Developments in Europe Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering political structures, social hierarchy, feudalism, and key historical terms in medieval Europe.

Middle Ages

Also called the medieval period, it began in Western Europe in the 5th and 6th centuries as the Roman Empire declined, characterized by diminished trade, receded intellectual life, and political fragmentation.

High Middle Ages

The era between 1000 and 1450 in Europe characterized by a revival of learning and trade.

Peter Abelard

A scholar of the High Middle Ages who studied classical thinkers such as Aristotle, wrote Letter 17 to Heloise in 1141, and remained faithful despite criticizing the Church.

Feudalism

A decentralized political organization based on a system of mutual obligations involving exchanges of land for loyalty.

Fiefs

Tracts of land granted by a monarch to lords.

Vassal

A person in the feudal system who owed service to another person of higher status.

Knights

Vassals of lords who received land and pledged to fight for the lord or king.

Peasants

People provided with land and protection by lords in exchange for farming the lord's land, providing crops and livestock, and obeying orders.

Vikings

Invaders from northern Europe whose threat encouraged the development of localized protection systems like feudalism.

Roman Catholic Church

The institution that remained powerful across most of Europe from Roman times to the 16th century.