By the 1100s, Europe was experiencing dynamic changes. No longer was everyone preoccupied with the daily struggle to survive. A more reliable food supply and the revival of trade and growth of ___________ were signs of increased prosperity.

As economic and political conditions improved in the High Middle Ages, the need for education expanded. The Church wanted better-educated clergy. Royal rulers also needed literate men for their growing ______________. By acquiring an education, the sons of __________ townspeople might hope to qualify for high positions in the Church or with royal governments.

Early UniversitiesBy the 1000s, schools had sprung up around the great cathedrals to train the clergy. Some of these cathedral schools evolved into the first universities. They were organized like __________, with charters to protect the rights of members and set standards for training.

As early as the _________, Salerno in Italy had a respected medical school. Bologna’s university, set up in 1158, became famous for legal studies. Paris and Oxford founded universities in the later 1100s. In the next century, other cities rushed to organize universities. Students often traveled from one university ______________ to study different subjects.

Medieval universities brought prestige and profit to the cities in which they were located. Local merchants provided students with housing, food, clothing, and entertainment. But students could also create problems for university communities. The priest Jacques de Vitry complained, “They were always _______________________________________.”

Most medieval universities were supported by a church or monastery. Analyze Maps Locate: (a) Paris, (b) Rome, (c) London. Which area had the greatest number of universities? What factors do you think contributed to this?Student LifeUniversity life offered few comforts. A bell wakened students at about 5 A.M. for _____________. Students then attended classes until 10 A.M., when they had their first meal of the day.

Afternoon classes continued until 5 P.M. Students usually ate a light supper and then studied _______________. Since the first medieval universities did not have permanent buildings, classes were held in rented rooms or in the ______________ of a church. Students sat for hours on hard benches as the teacher dictated and then explained ___________ texts. Students were expected to memorize what they heard.

A program of study covered the seven liberal arts: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, grammar, rhetoric, and logic. There were separate programs for the further study of ______, medicine, and theology. To show mastery of a subject, students took an ____________. Earning a degree as a bachelor of arts took between three and six years. Only after several more years of

study could a man qualify to become a master of arts and a __________. Theology was the longest course of study.

They tell me that, unlike everyone else, you get out of bed before the first bell sounds in order to study, that you are the first into the classroom and the last to leave it. And when you get back home you spend the whole day going over what you were taught in your lessons . . . Many people make themselves permanently ill through excessive study; some of them _____and others . . . waste away day after day.—Boncomagno da Sigma

Women and EducationDuring the Middle Ages, women were expected to pursue their “natural” gifts at home—raising children, managing the household, and doing ______________. Only men were expected to seek an education or write books. Women were ________________ to attend universities. This exclusion seriously affected their lives. Since most did not even attend school, they were deprived of the mental stimulation that was an important part of an educated person’s life. Without a university education, women could not become doctors, lawyers, or church officials.

Despite restrictions, a few women did get an education. Most __________ educated girls. Some nuns became scholars and writers. Still, women like Christine de Pisan (duh pee ZAHN) were the exceptions. In ___________________, she asks whether women are less capable of learning and understanding, as men insist, and a character replies.If it were customary to send daughters to school like sons, and if they were then taught the same subjects, they would learn as thoroughly and understand the subtleties of all arts and sciences as well as sons.—Christine de Pisan

Learning for ChildrenFew children in the Middle Ages received any education. At home, and perhaps in the parish church, they learned basic Christian beliefs.

Overall, education for most children was informal. They learned by doing. Within the family, they were assigned tasks appropriate to their age. Older children looked after younger ones. Children often took on demanding tasks in the fields or towns where they lived. They carried heavy loads, cleared land, or learned skilled trades if they were apprenticed out by their families.

While Latin remained the written language of scholars and churchmen, new writings began to appear in the _____________, or the everyday languages of ordinary people, such as French, German, and Italian. These writings captured the spirit of the late Middle Ages. Medieval literature included ________, or long narrative poems, about feudal warriors and chivalry as well as tales of the common people.

Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, known as El Cid, was an epic hero in Spanish medieval literature. Like Roland, his story features bravery in battle and personal honor.Heroic Epics Capture the ImaginationAcross Europe, people began writing down oral traditions in the vernacular. French pilgrims traveling to holy sites loved to hear the chansons de geste, or “songs of heroic deeds.” The most popular was the ______________, written around 1100, which praises the courage of one of Charlemagne’s knights. A true chivalric hero, Roland loyally sacrifices his life out of a sense of honor.Spain’s great epic, Poem of the Cid, tells the story of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, a bold and fiery Christian lord who fought both with and against ____________ forces. His nickname, El Cid, comes from the Arabic word for “lord.”Heroic epics that told thrilling tales of heroism appealed to Christians across Europe. Nobles in the late Middle Ages adopted ideas about honor and chivalry in theory, if not in practice. Epic

tales found a ready audience among ____________ of medieval society. The tales varied from region to region, but people took pride in their great heroes.

Dante’s Journey“In the middle of the journey of life, I found myself in a dark wood, where the straight way was lost.” So begins the ______________________, written in the early 1300s by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (DAHN tay ah leeg YEH ree). The poem takes the reader on an imaginary journey into ________________________, where souls await forgiveness. Finally, Dante describes a vision of heaven.“Abandon all hope, ye that enter here” is the warning Dante receives as he approaches hell. There, he talks with people from history who tell how they earned a place in hell.

