a good grade so i can bring up my quarter grade. I hope i do well on it.

Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome (revieled)

Today class we took some notes on the rap. Mr. Schick broke it down for us (pun intended) and we took notes on what the song meant. Unfortunately my computer erased some of the notes i took and i have no idea why. But i do have them and i will post them at the end of this post. Also, in class we talked about our extra credit opportunity. I will either email the file to Mr. Schick or show it to him in class because I did it in PowerPoint. Well here are the notes I have:  

 

Tarquin- the last king of Rome

Raped an elderly woman (well respected)

Respublica- Latin for republic (peoples affairs)

Tributes

the people demanded that the patricians to make the rules public

1. tablets

2. tables

had a forum for decision making- this was public

Monarchy

Consuls (2)

1. one year term

2. ten year break before you can do it again

 

Video Fails

Today, in class, Mr. Schick decided to not make to video count. Instead we were able to make a Power Point that will help us study. Me and Damian did most of the work (that was surprise to Mr. Schick) and the others didn't really do anything. Towards the end of class i told them if they did not do anything, i would take their names off of it. That is when they started to do stuff and send me emails with pictures to put on the power point. Some of the pictures did not go with the slides and i cannot use them.

Movie Maker

Today in class we had to make a video to go with the rap, that Mr. Schick made. My group was not successful because it did not work. The video was only supposed to be 4 minutes, but Movie Maker said it was 10 minutes and were very confused. hopefully i can get it to work. if i can't i will get someone in my group to do it on their computer. I hope that i can get it working and get a good grade. 

LO-2

The Romans where war like people who's first wars were against the Etruscans, Italian tribes, and barbarians.
      
-      After the Romans settled, they looked for allies an new land. The Roman military was exceptional friendly to the enemies.
  
-       Defeated enemies were often made allies and basically became a Roman citizen.

-       They controlled the Italian peninsula

-       The Roman Colonist were jubilant about the rights of citizenship because it was almost the same as being a true citizen who lived in Rome itself.
     
-       The Allies wanted full citizenship, these were denied

-       Rome became an expanding, absorptive political entity

THE PUNIC WARS
-       By 250 B.C Rome conquered most of Italy, now this brought another rival city

-       Carthage was founded in 700 B.C by Phoenician colonists.

-       Carthage was a lot like Rome and had spread it's influences to North Africa, southern Spain, Corsica, and Sicily.

-       The wars happened between 264-146 B.C(three rounds)

-       The second Punic war happened in 202 B.C

Pixton by Nick and Damian

Here is my Pixton: http://www.pixton.com/comic/8fkx5fh5

Comic Day

Today in class Mr. Schick wasn't there so we had two substitutes. one was Mrs. Doroba and the other was Mr. Shupe. We worked with a partner to make a comic of how Rome was made. The gods had children and then sent them down a river on a float, as babies. they were found by a she-wolf and she fed them and rose them. that they were adopted and when they were older one killed the other, with a rock, and named the city Rome. This was a little cruel but not for back then. Well Mr. Schick wasn't there because he was visiting colleges with his daughter in New York.

Mr. Schick's Rap

Today's class was very interesting. We got in and sat down. Then Mr. Schick and his daughter rapped a parody of "Low" by Flo Rida. It was about Greece and was very catchy. Even though he was a little bit off tune, and not a very good singer, just kidding. Also we went over the test. I did not do very well and so did my friend. Tomorrow Mr. Schick is not going to be there so we have a substitute. In class we will be working on a comic strip and hopefully is will be fun and i will pass.   

Homework LO-1

• Romans, like the Greeks, improved their empire and army. Punished slaves.
• Mediterranean-middle of the world 
• Middle of the Middle of the Middle- Italy 
• they tought the gods gave them the perfect location 
• they had the best climate to grow stuff and more room to grow stuff 
• Three people that settled on the Italian peninsula: Latin, Etruscan, and Greeks
• wanted to be more like the greeks 
• had a Monarchy 
• had a council of elders, to choose the king, name was the Senate 
• they helped the king with decisions 
• when the king died the elders choose the person to replace the king 
• Latin- Respublica- Republican 
• Patricians- upper class citizens  (BIG SHOTS)
• Plebeians- roman comon people in cluding workers, small farmers, and wealthy people that were not Patricians
• Republic comes after the Monarchy 
• 
  

Snow Day

We had not class today because of the SNOW!!!!

Groups 1-3 Notes

Olympia- mother of Alex the great

Alex- better relationship with her then father

First addressed as son of Zeus at Siwa

he was thought to be son of god

man and god

turning point in his divinity

esteemed arrogance in himself

overload of confidence

 

Zeus

the greatest Greek god

god of thunder and lightening

father of god and man

father of all gods except Poseidon

 

Alexander the Great as a Young Boy

tutored by Leonidas

taught things like math, horsemanship, archery

 

Aristotle Taught

1. politics

2. drama

3. poetry

4. science

5. philosophy 

Learned Homer's poems

Aristotle gave him a copy of the Iliad to carry around with him in battle

 

 King Philip's Death

assassinated in 336 B.C.

Philip and body guard were lovers

Philips body guard was jealous

Body guard killed him  

caused great curiosity of who would be the ruler

 

Alexander became king at age 20

first thing he did eliminate all threats to the kingdom

he had various campaigns

campaign- a series of military operations 2intened to achieve a particular power

was the eldest son and became ruler

 

 

Macedonia

Hellenistic- it is a word that is pertaining to the Greeks after the time of Alexander the great. it also relates to the architecture of Greece between the 3rd century and the 1st century Bc. and has to do with the fine arts style of Alexander the great.

