Middle Ages - Final
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118 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Wergild | a fine, the amount paid by the wrongdoer to the family of the person he or she had injured or killed; translates as "money for a man" |
| Ordeal | a means of determining guilt in Germanic law; it was based on the idea of divine intervention; all involved a physical trial of some sort for example using red hot irons |
| Monks | a man who separates himself from ordinary human society in order to pursue a life of total dedication to God |
| Nuns | female who dedicates her life to God; avoids the things of the world |
| Monasticism | the practice of living the life of a monk |
| Monastery/Convent | these were religious communities that the monks and nuns lived in. |
| Missionary | people sent out to carry a religious message; also focuses on converting non-Christians to Christianity |
| Abbot | this title was give to a person who is the head of a monastery. |
| Abbess | this title was given to a person who was the head of a convent. |
| Heresy | is any religious belief or practice opposed to a particular church. |
| Clergy | a body of officials who perform religious services, such as priest, ministers, or rabbis |
| Pope | he headed the Catholic Church in Rome. |
| Excommunication | the most severe penalty for refusing to obey Church laws; if you were excommunicated - could not be buried on sacred ground and could not receive the sacraments |
| Schism | a separation between the two branches of Christianity |
| Sacraments | the sacred rituals of the Church |
| Carolingian Empire | three key leaders; Pepin, Charles Martel, Charlemagne |
| Mayors of the Palace (major domo) | chief officers of the king's household (Pepin gained kingship through this position) |
| Missi dominici | special officers who checked up on the counts and others and reported directly to the king under Charlemagne's rule |
| Office of comes | office of counts; representatives of the king in the provinces; under the rule of Charlemagne |
| Guilds | business associations that dominated medieval towns; they passed laws, levied taxes, built protective walls for the city, etc. Each guild represented workers in one occupation such as weavers, bakers, brewers, sword makers, etc. |
| Apprentice | a trainee in a particular trade; a long process that youngsters went through to obtain membership in a guild (around 7 or 8 yrs. of age) |
| Feudalism | a political system and a social system where by a powerful lord would offer "protection" in return for "service" |
| Estate | another term for "classes" of people [ |
| Manor | lord's estate |
| Lords | owners of big estates |
| Vassals | lesser lords who pledged their service and loyalty to a greater lord -- in a military capacity |
| Knights | a mounted warrior who had great prestige in the Middle Ages; they dominated warfare in Europe. At the age of 7 they became a page; and at the age of 14 they became a squire. |
| Serfs | peasants on a manor; they were bound to the land; they were not slaves who could be bought and sold—still they were not free |
| Fief | an estate; from a few acres to hundreds of square miles; also included the peasants that worked the land |
| Feudal Contract | an unwritten set of rules that determined the relationship between a lord and his vassal - the major obligation was to perform military service (40 days a year) |
| Four levels of the feudal pyramid | king (wealthy) vassals (wealthy land owners, bishops and nobles) knights (mounted horsemen pledged to defend lord's land in exchange for fiefs) and peasants (landless peasants who toild in the field, bulk of the society) |
| Tournaments & Jousting | they began as training for war, but gradually turned into elaborate spectacles filled with pageantry and color. The tourney was a mock battle between the two teams of mounted knights. Knights would take part in this one-to-one contest; one knight charged at another with a lance and tried to knock him from his horse. |
| Chivalry | a code that knights adopted in the late Middle Ages; requiring them to be brave, loyal and true to their word; they had to fight fairly in battle |
| Trencher | instead of plates, everyone except the nobles was given a thick slab of course bread called thick to place their meat on. |
| Minstrels | these were entertainers; they told funny stories, recited poetry, and sang songs. They traveled from court to court so they would often bring exciting news and gossip from other parts of the country. |
| Troubadours | wandering poets; their love songs focused on cherishing and protecting women |
| Lay Investiture | this was a ceremony in which kings and nobles appointed church officials. |
| Investiture Controversy | this was a controversy between King Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII. |
| Interdict | popes consider this to be their "spiritual weapon"; what you faced if you violated Church laws; which excluded an entire town, region, or kingdom from participating in most sacraments and from receiving Christian burial |
