Due to the nature of this being a World History course that BEGINS in 1200, this is the one era that will not heavily feature the Europeans. You can tell from the map that the Europeans are already making their way down to Africa and are 42 years away from the Americas and 48 years from India by 1450. We are smack-dab in the middle of the Post Classical or Medieval period or Dark Ages. That means knights, ladies, castles, etc. The Social/Political order is crucial in Europe during this period, with Feudalism dominating most of the Continent. There’s a trade union in the North you should know: Hanseatic League. The Mongols arrive to the East and bring destruction (by cavalry or by Bubonic Plague). The educational center is not Paris or London; it’s Cordoba. The biggest interaction the Europeans have outside of Europe in this period are the Crusades that last for a little over a century. Otherwise, that’s really it. This will be the last time we see the Europeans in the confines of Europe. Most of what you need to know about Europe going forward deals a great deal with their interactions OUTSIDE of Europe. Let’s get medieval.

1. Council of Clermont (where Pope where Pope Urban calls for the 1st Crusade), 1095 (FRANCE)
2. Charter of Fealty, 1110 CE, Monk John (FRANCE)
3. Magna Carta, 1215 CE, Archbishop of Canterbury (ENGLAND)
4. Ystoria Mongalorum, c. 1240, John of Plano-Carpini (FRANCE)
5. The Book of Margery Kempe, c. 1438, Margery Kempe (ENGLAND)

1. NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL, c. 1163 (PARIS, FRANCE)

2. CHRIST PANTOCRATOR, 1261 CE, (HAGIA SOPHIA, CONSTANTINOPLE, BYZANTINE EMPIRE)

3. Medieval illustration of men harvesting wheat with reaping-hooks, on a calendar page for August, 1310 CE (ENGLAND)

4. Doge’s Palace (home to the Doge or Duke or leader of Venice) c. 1340 (VENICE)

5. The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434 CE, Jan van Eyck (BRUGES, BELGIUM)

1. Global Tapestry Europe (1200-1450) is the end of Medieval Europe. Castles, knights, chivalry and such.
2. If you get ONE thing from this period for them, focus on the FEUDAL SYSTEM.
3. Europe is still backwards and Dark Age-ish. They will have global empires by the end of the NEXT period. For now, it’s pretty Monty Python and the Holy Grail everywhere.
4. Trade with the rest of the world is kind of limited. Look to the Venetians for trading with the Middle East.
5. This period has Mongol Invasions, The Black Death, the Crusades, and the 100 Years War. Very little here is on Europe’s Highlight Reel.