Friday, May 24, 2013

Reviewing for FINAL and Tuesday-Test

Yeah so we had to make a plan for the last 2 weeks of school.  So today we're reviewing for the Feudalism test on Tuesday.  Then we're reviewing for the final on Wednesday and that's our last day of class!...till the FINAL!


If I wanted to ace the Feudalism test,
I would look up the following terms in Chapter 11 in the textbook:

·         Feudalism: a term by historians to describe the type of government institutions, as well as the general social and political relationships, that existed among the warrior-landholders in much of Europe during the Middle-Ages
·         Feudal compact: an arrangement between a lord and his vassal involving the exchange of property for personal service
·         Fief: a grant of land and accompanying government responsibilities and power
·         Vassal: another word for servant
·         Knight: A man who served his sovereign or lord as a mounted soldier in armor
·         Homage: A vassal’s act of promising loyalty and obedience to his land 
·         Serf: “internal colonization” of Europe; bottom at the social ladder
·         Baron: a great lord who exercised government authority over vast family territory
·         Peasantry: those who farmed the land of manner owned by the lord
·         Estates: In the Middle Ages, the groups that made up society: often defined as those who pray, those who fight, and those who work
·         Manor: The principle framing property and social unit of a medieval community usually belonging to a member of the feudal nobility or to a Church institution
·         Three-field-system: A method of crop rotation designed to maintain the fertility of the soil and to provide for a regular supply of fall and spring crops
·         Internal colonization: the process of cultivating and settling in formerly wild land in medieval Europe
·         Suburb: land outside of the city walls
·         Guild: An organization of merchants of craftspeople who regulated the activities of their members and set standards and prices
·         Master: a craftsman who had the right to operate workshops, train others, and vote on guild business
·         Journeyman: a licensed artisan who had served an apprenticeship and who was employed by a master and paid at a fixed rate per day
·         Apprentice: a “learner” in the shop of a master
·         Masterpiece: a piece that shows your work to become a master in his art
·         Water mill:  a mill worked by a waterweel 
·         Iron plow: 


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Boys Teaching

Review of Chapter 11:
-Look at blog from yesterday for my notes
-No one was listening so then Mr.Schick yelled at us
-Max and David were the one "teaching" Chapter 11 which was "fun"
-Then they started getting on a roll and we all calmed down a little
-Then Grace and Kelley started acting out what were learning which actually helped!
-The review included feudalism, knights, lords, homage, and more medieval stuff 






Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Notes- Chapter 11

Feudalism- term used by historians to describe the governmental system and the relationships between landowners and warriors
-Warriors, aka knights, would pledge his allegiance to a lord, who would in turn give that knight land
-Fief- property given to the knight from the lord, who would then become the lord's vassal- servant known as 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
- When a knight died, his fief would revert to his son, though his lord would be protector of that son if he was underage, or if it was a daughter

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

The Manorial Estate
-Medieval society was divided into three "estates" : the clergy, the nobility, and the common people
-Usually the peasantry famed on large plantations known as "manors" which were owned by a lord or lady of the nobility
-Iron plows and water- powered grinding mills helped with agricultural production, but the yield was still mini-scale by today's standards

People of the Manor
-The lady of the house ran household operations, oversaw servants, entertained guests and ran the manor when her husband was away
-Most peasants were serfs, meaning they were bound to the land and to their lords for "labor service" a few days each year
-the lord oversaw major agricultural issues but delegated everyday overseeing to his stewards or bailiffs

The Location and Perseverance of Towns
- Most medieval towns were surrounded by fortified walls
- Residences also sprang up outside the walls in the suburbs
-Towns were dominated by a main church and a central marketplace

The Life of Townspeople
- Merchants at the top, then skilled craftsman, then unskilled laborers and apprentices

The Guilds
-Merchants, craftsmen and artisans formed their own groups called guilds which regulated their trade and protected its members
-Craftsmen were classified as masters, journeymen, and apprentices
-Once became a master after spending years learning as an apprentice, working as a paid journeyman for a number of years, and completing his "masterpiece"

Monday, May 20, 2013

Tests Back

So today we kinda got talked at because we got our tests back and they weren't too hot...I got a 79% which isn't too bad but I'd like to get a lot better. My class talks a lot and interrupts the lesson which is one of the main causes to our not so hot grades...I completely agree with Mr.Schick and even after him telling us that us talking was the cause of our low grades people still continued to talk which I found totally disrespectful..sometimes I feel like Mr.Schick just needs to put his foot down once in a while. I like his laid-back personality but I find people take advantage of it. The pop-quiz that we took that I thought I totally bombed, was given back and I got a 100%! I guess I'm a good guesser! We reviewed the test and were given the correct answers but I didn't get the last answer so I'll need to talk to him and find out what the answer was...

