Developments in Europe
Teacher Resources
Lesson Guide
Wondering where you can find teacher instructions, vocabulary, guiding questions, and sample answers? Check out the guide.
PD Video: Primary-Source Power
This lesson features students’ first encounter with sourcing. This 26-minute video features sourcing tips from historian Bridgette Byrd O’Connor’s PD event.
Driving Question: How did religious influences and political decentralization shape medieval Europe c. 1200 to 1450 CE?
As was the case in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, regions in Europe took a variety of approaches to state building between 1200 and 1450. After the fall of the Roman Empire, some parts of Europe retained unity while others became fragmented. Regardless of the outcome, governance was shaped by economic expansion and religious influences.
Learning 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.
- Explain the effects of agriculture on social organization in Europe in the period
- Use historical thinking skills and reasoning practices such as sourcing, contextualization, comparison, continuity and change over time (CCOT), and claim testing to evaluate historical events and processes.
Vocab Terms:
- belief system
- Christianity
- consequence
- feudalism
- narrative
- serf
- sourcing
This is the first sourcing activity in the course, and if you’re looking for a few additions to your typical classroom routine, we’ve got you covered. Check out OER Project supports like the Sourcing Tool and related Feedback Form, and find some tips and tricks for teaching this skill—all in a quick one-pager.
Answering questions for Advanced Placement is not dissimilar to being a reporter: you must find the Who, Where and Why of the story.
In the wake of chaos and disorder, new patterns often emerge that point the way to a new beginning. In the case of Europe circa 1200–1450, decentralization would lead to a new system that would forever change the continent—and the world.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- The author argues that Europe was “barely an idea” in this period, but that it was slowly becoming a reality. What sorts of things were widely shared among Europeans?
- How did the climate change in Europe during this era, and how did this affect Europeans?
- What was the manorial system?
- What was the feudal system, and what were its political implications?
After you read
Respond to the following questions:
- To what extent does this article explain the causes and consequences of political decentralization in Europe from c. 1200 to 1450?
- What seems different or significant about how European communities were organized from 1200 to 1450? Do these factors seem similar or different to other parts of the world you have studied for this period?
Think about your favorite band breaking up and the two main singers starting solo careers. The Christian church had a breakup, and their main singers became the Byzantine and Latin churches.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- What were the three successors of Rome the author described?
- How did the eastern and western branches of the Christian Church differ in their beliefs and rituals?
- Why did the ban on religious icons stir up such a strong response from Byzantine communities?
- How did religious enthusiasm during this period in Christendom endanger religious minorities?
- What were the Crusades and how did they impact networks?
After you read
Respond to the following questions:
- What does the evidence from this article suggest about ways in which belief systems and state structures were related in this era and region?
- What does the evidence from this article tell us about how these two societies recovered or restructured after the fall of the Roman Empire?
Want to know more about the source collections in OER Project’s courses? Here’s a handy list of all the collections across our course offerings.
A diverse tapestry of different communities stretched across Afro-Eurasia in the thirteenth century. Analyzing primary sources will help you make sense of the religious diversity of this region. Then, you’ll use the graphic biography to assess how Jewish communities interacted with other religious communities in this era.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Skim the full comic, paying attention to things like prominent colors, shapes, and types of text and fonts. How do you know where to start and in which direction to read? What’s in the gutters (the space between panels)? Who is the focus of the comic? What big questions do you have?
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- How many Jewish people lived around the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the twelfth century?
- What type of information did Benjamin of Tudela record about Jewish communities in this region?
- What regions treated the Jewish population well, according to Benjamin’s writings?
- What regions treated the Jewish population poorly, according to Benjamin’s writings?
- How does the artist use art and design to demonstrate Benjamin’s journey and his writings?
After you read
Respond to these questions:
- To what extent does this graphic biography help explain how the beliefs and practices of the predominant religions in Afro-Eurasia affected different communities?
- How does this biography of Benjamin of Tudela support, extend, or challenge what you’ve learned about how religious communities interacted in the medieval world?
Remind students that they will see these Themes Notebooks at the beginning and end of each unit. If your students didn't complete the notebook at the beginning of the unit, you might want to skip this activity and try it in next unit.
By comparing their responses in this activity to those at the start of the unit, students get a sense of what they’ve learned and how their thinking has changed. It’s a cool way to have them self-reflect before moving forward in the content.
It is not uncommon to change your mind about things over time, usually based on new knowledge you acquire. The Themes Notebook helps you evaluate how what you thought at the beginning of a unit may have changed over time.
