History - Medieval Europe

471 terms

Charlemagne

King of the Franks who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800.

The Black Death

A pandemic that broke out around 1347, killing between 50 and 90 percent of those who caught it.

The Magna Carta

The first-ever document outlining the rights of the English people, drawn up in 1215.

The First Crusade

The first of eight wars fought between Christians and Muslims, beginning in 1096.

The Great Famine

A famine that began in 1315, lasting for two years and killing millions across Europe.

The Hundred Years War

A series of conflicts between England and France that began in 1337.

The Peasants' Revolt

A revolt in England in 1381 against strict rules on wage rises and working conditions.

The Seljuk Turks

A militant Islamic group that took control of Jerusalem in 1050.

The Battle of Hastings

A battle in 1066 where William of Normandy defeated King Harold of England.

The printing press

Invented by Johannes Gutenberg in Germany around 1450.

Feudalism

A social system that developed in medieval Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Edward the Confessor

King of England who died in 1066, leading to the Battle of Hastings.

Henry II

Became King of England in 1154.

Jerusalem

A city captured by Muslim forces in 1187, prompting the Third Crusade.

The Viking homelands

Regions in the north of Europe from which Vikings originated during the medieval period.

The collapse of the Roman Empire

Occurred in 476 CE, leading to significant changes in European societies.

The Crusades

A series of religious wars initiated by Christians to reclaim the Holy Land.

Charlemagne's death

Occurred in 813, marking a significant event in medieval history.

The timeline of medieval Europe

A sequence of key events and developments from the medieval period.

The Toggenburg Bible

An illustrated Bible from c. 1411 depicting the impact of the Black Death.

The year 800

The year Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.

The year 1347

The year the Black Death pandemic began in Sicily.

The year 1215

The year the Magna Carta was drawn up.

The year 1066

The year the Battle of Hastings took place.

lords

wealthy nobles under the system of feudalism

vassals

people who offered their loyalty and service to a lord in return for his protection and the granting of land

Dark Ages

a term used to refer to the period between 476 and 800 CE characterized by constant warfare and societal breakdown

The Domesday Book

a book created in 1086 under the reign of William the Conqueror, containing 832 pages that recorded landowners, property, and population in medieval England

census

a 'head count' or audit of the number of people living in a particular place at a particular time

knights

warriors in medieval Europe

fief

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

William the Conqueror

the ruler who created the Domesday Book to assess land ownership and tax the population

manor

a large country house with land, typically associated with feudal lords

barbarian raids

attacks from aggressive groups such as the Huns, Visigoths, and Vandals that were common between 476 and 800 CE

private army

a military force maintained by a lord to protect his vassals and property

Bishop Robert of Hereford

noted in 1086 for his role in the collection of information for the Domesday Book

30000 manors

the total number of manors recorded in the Domesday Book

13000 villages

the total number of villages recorded in the Domesday Book

50 castles

the total number of castles recorded in the Domesday Book

16000 knights

the total number of knights recorded in the Domesday Book

Doomsday

a reference to 'Judgment Day' in medieval England, linked to the power granted to William by the Domesday Book

evidence

information collected that supports historical claims or conclusions

social system

a structured society based on rights and obligations, such as that of feudalism

aggressive groups

tribes or factions that conducted raids and attacks during the Dark Ages

land ownership

the legal right to possess and control land, a key factor in the feudal system

protection

the security provided by a lord to his vassals in exchange for their loyalty and service

Hierarchy

A social structure that organises people with the most important group on top and others ranked beneath.

King

The owner of all the land who kept 25% and granted 75% to his vassals.

Nobles

Inheritors of family titles who made up less than 1% of the population and were granted 75% of the land belonging to the king.

Peasants

Labourers and farmers producing all the food, supplies, and services, making up over 90% of feudal society.

Serfs

Labourers who had no political rights and did not own any land.

Manors

Large estates where nobles lived, often including a church and many Christian workers.

Bishops

High-ranking church officials who collected taxes but did not pay taxes to the king.

Knighthood

A status earned through official training, starting as a page at age 7 and becoming a knight at age 21.

Page

A servant of a knight starting training at the age of 7.