Friday, May 17, 2013

Random Class

Yeah so far we aren't really do anything all we did was talk for a good 10 minutes randomly then Mr. Schick tried to get us on track and talk about the barbarian groups that we looked up last night for homework. Then we had a pop quiz which is not fair considering we didn't really go over it. It was kinda hard. Then we talked about the tribes and Egypt and Muslims  Some notes we took today are:

After Rome
500-700 A.D

Germanic Kingdoms of Western Europe
  • The Germanic Barbarians
    • Barbarian warlords and their families who assimilated into Roman culture became the "nobles" or aristocrats of medieval Europe
    • Germanic tribes who ruled former Roman lands sought to conquer and assimilate other barbarian peoples who lived beyond the frontiers and were sill pagans 
    • The Angels and the Saxons ( from Denmark and northwestern Germany) invaded and assimilated the native Britons
    • Most the Anglo-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 
  • Meanwhile, back in the Eastern Empire
    • From Eastern Empire to Byzantium
    • The eastern roman empire continued on while the west was now divided up by the barbarian tribes
    • When the emperor Justinian came to power in 527, he decided to reunite the entire Roman Empire by re-conquering the western territories
    • Justinian succeeded for a time, but the land he re-took was soon conquered by a new barbarian tribes and a massive plague depopulated much of the west 
  • It's a Christian Empire Now
    • Greek Byzantine emperors saw themselves as Roman emperors and the heads of the Christian Church
    • Byzantines preserved Greece-Roman art, architecture philosophy and writing despite much of it being non- Christian
    • Justinian built the massive domed Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) in Constantinople, considered to be the most glorious church on the earth at the time 

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Rome Fades Away


  • Two Emperors
    • Diocletian
      • he rules from 284-303
      • cool to persecute Christians
      • Rome needs a big army (400,000 strong)
      • Rome needs a big government (20,000 officials)
    • Constantine
      • he rules from 306-337
      • its cool to be a Christian
      • conversion to Christianity via a cross in the sky (conquer by this)
      • 313- his edict of Milan proclaims freedom of worship
      • built a new capital in the East
        • Byzantium, soon to be known as Constantinople 
  • The struggle of the peasants
    • Life for the peasants in the 4th Century
      • country dwellers are getting bankrupted by endless tax collection
      • new farming system: peasants work for elite landlords on large farms 
      • paying off debts and being allowed to live on land, in exchange for endless back-breaking work 
      • landowners hold local power as counts and bishops, wielding more real power than the faraway empire
      • foreshadowing feudalism (The dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which land granted by the Crown to the nobility was in turn held by vassals and worked)
  • The Western Empire Crumbles
    • Romes's power decreasing, while nomadic barbarians gain power
    • Western Empire is too poor, beings to be neglected
    • Huns migrate from China to eastern Europe 
    • Visigoths take over Spain, and actually capture and loot Rome itself in 410
    • Vandals control Carthage and the western Mediterranean
    • Other barbarian tribes
      • Ostrogoth in Italy 
      • Franks in Gaul
      • Angles and Saxons in Britain
  •  End of an area
    • From the beginnings
      • 500 BC- the monarchy is abolished
      • 450 BC- the Twelve Tables are established
    • Through the Glory days
      • 44 BC- end of the line for Julius Caesar 
      • 27 BC- 180 AD- Pax Romana 
    • To the Bitter end
      • constant 5th century invasions by barbarian tribes left the western roman empire and crumbing
      • the last emperor was a teenage boy in 475 by his father
      • barbarians deposed Romulus Augustulus without bothering to kill him 
  • Barbarian Groups
    • Angles: were German people that settled in Britannia 
    • Franks: German tribe that settled on the lower and middle Rhine, they raided Roman territory, most powerful German tribe 
    • Huns
    • Ostrogoths: established a kingdom in Italy in the late 5th century and early 6th century
    • Saxons: German tribe on the North German Plain
    • Vandals: were an east Germanic tribe
    • Visigoths: Germanic people referred to as Goths 