| Inquisition | the Church's method of discovering and dealing with heretics; a procedure for punishing heretics to root out both religious and political dissenters; punishment varied (included burning at the stake) |
| Concordat of Worms | the Church alone could appoint a bishop, but the emperor could veto the appointment; compromise created by the successors of Gregory VII and Henry IV in the German city of Worms |
| Canon Law | the Church's own body of laws; this law applied to religious teachings, the behavior of the clergy, and even marriages and morals |
| Secular | worldly; associated with the world |
| Tithes | a tax equal to a tenth of one's income; this idea existed in ancient religions before Christianity; used to help the poor |
| Treaty of Verdun | document dividing the land between Charlemagne's three feuding grandsons |
| Common Law | law that was common to the whole kingdom; began to replace law codes that varied from place to place |
| Magna Carta (Great Charter) | a written document that gave recognition to the relationship between kings and vassals |
| English Parliament | the legislature of the Kingdom of England |
| House of Lords (England) | the upper house of the British parliament |
| House of Commons (England) | the lower branch of the legislature in Great Britain |
| First Estate | this was made up of the clergy |
| Second Estate | this was made up of the nobles |
| Third Estate | this was townspeople and peasants. |
| Motte and bailey castle | castles constructed on top of an earthen mound, with a wooden-fenced stockade encircling the wooden fort |
| Motte | an earthen mound on top of which early castles were constructed |
| Moat | channel of water surrounding a castle; during battle it could be filled with oil and set on fire |
| Bailey | this was an oval enclosure of a castle adjacent to the mound of dirt; it contained buildings such as a kitchen, stable, and carpenter's workshops. |
| Stockade | made of wood, had a little walkway for shooting arrows, encircled bailey |
| Keep | highest point of the castle; most secure Lord's quarters |
| Parapet | wall with slits for arrows. |
| Turrets | a small tower extending above a building |
| Curtain | stone wall |
| Ventilation slits | spaces just large enough to allow some fresh air into the caste. |
| Portcullis | lords used these for protection; they consisted of a sliding grille of iron or wood hung in the gateway to the castle. |
| Dungeon | was an underground chamber used for storage and a well, and occasionally as a holding cell for knights held in capture for ransom. |
| Drawbridge | it was a special bridge built across the moat. If an enemy tried to attack the caste, the drawbridge could be lifted so that the enemy could not cross the moat. |
| Holy Roman Empire | first called this by Frederick I; the German-Italian empire Otto I created by joining a monarch with the Church |
| Drakken | ships used by the Vikings to raid and plunder villages; were intimidating; could hold lots of men |
| Visigoths | Germanic invaders who overran the western half of the Roman Empire |
| Ostrogoths | Germanic invaders who overran the western half of the Roman Empire |
| Vikings | Germanic warriors from Scandinavia, he created many problems for Europe due to their sense of adventure and love of fighting. |
| Franks | ruled by Clovis; held power in the Roman province of Gaul (which is today France and Switzerland) |
| Lombards | Germanic people who had settled in northern Italy and were pushing south, threatening Rome; crushed by Charlemagne, earning him the papacy's gratitude |
| Burgundians | Germanic invaders who overran the western half of the Roman Empire |
| Muslims | believers of Islam; beat in the Battle of Tours; major component in the battle for the Holy Land (Crusades) |
| Magyars | attacked Western Europe from the east; superb horsemen; swept across the plains of the Danube River and invaded western Europe in the late 800s; they targeted villages and monasteries |
| Anglo-Saxon | Germanic tribe; raids on Britain; |
| Clovis | ruler of the Franks; brought Christianity to Franks; united Franks into one kingdom |
| Gregory I | "Gregory the Great"; broadened the authority of the papacy, or pope's office, beyond spiritual role; papacy became secular power involved in politics |
| St. Benedict | lived in the Sabine hills as a hermit; wrote a book describing rules for monastic life; emphasized balance between work and study |
| Scholastica | lived in the Sabine hills as a hermit; wrote a book describing rules for monastic life; emphasized balance between work and study |
| Charles Martel | father of Pepin; Frankish leader that fought in the Battle of Tours against the Muslims on Oct. 10, 732 |
| Pepin (Pepin the Short) | was a major domo who assumed the kingship of the Frankish state for himself; left the Frankish kingdom to his two songs, Carloman and Charles |
| Charlemagne | ruled from 768 - 814; conquered new lands; spread Christianity; expanded Frankish kingdom; created Carollingian Empire; Christian emperor; visited all parts of his kingdom; promoted learning; opened a palace school; friends with key individuals like Pope Leo III; crowned his only surviving son Louis the Pious as emperor a year before he died |
