Middle Ages Study Guide

476 AD

Fall of Rome

William the Conqueror

duke of Normandy who led the Norman invasion of England and became the first Norman to be King of England

Moors

Muslims from North Africa

Norsemen

Another name for Vikings

Normandy

A region in northwestern France on the English channel

Black Plague

A disease that engulfed Europe during the Middle Ages. It killed about one-third of the population and was carried by fleas. Because of this, the feudal system died out.

Clovis

5th century Frankish leader of a large kingdom who converted to Christianity

Franks

a Germanic tribe that conquered present-day France and neighboring lands in the 400s

Romance language

Any of the languages derived from Latin including Italian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese .

Charles Martel

A Frankish leader who rallied warriors to push Muslims out of France

Charlemagne

800 AD crowned by the Pope as the head of the Holy Roman Empire, which extended from northern Spain to western Germany and northern Italy. His palace was at Aachen in central Europe

Holy Roman Empire

Loose federation of mostly German states and principalities, headed by an emperor elected by the princes. It lasted until 1806.

Magna Carta

the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215

1066

Norman conquest of England at the Battle of Hastings

Pope Leo III

Crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, 800

Domesday Book

A record of all the property and holdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1066 so he could determine the extent of his lands and wealth

Feudalism

A system of government based on landowners and tenants

Fief

land granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and service

Vassal

a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he or she owes allegiance; a subordinate or dependent; a servant;

Investiture Controversy

Dispute between the popes and the Holy Roman Emperors over who held ultimate authority over bishops in imperial lands.

Serf

A person who is bound to the land and owned by the feudal lord

Page

a boy servant or attendant, the first step in becoming a knight

Squire

a young nobleman acting as an attendant to a knight before becoming a knight himself

monastery

A community of monks

Great Schism

the official split between the Roman Catholic and Byzantine churches that occurred in 1054

Crusades

A series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule.

Pope

Head of the Roman Catholic Church

Diocese

The basic unit of geographic organization in the Roman Catholic Church

Parish

a small administrative district typically having its own church and a priest or pastor.

1215

Magna Carta signed

Constantinople

A large and wealthy city that was the imperial capital of the Byzantine empire and later the Ottoman empire, now known as Istanbul

1453

Fall of Constantinople

100 Years War

A war between England and France from 1337 to 1453. Finally France won. It was started by Edward III of England to claim the French throne. It brought about new styles of warfare.

Pope Urban II

called for the First Crusade

1095

Gothic

A style of architecture developed in northern France that spread throughout Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries

Romanesque

Style of church architecture using round arches, domes, thick walls, and small windows

Flying Buttress

a buttress slanting from a separate pier, typically forming an arch with the wall it supports.

Joan of Arc

French heroine and military leader inspired by religious visions to organize French resistance to the English and to have Charles VII crowned king