Medieval Europe: Feudalism, Art, and Religious Orders

Feudalism

A political and economic system in medieval Europe in which kings granted land (fiefs) to nobles in exchange for loyalty, military service, and protection.

Vassals

Individuals (usually nobles) who pledged loyalty to a lord in exchange for land, protection, and the right to govern that land.

Interlace

A decorative style featuring woven, braided, or knotted lines forming intricate patterns, common in early medieval manuscripts and metalwork.

Animal Style

A type of early medieval decoration using stylized, often interwoven animals—common in Germanic, Norse, and Anglo-Saxon art.

Syncretism

The blending of different cultural, religious, or artistic traditions into something new.

Chanson de geste

A medieval French epic poem celebrating heroic deeds, often involving legendary warriors and battles (e.g., The Song of Roland).

Chivalric Code

A moral and social code of behavior for medieval knights, emphasizing bravery, honor, loyalty, courtesy, and protection of the weak.

Carolingian Minuscule

A clear, uniform script developed under Charlemagne to promote literacy; the ancestor of modern lowercase letters.

Monasticism

A religious way of life in which individuals withdraw from society to live in a monastery, dedicating themselves to prayer, work, and spiritual discipline.

Gregorian Chant

A type of plainchant used in medieval Christian worship, characterized by monophonic (one-line) melodies sung in Latin.

Melismatic

A musical style in which multiple notes are sung on a single syllable of text (common in Gregorian chant).

Romanesque

An architectural style (c. 1000-1150) featuring thick walls, rounded arches, barrel vaults, small windows, and fortress-like solidity.

Reliquary

A container or shrine that holds sacred relics, such as the bones or belongings of saints.

Saint Foy

A young Christian martyr whose golden reliquary statue at Conques is one of the most famous examples of Romanesque art.

Tympanum

The semicircular or triangular sculpted space above a church doorway, often filled with biblical scenes (e.g., the Last Judgment).

Polyphony

Music with two or more independent melodic lines performed simultaneously.

Medieval Romance

A narrative genre about chivalry, adventure, love, and the supernatural—often featuring knights, quests, and courtly love.

Gothic vs. Romanesque Sculpture

Romanesque Sculpture: Rigid, elongated, symbolic, often part of architecture; figures look stiff and stylized.

Gothic Sculpture

More naturalistic, expressive, and realistic; figures show movement, emotion, and individualized features.

Crusades

A series of religious wars (11th-13th centuries) launched by Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslim rule.

Primogeniture

The system in which the firstborn son inherits a family's entire estate, titles, and lands.

Gothic

An architectural and artistic style (c. 1140-1500) characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses, tall structures, stained glass, and an emphasis on light and verticality.

Chartres Cathedral

A masterpiece of early Gothic architecture in France, known for its soaring height, unified style, extensive stained-glass windows, and sacred relic (the tunic of the Virgin Mary).

Stained Glass at Chartres

Chartres contains the most complete surviving ensemble of medieval stained glass, featuring: deep 'Chartres blue', narrative windows showing biblical stories, saints, craftsmen, and guilds, a focus on light as a symbol of divine presence.

Flying Buttresses

Exterior stone supports that transfer a building's weight outward, making it possible to build taller walls with larger windows—a defining feature of Gothic cathedrals.

Quadrivium

The four advanced liberal arts taught in medieval universities: Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, Astronomy. These followed the Trivium.

Trivium

The foundational three liberal arts in medieval education: Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric. Students had to master these before progressing to the Quadrivium.

Scholasticism

A medieval intellectual method that used logical reasoning and debate to reconcile faith with reason, especially through the works of Thomas Aquinas and other university scholars.

Radiant Style

A later phase of Gothic architecture (also called Rayonnant) emphasizing: large, thin walls, increasingly elaborate traceries, expansive stained glass, a 'radiating,' delicate, lace-like decorative effect. Example: Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

Book of Hours

A richly decorated personal prayer book for laypeople containing psalms, prayers, and a calendar of feast days; often lavishly illuminated (e.g., Très Riches Heures).

Mendicant Orders

Religious groups (such as the Franciscans and Dominicans) whose members lived in poverty, preached to the public, and survived through begging rather than owning property.

Saint Francis

Founder of the Franciscan Order, known for his humility, poverty, love of nature, and commitment to imitating the life of Christ. He emphasized compassion, charity, and direct experience of God.