| Alcuin | Anglo-Saxon monk of great ability; a key teacher in Charlemagne's court |
| Louis the Pious | after Charlemagne died he bequeathed his empire to his only surviving son. He was unfit for the heavy responsibility of running an empire. |
| Lothar | he was a son of Louis the Pious; Louis' empire was divided among his 3 sons; he took the midlands between France and Germany reaching down into Italy. |
| *Charles the Bald | he was a son of Louis the Pious; Louis' empire was divided among his 3 sons; he took the France. |
| *Louis the German | he was a son of Louis the Pious; Louis' empire was divided among his 3 sons; he took Germany. |
| Pope Leo III | he crowned Charlemagne emperor on Christmas day. |
| Eleanor of Aquitaine | beautiful queen; rich; lots of land; Crusader; Queen of France; raised her own army and went to the Holy Land; married Henry II |
| Edward the Confessor | took the throne in 1042, died in 1066 without an heir |
| William of Normandy | duke of Normandy; known as William the Conqueror; rival was Harold Godwinson; fought in the Battle of Hastings |
| King Harold Godwinson | rival of William of Normandy; fought the Battle of Hastings, in which he was killed by an arrow |
| Henry II | married Eleanor of Aquitaine; expanded king's power; clashed with Archbishop Thomas Becket; big struggle with Church; wanted to be rid of Becket |
| King John | was the son of Henry II; clever, greedy, cruel, untrustworthy; enemies were Philip II, Innocent III, his own English nobles; imposed heavy taxes on nobles; signed the Magna Carta (Great Charter) |
| Pope Innocent III | clashed with King John and won; Church reached height of political power under his papacy; believed pope was the supreme judge of all European affairs; used interdicts |
| Archbishop Thomas Becket | nemesis of King Henry II; murdered by four knights in his own cathedral; martyr and saint |
| Edward I | ruler when the Great Council was the advice-giver of the kingdom (eventually became parliament); "What touches all, should be approved by all" |
| Otto I (Otto the Great) | most effective ruler of medieval Germany; crowned king in 936; formed close alliance with the Church; sought help from the clergy; crowned emperor in 962, joining monarch's power with that of the Church; created the Roman Empire of the German Nation (Holy Roman Empire) |
| Frederick I | first to call the lands the Holy Roman Empire; elected king; strong personality; great military skills; a few enemies (Italian merchants and pope), who formed the Lombard League against him; made peace with pope; drowned in 1190 |
| King Henry IV | young German leader; clashed with Pope Gregory VII [struggle known as Investiture Controversy] |
| Pope Gregory VII | clashed with Henry IV over Investiture Controversy |
| Hugh Capet | elected as king by feudal nobles; established Capetian Dynasty of French kings |
| Capetian Dynasty | slowly increased royal power; made throne hereditary; unbroken successions for 300 years; added land; support of Church and townspeople; effective bureaucracy |
| Philip II | Augustus from Latin word "majestic"; French King; powerful Capetian; king at age 15; added territories to the kingdom, tripling it in size |
| Louis VII | king of France; Eleanor's husband; their marriage was later annulled |
| St. Francis of Assisi | Italian saint who founded the Franciscan order of friars; treated all creatures, including animals, as spiritual brothers and sisters; born to wealthy merchant family and willingly gave up a life of comfort |
| St. Dominic de Guzman | founded the Dominicans; stressed missionary work among common people; active in preaching and fighting heresy |
| Hildegard of Bingen | nun/abbess in western Germany; composer |
| Battle of Tours | Franks vs. Muslims; Franks won; Oct. 10, 732; stopped the advance of Islam and preserved Christianity as the controlling faith in Europe |
| Battle of Hastings | OCTOBER 14, 1066; William of Normandy vs. Harold Godwinson; Harold killed by an arrow; Normans won; Norman culture dramatically changed Saxon tradition; French words blended with Anglo-Saxon language; Feudal system in England; increased power of the English monarch |
| Lombard League | alliance of the Italian merchants and pope against Frederick I; foot soldiers faced Frederick's mounted knights; foot soldiers with crossbows defeated knights |
| Battle of Legnano | Lombard League vs. Frederick; alliance of the Italian merchants and pope against Frederick I; foot soldiers faced Frederick's mounted knights; foot soldiers with crossbows defeated knights |
| Cistercians | strict, ate simple meals, had one robe; took message outside the monastery to many people |
| Franciscans | founded by St. Francis; order stressed vows of poverty and gentleness to all creatures |
| Dominicans | founded by St. Dominic de Guzman; vows of poverty; stressed missionary work; preached gospel and fought heresy |
| The Song of Roland | most famous medieval poem; praises a band of French soldiers who perished in battle during Charlemagne's reign |
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