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Test Opinion

DIFFICULT TEST!...Yeah so that test has pretty hard but we found out yesterday about it plus we went over the information quicker than usual so I wasn't very prepared. O well I did my best so that's all I can say...after the test we just chilled on our laptops and did any work that we wanted. We kinda were a little upset after the test considering a few questions were not taught and he said their were going to be no date questions and there was in fact ONE...I didn't care all that much about that one cause it's one question but o well. Then I watched Drew play a car game on his laptop which looked pretty cool. So all in all it was difficult but I wouldn't say it was unfair...for the most part.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Test TOMORROW

We got our pop quizzes back which a lot of us got 100s on which is good! Then we discussed either having a test tomorrow or having it Wednesday but covering a new topic. We decided that we were going to have the test tomorrow. And then we found out that we were not going to be allowed to use our blogs which is kinda disappointing since I wrote a lot of notes down on my blog....but it makes sense cause we won't be allowed to use our blog on the final so he's trying to adjust us to studying more. As a compromise he will let us choose some questions that will be put on the test so we will at least know what to study! We were so busy talking about questions that we didn't get to review the pop quiz. 
Some questions included:


  1. What was the edict of Milan? 
    • Law that proclaimed tolerance of all religions throughout the empire. 
  2. What is an edict?
    • An official law
  3. Know 3 out of the 4 problems in the Roman Empire
    • epidemic disease
    • couldn't defend the frontier because armies were too expensive
    • too many poverty stricken people
    • emperors began to lose their hold on power 
  4. How many officials were there in the Dereliction's reform?
    • 20,000, which is 10x larger than Augustus's time 
  5. What religion was Jesus born into?
    • Judaism
  6. What did followers believe about Jesus?
    • He was the Messiah and the one to end the world and bring the faith into the kingdom of God 
  7. What were apostles?
    • Followers of Jesus who attempted to spread the word 

Friday, May 10, 2013

Mrs. Glinecki and TA Reilley

So today we reviewed the persecution of Diocletian (a ruler) and Constantine (ruler after Diocletian) who supported the Christians. Grace and Kelley reviewed that for us and they actually did a good job. Then we Mr. Schick took over and started talking about Constantine and his vision.
  • Constantine had a vision of a sun with a cross above it with "Conquered by this" engraved into it before he went to battle. He prayed to God. 
  • Constantine's vision 
  • Then the army painted the symbol on their shields, went into battle, and won
    • This turned him into a Christian
  • Symbol they painted on  their shields

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Notes from today- The Roman Empire...after Pax Romana

So today we got to class and got right to work on taking notes about "The Roman Empire....after Pax Romana." It was actually kind of interesting because we've been talking about Christianity in Rome...which is what I believe in...and how the Christians were persecuted for their belief. The Christians first started out almost like a cult but grew so large and is even very large today. So here are my notes from today:


