High Middle Ages (1000-1200)
Study & Essay
Study Questions
Describe the Norman Conquest of England and explain why it went beyond the substitution of one king for another.
By the late 10th century the French kingdom was feudally fragmented and the German king was Europe's strongest. Why did royal power collapse in France but survive in Germany?
Describe and explain the Italian Towns' rise. Why did they grow and how did they become independent? What kind of governments emerged?
Essay Topics
Discuss the course, failures, and consequences of the Fourth Crusade.
Discuss the growth of European heresies, their beliefs, and the orthodox reaction to them in the 12-13th centuries.
How had the power of the German king declined in the 12th century, and how did Barbarossa try to revive it? What was the role of Italy?
Explain the function of a manor and its role in feudalism.
What were the components and consequences of the papacy's revival after 1000?
Explain the demographic phases and military-political components of Byzantine Asia Minor's Turkification/Islamization.
What was a Crusade--theologically, as it evolved in the mind of the church? Popularly, as it evolved in the minds of kings and second sons? For Byzantium and the Muslims? For the Italian merchant city-states?







