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The political, social, and economic problems of medieval Europe (500—1400)

                Economic Systems, Factors of Production, Political Systems, Belief Systems

 

                General/All Sub-headings:

 

                FEUDALISM:

 

EUROPEAN MIDDLE AGES, THE FRENCH:  Describes the governmental system created by Charlemagne in France (768-814) which led to "Feudalism" and includes information on what this system meant in France, as contrasted with England:

                http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/MA/FRENCH.HTM

 

                THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS (1066):  "THE BATTLE THAT CHANGED HISTORY" --

Webpage provides information on several important results of this battle, including the beginnings of the feudal system in England:

                http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/WestEurope/Hastings.html

 

"MEDIEVAL ECONOMICS" -- Student-oriented webpages, part of a "Medieval Village" website created by a high school class, examining the economy of Europe in the Medieval Ages, including topics such as "Money and Trading," and "Feudalism and Manorialism":

http://www1.enloe.wake.k12.nc.us/enloe/CandC/showme/medieval.html

 

ONLINE REFERENCE BOOK FOR MEDIEVAL STUDIES: Academic website, with extensive coverage of all aspects of Medieval life in the Western world.  Click on "Of General Interest" for articles and other links on topics such as "Misconceptions about the Middle Ages" and "The Middle Ages in the Movies":

                http://orb.rhodes.edu/

 

Feudalism and Medieval Life in England:  Commercial website with basic information about life and social ties between people at the top of the social and economic pyramid (the lords), those at the bottom (the peasants and serfs), and those few in-between (tradesmen, etc.):

                http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Feudalism_and_Medieval_life.htm

 

 

                General/All Sub-headings (OTHER):

 

From the Norwegian National Library, The Schøyen Collection:  222 Manuscripts Spanning 5000 Years (Excerpts are shown, with descriptive information) (Click on "History" and then on "4.2.6 Medieval history":

http://www.nb.no/baser/schoyen/

 

Regia Anglorum ("Kingdoms of the English") Re-enactors' website with pictures, articles and links about Anglo-Saxon, Viking, Norman and British living history, focusing on period AD 950-1066.  Scroll down to bottom of page and click on categories such as "everyday life," "weapons & warfare," or the Index, to view articles and information about all aspects of the period:

http://www.regia.org/index.html

 

Medieval (and Prehistoric) Northern Europe Website:  Comprehensive website provides numerous external links, such as history of peoples of the region, maps, barbarian invaders, daily life, weddings, customs, traditions and holiday origins, religion and mythology, exploration, ships, and much more:

                http://www.irminsul.org/nw/nwhist.html

 

Medieval Europe (AD 300-1400): historical website with numerous self-links detailing the reigns of Christian Roman Emperors Constantine (AD 306-337) and Justinian (AD 527-565), the spread of the Germanic peoples and Huns, the rise of the Muslim/Islamic nations, Bulgarian empire (681-1018), re-Christianization of England in the early 7th Century, King Charlemagne (France:  768-814), King John of England (1164-1216), the Christian Crusades, the Great Schism (dual French and Italian Papacies:  1378-1415), and fall of Constantinople to the Turks (1453):

http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/WestEurope/Peripheral.html

 

British History website, with internal and external links to periods from "Roman Britain to World War II" and also including under “Medieval” topics: 100 Years War (1337-1453) and Wars of the Roses (1455-1487):

http://www.british-history.com/

 

The Labyrinth: University Medieval Studies site, with information and numerous internal and external links about European and Byzantium national cultures, religion, sciences, arts and architecture:

http://labyrinth.georgetown.edu/

 

Medieval Art and Architecture - including views and information about cathedrals, abbeys, castles, stone-carving, and life in the Middle Ages, with numerous external links to museums' and other collections of art works of the period:

                http://www.newyorkcarver.com/index.htm

 

Medieval, Renaissance, Reformation - Western Civilization from Byzantium to the French Revolution, with numerous informative, related links (e.g., Byzantium Empire, Celts and their laws and customs, Vikings, "Mad Monarchs", "The Witching Hours"), also continuing on through the Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment:

http://www.omnibusol.com/medieval.html

 

Comprehensive history web site with information on time periods from the dawn of man, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Mongols, Vikings, and featuring Medieval and Renaissance history and information, including the Crusades and history of religion, the development of ship trading, as well as information about native cultures around the world, and links to history of science and medicine and historical periods continuing up to modern times:

                http://www.odinscastle.org/

 

Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts -- Collection of 10,000 illustrations from books of the Middle Ages, at Netherlands Museum Meermanno, searchable by subject (e.g., "society, civilization and culture"):

http://www.kb.nl/kb/manuscripts/

 

The New York Times on the Web's Learning Network Web Explorer:  Provides students with directed learning through internet searches in certain topic areas.  Click on "Life in the Middle Ages" under "Global History":

                http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/explorer/

 

The Majorcan Cartographic (Mapmaking) School - Information about this group of 14th Century Spanish maps and mapmakers:

http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/texte/atx3_04.htm

 

The Catalan Atlas (actual 14th Century manuscript of maps of the then known world):

                http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/texte/atx2_07.htm

 

                "Illumination" (illustration) and book production in the Late Middle Ages:

                http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/texte/atx2_08.htm

 

The Hundred Years' War (between France and England & Burgundy - 1337-1451) - brief explanation:

                http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/texte/atx2_02.htm

 

                Informative article about the period of the Hundred Years' War and Joan of Arc:

                http://womenshistory.about.com/library/prm/blmaidoforleans1.htm

 

Image depicting battle in 1356 during the Hundred Years' War:

                http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/images/jpeg/i3_0028.jpg

 

 About.com's "Medieval Battles and Wars" webpages include information, timelines and links about the Hundred Years' War between France and England (including Joan of Arc), the Norman Conquest, the Crusades, Wars of the Roses, and other armed conflicts of the period.

http://historymedren.about.com/cs/battlesandwars/index.htm

 

 

                Political Systems, Belief Systems

 

King Alfred the Great of Wessex (southern England) (AD 871-899) - personal website with information on this latter ninth century Christian ruler and his kingdom's struggles against the invading Danes:

                http://www.ogdoad.force9.co.uk/alfred/alfredintro.htm

 

Portion of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written by Monks, dealing with Alfred the Great and battles against the Danes:

                http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/angsax-chron1.html

 

                Map of Anglo-Saxon England (9th-10th Centuries):

                http://www.georgetown.edu/cball/oe/saxmap.gif

 

                Rulers of England and Great Britain (9th Century AD to present):

                http://britannia.com/history/h6f.html

 

From the Norwegian National Library, The Schøyen Collection:  222 Manuscripts Spanning 5000 Years.          Click on "Contents," and under "5. Special Collections" select "5.4 Law."  Two versions of the 13th Century Magna Carta- Excerpts, with descriptive information).

(Please note: "MSS" stands for "manuscripts".  The term "canon law" means the law of the church, that is, the Roman Catholic Church; while "civil law" means the law created by a ruler, state, or government.  "Cf." means "compare.") 

                http://www.nb.no/baser/schoyen/

 

Coronation Images of various French Kings, from Charlemagne (AD 768) to Charles III of Navarre (AD 1387) ("illuminations" or illustrations) from 14th and 15th Century books:  Chronicles of France

                http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/themes/t_1/st_1_01/a101_002.htm

 

                French rulers and their dynasties (families) from 5th Century AD to the Bourbons (17th Century):

                http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/texte/atx2_01.htm

 

Charles V of France (1338-1380):

                http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/texte/atx1_01.htm

 

                Belief Systems:

                Signs of the Zodiac, Astronomical Diagrams, The "Four Elements":

                http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/themes/t_3/st_3_02/a302_001.htm

 

                Economic Systems, Factors of Production, Political Systems

                Etienne Marcel and the Revolt of Paris (1356-1358)

                http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/texte/atx2_03.htm

  

                Economic Systems, Factors of Production:

                14th Century French Images of agriculture, game hunting/trapping:

                http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/themes/t_3/ast_3_01.htm

 

NYU Professor's Web Pages about Medieval Technology (windmills, wells, paper making, soap, silk, spectacles, house construction, and weapons, including a timeline):

                http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/Technology.html

 

European Museums' Website "Scientific Instruments of Medieval and Renaissance Europe (before 1600) descriptions and photographs of instruments including navigational, weaponry, measuring, etc., and information on their makers and locations

http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/epact/introduction.asp

 

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© Project LEGAL, Inc.

Syracuse, NY

August, 2003