Squire

A trainee knight who fulfilled honourable duties for their knight, becoming a knight at age 21.

Taxation

The process by which lords and bishops collected money from peasants.

Military Support

The obligation of nobles to provide military assistance to the king.

Political Rights

Rights that peasants had a few of, while serfs had none.

Obligations

Responsibilities that each social group had to perform in return for their rights.

Long Hours

The extensive amount of time peasants worked on the fields with simple tools.

Christian Workers

Workers in the church, including friars, monks, and nuns, present in every fief.

Wealth and Privileges

Benefits enjoyed by the king, such as banquets and balls.

Social Mobility

The ability to change one's social position, which was not possible in feudal society.

Feudal Manor

A self-sufficient estate that included a lord's house, fields, and the peasants' homes.

Lord

The noble who owned the manor and provided serfs with a place to live and means to survive.

Steward

The manor manager responsible for overseeing business matters.

Bailiff

A peasant farmer who owned a small tract of land and managed taxes and repairs on the manor.

Demesne

Land that did not belong to the ruler or the Church, primarily owned by a noble or knight.

Tithe

A tax paid to support the Church, typically one-tenth of a person's earnings or goods produced.

Common

Pasture land where serfs could graze their own stock for short periods.

Gamekeepers

Individuals who patrolled forests to ensure that manor peasants did not hunt there.

Threshers

Workers who beat harvested crops to free the grains.

Mill

A facility for grinding grain, which serfs could use for a fee paid in produce.

Hayward

The chief serf in the village responsible for guarding crop fields.

Village

A cluster of huts, animal pens, and barns where serfs lived.

Thatchers

Workers who made roofs from bunches of reeds collected from swamps and riverbanks.

Crops Rotation

The practice of alternating the types of crops grown in a field to maintain soil fertility.

Stocks

A common punishment where a person was locked up and subjected to public ridicule.

Pillory

A punishment device where a person was exposed to public humiliation, often having objects thrown at them.

Game

Wild animals hunted for food, such as deer and boars.

Manor House

The fortified residence of the lord and his family.

Harvest

The process of gathering mature crops from the fields.

Manure

Animal waste used as fertilizer for crops.

Private Strips of Land

Land allocated to serfs for personal farming, usually scattered throughout the manor.

Family Names

Names that originated from daily jobs conducted during feudal times, reflecting the roles of individuals.

Crop Rotation

A farming practice where crop lands were divided into three fields, with one field left unplanted each year to allow the soil to recover its nutrients.

Minstrels

Medieval singers and musicians who typically wandered around the countryside performing at events, often as part of a small group.

Jesters

Medieval comedians who joked and 'played the fool' at occasions such as banquets and fairs, typically wearing a multi-pronged floppy hat with bells.

Diet of the Rich

Included a range of meats, fish, fruit, soft cheese, eggs, vegetables, sauces, soups, salads, white bread, pies, tarts, and ornate sweet dishes called subtleties.

Diet of the Poor

Included stews, grainy bread, vegetables, fruit (when available), milk, hard cheese, porridge made from oats or barley, and perhaps some nuts from the forests.

Banquets

Feasts held on important religious feast days and for special events, often lasting for hours and featuring entertainment by acrobats, minstrels, and jesters.

Hunting Restrictions

Peasants were forbidden to hunt for game in the lord's forests and instead hunted for rabbits and birds in the fields.

Nobility Entertainment

Included activities such as hunting, falconry, and playing chess, which were privileges not commonly available to the poor.

Women's Entertainment

Might include embroidery, stitching tapestries, or listening to musical performances.

Peasant Entertainment

Limited opportunities, but might include dancing, dice throwing, ball games, and wrestling during special feasts like harvest time.

King Louis XVI's Feast

An example of a rich man's feast where the king consumed a fat chicken, chops, eggs in meat juice, and a bottle and a half of champagne.

Feasting Duration

Feasts often lasted for hours, with important people sitting at a higher table than other diners.

Social Class Differences

In medieval Europe, the lives of the wealthy and the poor were very different, reflected in aspects such as food, entertainment, fashion, and hygiene.

Harvest Time

A special occasion for peasants that provided opportunities for entertainment such as dancing and games.