Topic: A new face of old Europe - changes in the XI‑XIII century.

Target group

5th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

5th grade elementary school.

III. Medieval Europe. Pupil:

3) explains the causes and consequences of the split in the Church in the 11th century and describes the relations between the imperial and papal authorities.

IV. Society and culture of medieval Europe. Pupil:

1) (...) characterizes social divisions in the Middle Ages;

2) describes the living conditions of the medieval city and village;

3) compares knight's culture and urban culture (...);

4) explains the role of the church (including religious orders) in the fields of science, architecture, art and everyday life.

General aim of education

Students learn about the changes that have taken place in late Medieval Europe.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• how life and work changed in the countryside and how cities developed;

• why there was a dispute between the pope and the emperor;

• why the religious orders came into being and what was their mission;

• why the crisis of imperial power occurred;

• why the reform of the Christian Church took place.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. The teacher asks pupils to remember what the development of Europe was like in the first centuries of the Middle Ages and how the supreme power was shaped.

Introduction

1. The teacher gives the students the purpose of the lesson, theme and the criteria for success.

2. Referring to the homework, he asks pupils to recall what characterized the first centuries of the Middle Ages. Students should mention the economic collapse, the collapse of trade and monetary economy, population decline and the forgotten many teachings and achievements of antiquity.

Realization

1. The teacher asks pupils to remind what social division was formed in the early Middle Ages. Then he asks which of these groups was the fastest growing and the most influential? Asking questions, he remembers that they are to be formulated as the key questions.

2. Referring to the students' answer, the teacher complements their messages. He then divides the class into four groups, allocating to each other part of society: peasants (village), middle class (town), clergy (church) and nobility (secular power). The task of each group is to discover what changes have taken place in the Middle Ages among these groups and what they have led to. And then comparing their position in the past centuries. The table can be used as an aid and example: How was it? Extensive farming, the two‑field system of crop rotation, low crop yield from the field Poorly educated clergy, Nikolaism and simony How is it, how it changed? The three‑field system of crop rotation, milder effects of crop failure, higher yields Gregorian reform.

3. The teacher checks the students' tasks and then, if necessary, adds the necessary information and explains the more difficult issues and provides feedback. While working on exercises and instructions, the teacher uses a method or a set of cards in three colors: green, yellow and red. Thanks to the cards, the students signal the teacher if they have difficulties with carrying out orders (green - I'm doing great, yellow - I have doubts, red - please help).

4. Students perpetuate the messages they have developed; they look at the illustrations for Exercise 1 and answer the question. They mark then on the map the oldest European universities (Exercise 2). Based on the text from Task 1, they do Exercise 3, as well as the Exercise 4. Finally, they properly sign the illustration in Exercise 5 and indicate the proper ending of the sentence in Exercise 6. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly made and gives feedback.

Summary

1. Students get acquainted with the calendar in the Task 2, and then the teacher asks the question starting the discussion. He asks pupils to imagine that they are the eleventh‑century bishop and they have to make a decision: whether to support the Gregorian reform or against it? The teacher summarizes the discussion.

2. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare an evaluation questionnaire for self‑assessment and evaluation of the teacher's work and other students.

Homework

1. The teacher sets homework (it is not an obligatory part of the script): Religious orders played one of the most important roles in the reform of the Church. What were they and what were their functions in the Middle Ages? Do the existing orders today also fulfill similar functions?.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

A new face of old Europe - changes in the XI‑XIII century.

The first centuries of the Middle Ages were marked by economic crisis and the return to the natural economy. This was associated with the collapse of trade and the return to the traditional exchange of goods for goods. This situation lasted until the 8th century, when for the first time there was a significant increase in population, which entailed the development of agriculture. However, positive changes took place only in the following centuries. The period between the 11th and 13th century in particular was characterised by rapid population growth and the development of the European economy. The population of the continent doubled (from 25‑30 to 50‑55 million) as a result of improved climate and, consequently, greater access to better quality food. There were also changes in agriculture. The emergence of the new – three‑field rotation system not only increased the cultivated area of the fields, but also contributed to the milder effects of a possible crop failure. Changes also occurred in the technique of land cultivation. The proliferation of heavy plough and breast collar increased soil fertility and yields. This allowed peasants to sell part of their harvest and buy goods or services in towns. The return to monetary economics was one of the most important factors which contributed to the development of trade, and thus of cities. Due to its close connection with rural development, the number of towns and cities that were places of trade and cultural development was also growing. It was there where construction, art and education developed. The latter in particular contributed to raising the awareness of the residents by providing more and more extensive knowledge about the world (academies and universities).

The development of Europe's economies brought with it also aspirations for more and more power of the monarchs, nobles and dignitaries of the Church. The rulers, who put considerable sums of money into Church organisation, believed that they had the right to decide about the fate of the institution they supported. The clergy never fully agreed to this, but often accepted it. The dispute intensified in the 11th century, when Pope Gregory VII stated that the people of the Church are not subject to secular laws (the so‑called Gregorian Reforms of 1075), but only to God's laws. This meant that secular people lost the right to interfere in the interior affairs of the Church, while clergy, as representatives of God, had the full right to speak out in secural matters. This led to a conflict between Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV, later called the Investiture Controversion. Its essence was the emperor's desire to exercise total authority that would not be limited by the clergy. Initially, the conflict was won by the Pope, who excommunicated (excommunication) the emperor. This led to the emperor's self‑abasement in Canossa in 1077. However, as soon as the emperor managed to regain power, he forced the Pope to flee from Rome. The conflict, which lasted for many years, ended only when the emperor and the pope signed a contract in 1122 – the Concordat of Worms. Disputes over the emperor's place in the new reality challenged the general notion of his special rights towards Christians and his sovereignty over other rulers. Frederic I and his successor, Frederick, II took a stand against the loss of authority of the rulers, trying to rebuild it by creating a new model of monarchy and by managing it appropriately. Unfortunately, these attempts were unsuccessful. The deaths of the aforementioned emperors caused a period of long civil wars between the candidates for the imperial crown.