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7th grade · Social Studies · Unit 1 of 9

Medieval Europe

Feudalism, towns and the Black Death

What your child practices

How medieval Europe was organized (kings, nobles, knights and peasants), the role of the Church and guilds, the Magna Carta, the Black Death, and how change came to the feudal system.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: History 1; Civics & Government 1 · medieval Europe, feudalism and early English law

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Feudalism was a pyramid: king, then nobles (lords), then knights, then peasants and serfs.
  2. Lords gave land (a fief) to vassals in return for loyalty. The Church was powerful in daily life.
  3. The Magna Carta (1215) said rulers are not above the law. The Black Death spread along trade routes.

Example: Put these in order from most to least powerful: peasants, king, nobles. The king was at the top. Nobles held land from the king. Peasants worked the land. Answer: king → nobles → peasants

Medieval Europe in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 1 of 9 in 7th grade Social Studies, before The Islamic World.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Maine Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which feature helped defend a medieval castle?

    • A wide, unguarded gate
    • Thick stone walls, towers and a moat
    • Open fields with no walls
    • Large glass windows

  2. Question 2

    Put the feudal pyramid in order, from the most powerful to the least.

    • 🛡️Knights
    • 🌾Peasants and serfs
    • 🏰Nobles (lords)
    • 👑King

  3. Question 3

    Why were monasteries important for learning?

    • They banned reading.
    • Monks burned all books.
    • They were only farms.
    • Monks copied and kept books, and some ran schools.

  4. Question 4

    What did the Magna Carta (1215) establish?

    • That the Church can tax the king
    • That the king rules by himself
    • That even the king must follow the law
    • That peasants own land

  5. Question 5

    What was the main role of the Christian Church in medieval Europe?

    • It guided religious life and also had great influence in politics, education and daily life.
    • It only built castles.
    • It ruled only in Asia.
    • It had little influence.

  6. Question 6

    In the feudal system, what did a vassal promise a lord?

    • Loyalty and military service
    • Free grain forever
    • A new castle every year
    • Silk and spices

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