 




 Athens only military aspect was its navy, the Athenian army where no match for the Spartans. When Sparta destroyed the Athenian fleet in the attack on Syracuse the war was basically over. Athens, the strongest city-state in Greece prior to the war's beginning, while Sparta became established as the leading power of Greece. The economic costs of the war were felt all across Greece; poverty became widespread in the Peloponnese, while Athens found itself completely devastated, and never regained its prewar prosperity.

Greece Movie/ Becca's Birthday

In class today we watched a movie about Greece. It was pretty cool and on Thursday we learned what the Red Light District was. I'm surprised that Mr. Schick told us but it's fine. I think some of the kids in the class were immature about it. It was also Becca's birthday today so we sang and she got to wear the birthday hat. I never got to wear it but I'm fine with that. Becca also brought us brownies and they were DELICIOUS!! I had to choose last and got the second smallest piece, Mr. Schick got the smallest. Any way, we took notes on the movie and i left them at school, but i will have them posted tomorrow.








HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BECCA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Test Day

in class today, Mr. Schick was not there. so we had Ms. Willan, and had a test.it was open book so i was not really worried about it. i didn't really use my book but i did sometimes if i didn't know the answer. the test over all was fairly easy. i couldn't think of one answer, so i looked in the book. it wasn't there so i thought and thought but couldn't think of it. so i left it blank and went to the next one. i think i did very well on the test and at least passed.

Taylor the Teacher

today in class we talked about stuff on Sparta.it was very interesting and i thought it was cool. we talked about the movie 300 and how it was fake. the men were all oiled up and built like an elephant. we learned about the different government of Greece. I thought the subject was very interesting and would like to learn more about it. i think we should have a project on this. also a student,named Taylor was the teacher and i don't think she did as well as Ben.

Ben The Teacher

in class today i didn't really take notes, because all the things we went over is in Mr. Schick's blog. class was interesting though. a kid named Ben was teaching the class and he was very energetic. he mainly read from the outline and Mr. Schick helped out with more information on the subject. Of the notes i did take i only remember one. and that is the only one i took. it was that the original languages were Latin and Greek.all other languages came from those languages including English.

Ancient Greece Notes

today in class we went over two power points from other groups. i took some notes but not very many. i mainly listened to them talk and got the info in my mind. of the notes i did take, Mr. Schick told us to write them, so they must be important. here are the notes i took:

• Peloponesian- semi-island, Sparta is located on it
• the Minoan civilization arose on the island of Crete 
• it drew wealth from control over the surrounding seas and from trade 
• 1150 BC- 750 BC: Mycenaean got destroyed by the Sea People 

Those are all the notes i took today and i will probably have more tomorrow.  

Google Presentation

So today in class Mr. Schick was not there. Our substitutes were Ms. Hugo and Ms. Doroba. We worked on our Google presentation, on Ancient Greece. The first mod of class, my computer was dead. Finally I got one of the other students to give me a charger and I got to work on the presentation. Mr. Schick was watching us the entire time and could chat with us. He was wondering why my group was not doing anything but eventually we got some work done on it. The people in my group are Cameron Exter and Damian Wies.  

Chapter One Test

in class today we took a test. i think i did very well and did not have any problems answering the questions. it did not take a long time to complete the test. i wish i had put my notes in my blog so i could have been sure about the answers. i still think i did very well. from this point on i will try to put all my notes in my blog and take good notes in class. i will do all of my homework and study as hard as i can for every test. if i do not do very well on my tests i will try even harder for the next one.

Mummification Day

today in class we just took notes and watched a video. the video was about mummification and how they mummified someone. it was really interesting and would love to learn more. some people thought it was disgusting, but i thought it was cool. one student brought in some papyrus, with some writing on it. her dad got them when he was in Egypt and they were very old. oi thought they were cool and were very good pictures. it looked like they were printed on the papyrus but they were hand drawn. i would like to find out more about ancient Egypt, i think it is very interesting.    

Pyramid Builders

today in class we built pyramids. not real ones but virtual ones. my group was the 5th one done. it took me about 10 tries to succeed. my partner never finished and i was the person who did it. he didn't do anything. my teacher Mr Schick gave me a fist bump and i felt really good. i hope we get to do this more often. this class was really exciting, everyone was screaming. the class was really loud and annoying.   

LO 1 Essay

Was Jared Diamond right about Geographic Luck? No, I do not  believe he was right about it. the people of ancient times could have been put in the Arctic or another remote desolate landscape. the people in these times were put on or near the equator for a reason. that reason was to survive and prosper. if they were put in a cold region they might have died. instead of dying they grew wheat and barley and many other crops. Also they raised livestock and domesticated animals. if they were in cold areas the animals might not have been there. I believe that God put these people there for a reason and it was not just luck.  

The First Lecture

today, in class we went over some notes. Mr. Schick mainly lectured us on the notes and we took notes. he had a power point up and yelled at us when we took to long to take the notes. he told us to never copy down notes, word for word. this is also my first blog post for Western Civilization. i was suppose to make two other ones but i completely forgot about them. Also, we went off subject a lot and talked about cars that drive themselves. I asked Mr. Schick how the cars that blind people drive work. he told me they work the same way as the cars that drive themselves, but he was not very sure.