  • 99 Problems (here's just a few)
    • In the 3rd Century A.D
      • Epidemic disease spreads throughout the empire
      •  Too hard to defend the frontier against the barbarians
      • Emperors began to lose their hold on power
        • Stayed in power for about 2 and a half years due to assassinations or war
      •  Maintaining armies is expensive 
      • Too many poverty stricken citizens
  • Diocletian to the Rescue
    • 284 A.D- Diocletian's reform
      • Increases the size of the army to 400,000
        • 1/3 larger than Augustus's time
        • Recruited from the ranks of the barbarians (enemies they captured)
      • Divide Roman territories into smaller providences  
        • New government had 20,000 officials- 10 times larger than Augustus's time
        • More efficient at collecting taxes which help provide a larger army 
  • Time Marches on...
    • 300 A.D
      • 60 million people in the Roman empire
      • Several million are Christians
      • Christianity appealed o the poor....plenty of those!
      • More Christians,more face-to-face contacts, more conversations, more offspring
      • Christians gaining power, becoming the ruling elite
  • Persecute or not to persecute?
    • Diocletian (ruled 284-305) left Christians alone at first
    • Then he undertook the most systematic persecution of all
      • It was the last and most severe persecution 
      • 284
      • Varied across the empire ( weakest in Gaul and Britain, strongest in the Eastern empire) 
      • Four different edicts
        • Edicts: a decree, order, or ordinance issued by a sovereign, state, or any other holder of authority; any formal or authoritative command, proclamation, etc. 
        • 1st- new church was razed; books burned and treasures taken 
          • Wanted no bloodshed but those who refused to worship Jupiter were burned alive
          • February 23, 303
          •  The edict ordered the destruction of Christian scriptures, liturgical books, places of worship across the empire, and prohibit Christians from worshiping. Christians were not allowed to go to court about any of these things happening.  
          • Christian senators, equestrians, decurions, veterans, and soldiers had the positions taken away and imperial freedmen were re-slaved. 
        • 2nd- Arrest and imprisonment of all priests and bishops 
          • Prisons filled with deacons, lectors, priests, bishops, and exorcists 
          • summer of 303
          • There was no logical necessity of this second edict.
          • Diocletian said he did it because the first edict was not working as quickly as wanted
        • 3rd-any imprisoned clergy man could now be freed as long as he agrees to make a sacrifice to the gods
          •  November 20, 303
          •  Some people were more willing than others to make a sacrifice sine it was considered unacceptable.
        • 4th-All persons (men, women, and children) to father in a public space and offer a collective sacrifice. 
          • 304
          • If you refused, you were executed. This edict was not enforced at all of the domains of Maximilian and Constantine.
    • Constantine ruled from 306-337
      • He favored Christianity 
      • Was against the persecution of Christians 
      • On July 25, 306, he succeeded his father. 
      • He immediately ended all ongoing persecution and returned property that had been stolen.
      • Constantine was seen as a possible liberator of oppressed Christians everywhere.
      • First Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity, over the ago of 40.
      • He issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed tolerance of all religions throughout the empire. 
      • Throughout his rule, he supported the Church financially, built basilicas, granted privileges to clergy, and promoted Christians to high office. Made a law so that Jews could not have Christian slaves.
  • Source for edict definition: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/edict 

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Review of the Test

So we got to class and got a little distracted...once we got on track we got the test back and reviewed what the answers were. We got the Scranton back that had our grade on it....I got a 85 which isn't bad... once we reviewed the test we took notes which isn't that much fun....then he surprised us with a pop quiz which consisted of 5 questions, 2 points each....After the pop quiz ,which was shown on a power point,  we went over the correct answers...I'm pretty sure I got a 100 which is always good....The quiz was about Christianity in Rome...then we chilled for the rest of the class.

Monday, May 6, 2013

(POP) Test

So today we handed in the essays we wrote for Pax Romana which I think turned out well. My partner, Rachel, worked really hard and went above and beyond to finish the paper. After we finished turning everything in and getting a little distracted we found out that we had a test that was posted all the way at the bottom of his blog. It was planned but no body knew so for us it was a pop test. I think I did fairly well, it had 20 questions and was pretty easy. Once we finished the test we started reading our textbook which is sooooo much fun but it wasn't that long so i guess it wasn't tooo tooo bad.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Friday's Class

So Friday's class wasn't very accomplishing because we were supposed to work on our 500 words essay with our partners but we really got nothing done. My partner and I are really hard workers but we couldn't concentrate with all the other groups ,that didn't really care about it, talk non stop. So we just determined we would split the reading and write at least 250 words on what we read. In class we got about 100 words combined on what we read...which was little. We decided to use Google drive that way we wouldn't have to email back and forth all the work which is a hassle but instead just go on the document and type away....once we're finished we can chat that we are done and I can print it out after proof reading it. I think it is a very effective way to write a paper with a partner...Thanks Google!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Notes from Wednesday

So I kinda forgot to blog last night but it's only 9 hours late....In class we got out our notebooks and starting taking notes on the power point he made. Here is the link in case anyone needs it: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10GtwZLLRBXhBVzNRgyqhF4rPGdbU07RcaxVOzvLOsjI/edit#slide=id.p. Overall we knew most of the stuff because of the movie we watched so I just had to take a few notes that way it really stuck in my head and I would remember it. I find it easier to learn when I write things down and see stuff so I always take notes. After we took all the notes, we were assigned a partner project. We got to pick our partners thankfully and my partner is the amazing RACHEL! So yeah that's about all we did yesterday....yet another exciting day in the life of Sydney...