Middle Ages Song

We created a song to help remember the events and people of the middle ages.

This is the last post of our Middle Ages Unit Study which lasted 25 weeks. Each week we added another verse to the song which is to the tune of The Farmer and the Dell. Posts detailing the activities and resources used during each week can be found on our History Page. The song is covered by copyright under this blog, but please have fun learning the words for personal use.

Words:

The Roman Empire Fell
Invaders attacked
The Dark Ages began in Europe
in 500 AD

Justinian ruled the east
at Constantinople
Byzantine, Hagia Sophia
it thrived 1000 years

Moors came to Spain
Across the Straits of Gibraltar
New fruits and water technology
Geometric designed mosques

Charlemagne united Europe
He built roads and schools
Converted to Christianity
Crowned by the Pope

Vikings attacked Brittian
Vikings attacked France
They burned and killed and plundered
Then settled in Normandie

Alfred the Great of England
Fought off the Vikings
Hid in the woods, translated texts
And created new coins

William the Conqueror of France
Descended from the Vikings
Fought the Battle of Hastings
And became the English King

Crusades were wars
Over money and religion
Christians took Jerusalem on the Third Crusade
Saladin took it back

Venetians escaped the Huns
Ruled by the Doge
Laid siege to Constantinople
During the Fourth Crusade

Early Christian, Byzantine
Romanesque and Gothic
Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo
Cathedrals of Europe

Manuscripts were books
Written on vellum and parchment
Miniatures, words, boarder decorations
Illuminated with gold

Pan flute, lute and harp
Hurdy gurdy and zither
Maypole dance and egg dance
Celebrating the Middle Ages

King Arthur and his knights
Sat at the round table
They lived in Camelot
Pulled the sword from the stone

Robin Hood stole from the rich
Arnold Winkleried threw himself into battle
William Tell shot an apple off his son's head
Chaucer wrote tales

Boys were pages from seven to fourteen
Squires from fourteen to twenty-one
Then they became knights
And were ready to fight

Tournaments and jousts
Blind-Man's Bluff and marbles
People slept together on beds of hay
Chamber pots dumped in the street

Book of Heurs from the Limbourgs
Triptychs from VanEych
Halos and angels from Angelico
Botticelli painted in the round

Thomas A Becket of Cantebury
Thought the church should be in charge
He quarreled with King Henry II
Murdered and became a Saint

Richard the Lionhart went on crusade
Bad King John was in control
He signed the Megna Carta
Kings had to follow the laws too

Two years of bad weather
Caused widespread famine across Europe
People learned food preservation skills
Hansel and Gretel were born

Edward III of England
Wouldn't pay taxes to the French
So the had a war for 100 years
And Joan of Arc became a Saint

Descendents of King Edward III
Fought for the crown
The War of the Roses lasted 30 years
Then red rose married white

Henrys and Beauforts wore red roses
Edwards and Richards of York work white
The Plantagenet line died out
Henry Tudor ended the war

Johannes Gutenberg of Mainz
Invented the printing press
First Bibles, then science and literature works
Brought the Middle Ages to an end