Dante’s The Divine Comedy contains both humor and tragedy rooted in the familiar medieval quest for spiritual understanding. As he journeys through heaven and hell, he reflects on moral and ethical questions that Christians faced and shows how people's actions in life determine their fate in the afterlife.Chaucer’s Canterbury TalesIn the Canterbury Tales, the English writer Geoffrey Chaucer follows a band of English pilgrims traveling to Thomas Becket’s tomb. In brilliant word portraits, he sketches a range of characters, including a knight, a __________, a merchant, a miller, a monk, and a nun. Each character tells a story to entertain the group. Whether funny, romantic, or bawdy, each tale adds to our picture of medieval life.

“In the Middle Ages,” wrote French author Victor Hugo, “men had no great thought that they did not write down in stone.” Those “writings” were the great ___________ of the Middle Ages. With riches from trade and commerce, townspeople, nobles, and monarchs indulged in a flurry of building. Their greatest achievements were the towering stone ____________ that served as symbols of their wealth and religious devotion.

_____________ churches like this one reflect the most common form of church architecture throughout Europe.Romanesque BuildingsIn the year 1000, monasteries and towns were building solid stone churches that reflected Roman influences. These Romanesque churches looked like ___________ with thick walls and towers. The roofs were so heavy that they required massive stone walls with no windows or only tiny slits of windows. Larger windows, builders feared, would weaken the support for the roof. As a result, the interiors of Romanesque churches were ___________________________.

Graceful Gothic CathedralsAbout 1140, Abbot Suger (SooZHAY) wanted to build a new abbey church at St. Denis near Paris. He hoped that it “would shine with wonderful and uninterrupted light.” There, builders developed what became known as the Gothic style of architecture.A key feature of the new Gothic style was the _________________________, or stone supports that stood outside the church. These supports allowed builders to construct higher, thinner walls and leave space for large ________________________. Gothic churches soared to incredible heights. Their graceful spires and tall windows carried the eye upward to the heavens. “Since their brilliance lets the splendor of the True Light pass into the church,” declared a medieval visitor, “they enlighten those inside.”Splendid Art in Stone and Glass

As churches rose, stonemasons carved _______________ to decorate them inside and out. Sculptures included portraits and scenes from the lives of saints and illustrated stories from the Bible. Sculptors also carved plants and animals, both real and imaginary. Some stone pieces were ______________, grotesque figures with a spout that carried water off the roof and away from the walls of the building. They also carved whimsical or frightening images of mythical creatures such as dragons and unicorns.

Other skilled craft workers created the colorful stained-glass windows that added to the splendor of Gothic churches. Stained-glass windows illustrated dramatic scenes from ____________ and other Christian beliefs. Stained-glass windows and carvings in stone served an essential purpose. They helped educate the masses of people who could not ___________ about the Christian faith.

The multicolored and multipaned Rose window in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris thrilled medieval church-goers.

Paintings and TapestriesMedieval artists created other works, including splendid altarpieces that decorated the space behind the church altar. Altarpieces could be paintings, relief sculptures, or both.

Like stained-glass windows, they illustrated Christian subjects and were designed to inspire devotion among the faithful. Most altarpieces hung in churches, although wealthy families might have a chapel and altarpiece in their ___________.

Both churches and the houses of the rich were decorated with “paintings” in thread. Stone churches and castles were cold, drafty places. ______________, or woven wall hangings, added color and warmth. The famous Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidery piece that illustrates in detail the story of ________________________________ and the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Although no one knows who wove it or exactly when, it has been used to learn details of the event.

This panel of the Bayeaux Tapestry shows a scene from the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Illuminated Manuscripts

Throughout the Middle Ages, monks, nuns, and other skilled artisans decorated the handwritten books of the time with elaborate designs and illustrations, known as _______________. The most spectacular decorations in these books were made of _______________________.Some illuminations depicted ________________. Others, such as prayer books called Books of Hours, showed scenes of daily life in towns and castles with peasants in the field along with nobles on horseback.

The Byzantine HeritageThe Byzantine empire contributed to the civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean and of _____________ Europe. Byzantine civilization rose out of many traditions, blending Christian beliefs with Greek philosophy, science, and the arts. It also extended Roman achievements in engineering and law.

This religious icon showing Mary and the baby Jesus showcases the Byzantine style.As the medieval world expanded, so did its contacts with Byzantine civilization, and Byzantine influence radiated across Europe. Even though the Byzantine empire fell to the Ottomans in _____, the conquerors adapted features of Byzantine government, arts, and culture.

Contributions in the ArtsByzantine artists made unique contributions, especially in religious art and architecture, that influenced Western styles. Icons, images designed to evoke the presence of God, gave viewers a sense of personal contact with the sacred.Mosaics brought scenes from ____________ to life. In architecture, Byzantine palaces and churches blended Greek, Roman, ____________, and other Middle Eastern styles.

Preserving and Spreading KnowledgeByzantine scholars preserved the classic works of ancient ______________________. In addition, they produced their own great books, especially in the field of history.

Like the Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides, Byzantine historians were mostly concerned with writing about their own times. Procopius, an advisor to the general Belisarius, chronicled the Byzantine campaign against Persia. In his Secret History, Procopius savagely criticized the Emperor Justinian and the Empress Theodora. He called the emperor “both an evil-doer and easily led into evil . . . never of his own accord speaking the truth.”Anna Comnena is considered by many scholars to be the Western world’s first important female historian. In the Alexiad, she analyzed the reign of her father, Emperor Alexius I. Comnena’s book portrayed Latin Crusaders as ____________________.As the Byzantine empire tottered in the 1400s, many Greek scholars left ________________ to teach at Italian universities. They took valuable Greek manuscripts to the West, along with their knowledge of Greek and Byzantine culture. The work of these scholars contributed to the cultural flowering in Europe that became known as the ___________________.