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Spanish Version Lesson 1 Social Studies The Medieval World Chapter 1 Medieval Europe The Great Fall Beginning in the 300s CE, there was great turmoil in the Western Roman Empire. After decades of invasions by Germanic tribes, the empire fell in 476 CE. At its height, the Roman Empire had reached across Europe and included northern Africa and parts of Asia. Life in the empire before it collapsed was either luxurious or simple, depending on where you were within the social order. If you were a member of the political class, you lived well. You would have enjoyed parties, lived in a large home, and had servants or enslaved persons tending to your every need. You would have attended civic gatherings in ornate government buildings. Most people, though, lived modest lives If you were at the bottom of the social structure, you would have lived in a simple home and worked hard every day. When you were not working, you might have enjoyed watching chariot races or gladiator fights. What all Romans had in common, however, was the patriarchy. This was a system in which the oldest man in a family made all the public decisions. The women were responsible for taking care of the home and the children, and they had few rights. This rigid social structure was the backbone of Roman society for centuries. Even though the fall of the empire meant that Roman government no longer existed, day-to-day life went on as before for many people. Those living far from Rome probably did not even hear about the invasions or the fall of Rome. As a result, the language and the structure of society remained largely the same—at least for some time. The ten centuries that followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in Europe are called the Middle Ages, or the medieval period. Three important groups shaped life in medieval Europe. These were the Church, the aristocracy, and the commoners. The Church included bishops, monks, and priests, known as clergy. People were part of the aristocracy if their family were also members of this group. Aristocrats held most of the land throughout Europe and most of the Vocabulary patriarchy, n. a social structure marked by the dominance of the father in the family Vocabulary medieval, adj. relating to the Middle Ages in Europe aristocracy, n. the upper or noble class whose members’ status is usually inherited clergy, n. in a Christian church, p military and political power. The commoners included everyone who was not aristocratic or part of the Church. Commoners ranged from wealthy merchants to poor people who owned nothing. Craftspeople, merchants, traders, and bankers were all part of the middle class of commoners. The Church was the only major institution in Europe that survived the fall of the empire. Building on the influence of Emperor Constantine and the gathering of church leaders at Nicaea in 325 CE, Emperor Theodosius I had made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 CE. After that, the Church organized itself with a structure similar to the old Roman government, with each region having headquarters in a major city. The leader of the entire Church was the pope. The pope was, and still is, the leader of the Catholic religion throughout the world

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