Geography and History Medieval Europe

NAME

DATE

CLASS

Geography and History Activity

Medieval Europe

netw rks

Lesson 1 The Early Middle Ages

Location: How Christianity United Europe

Europe's development during the Middle Ages was due in great part to geography. Most land in Europe lies within several hundred miles from the sea. Closeness to the sea encouraged trade between Europe and other places. Yet, within Europe, wide rivers and tall mountains separated regions, allowing isolated groups to develop distinct cultures. As a result, it was difficult for a single ruler to take control of all of Europe. Europe was a continent of many small kingdoms.

Within Europe, Christianity helped unite the divided European kingdoms. Powerful leaders like Frankish King Clovis converted to Christianity. A Christian priest named Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland. Missionaries helped spread Christian beliefs to England. By A.D. 1050, most people in Western Europe were Catholic Christians. As a result, the Church influenced every aspect of life. People attended mass daily. Priests, monks, and nuns provided aid to the poor. They provided medical care to the sick. They also recorded births and conducted weddings and funerals. In cities like Canterbury, England, people built massive churches to show their faith. The Church's influence over the people was not enough. Church leaders also wanted Europe's rulers to enforce the faith and establish a unified Christian empire.

N W SE

AT L A N T I C OCEAN

North Sea Balt

ic Sea

KEY

Predominately Christian by A.D. 325 Predominately Christian by A.D. 600 Christian community established by A.D. 325

Marseilles Cordoba

0

500 miles

0

500 km

Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection

Rome

Belgrade Philippi

Black Sea Sinope

Constantinople

Carthage

Ephesus

Mediterranean Sea Cyrene

Antioch Damascus Jerusalem

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies. Caspian Sea

DOPW (Discovering our Past - World)

NAME

DATE

Geography and History Activity Cont.

Medieval Europe

CLASS

netw rks

Directions Use the information from the passage and map to

answer the following questions.

Understanding the Concept

1. Locating In what region was Christianity most common in a.d. 325? In what directions did it expand to the greatest degree by a.d. 600?

2. Identifying What largely Christian areas in a.d. 600 had no Christian presence in a.d. 325?

3. Identifying According to the passage, who brought Christianity to Ireland and England?

Applying the Concept

4. Making Generalizations Based on the information in the map, what generalization can you make about the spread of Christianity from a.d. 325 to a.d. 600?

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

5. Making Inferences Why do you think the Christian cities in Western Europe, such as Cordoba, Marseilles, and Rome,

were important?

NAME

DATE

CLASS

Geography and History Activity Cont.

Medieval Europe

netw rks

6. Analyzing How did the spread of Christianity help unite Western Europe?

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

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