Europe in the Early Middle Ages

Your task, in groups of 3, will be to research a specific topic about Europe in the Middle Ages,
and present your summary of the topic.
*Information you find about people, places, or things must have occurred from 500-1000 CE (6th-
11th centuries).

There are 2 parts to this assignment:

1) Written Report:
A one-page report that summarizes what you learned about your topic. If you can give short
answers to each of the questions you will have good information for your report.

2) Presentation:
Your presentation will require your group to assemble its information on a poster board. Your
poster board should be the focus of your presentation.
The poster board should follow this model:

Title

5 Main
Points

Title: the name of your topic

5 main points: Each point should be no longer than 3-5 sentences.
Pictures: Pictures can be printed or hand drawn. Please don’t print poor quality black and white
photos, just trace them instead.

On Monday, March 24th your group will conduct a brief presentation for the class to inform them
about what you learned. This presentation should only last about 3-4 minutes. This means that
your presentation should have 5 main points about your topic since your classmates will be
taking notes.

Both due Monday, March 24th

Rubrics on back.

Some suggestions:
• Have a different question for each person to research.
• Have one person in charge of all your materials.
• Have one person as the recorder, the one who fills in the Fact-Based Article Analysis.
• Get most of your research done so next class you can start on your poster board.
• Print images from home if you have a good printer.
The Frankish Empire
Where was it located? What was the capital city? Who were the Franks? Why are they
worth knowing about? What important events happened in their empire? What effect did
they have on Europe in the Early Middle Ages?

Charlemagne (Person)
Who is he? What was his title? Where did he rule? What are his accomplishments? Why
was he important in the Early Middle Ages?

Aachen Cathedral
Where is it located? When was it built? Why was it built? What purpose(s) does it serve?
What are the important features of this building?

Holy Roman Empire

Why are they worth knowing about? What important events happened in their empire?
What effect did they have on Europe in the Early Middle Ages?

Carolingian Renaissance
What is a “renaissance”? Why was this time important? When did it occur? Where did it
occur? Who were the important people involved and what did they do? What happened in
this time?

The Catholic Church in the Early Middle Ages

How did the Catholic Church help people in the Early Middle Ages? What did monks,
nuns, priests, and the pope do? Who were the important Saints? Where is the Church’s
capital city?

Byzantine Empire
Where was it located? What was the capital city? Why are they worth knowing about?
What important events happened in their empire? What effect did they have on Europe in
the Early Middle Ages? What were the main cities?
Justinian I (Person)
Who is he? What was his title? Where did he rule? What are his accomplishments? Why
was he important in the Early Middle Ages?

Hagia Sophia (Place)

Where is it located? When was it built? Why was it built? What purpose(s) does it serve?
What are the important features of this building?

Anglo-Saxon England
Where was it located? What was the capital city? Why are they worth knowing about?
What important events happened in their empire? What effect did they have on Europe in
the Early Middle Ages? What were the main cities?

Völkerwanderung (also know as the Migration Period) (Event)

Where did this happen? How did this event affect people in the Middle Ages? In general,
who was involved? Who were the important people at the time?

Constantinople (Place)
Where is this city located? What special features make this city different? Why was it
important in the Early Middle Ages?

Vikings/Viking Age (Thing)

Why are they worth knowing about? What important events happened in their empire?
What effect did they have on Europe in the Early Middle Ages? What were the main
cities?