Chapter 8 Discussion Questions
1. What developments might allow the people of medieval Europe to take greater advantage of
their resources?
2. How did Charlemagne briefly reunite much of Western Europe?
3. What steps did Charlemagne take to improve government? What happened after he died?
4. Look at the map on Pg. 184- What impact might the Carpathian Mountains had on the Magyar
invasion routes? How did the Viking invasions differ from those of the Magyars and Muslims?
5. Describe the economic system on a medieval manor (manorialism). How did it satisfy people’s
basic needs?
6. What obligations did lords and vassals have under the feudal system?
7. Compare the code of chivalry to ideas about “good sportsmanship” today.
8. Identify causes and effects of the Cluniac reform movement.
Chapter 8 Discussion Questions
9. Discuss ways in which the Church shaped medieval life.
10. What views did the church put forth about women? Why do you think important leaders were
willing to accept the advice of Hildegard of Bingen?
11. How did the Church increase its secular power?
12. Why were Jewish communities able to flourish in Spain?
13. Give 3 pieces of evidence to support the idea that the High Middle Ages were a time of
economic growth.
14. Compare economic life in the early middle ages to economic life in the High Middle Ages.
15. Discuss guilds. What were they? How did they impact the lives of people in the medieval towns?