The High Middle Ages — Key Terms (Church, Intellectual Life, and The Crusades)

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering key people, events, and ideas from the High Middle Ages notes (church reform, papacy, theology, and the Crusades).

Omnipresent Church

The medieval view that the Church’s influence and presence extended everywhere in society and daily life.

Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris)

A prominent 12th–13th century Gothic cathedral in Paris, emblematic of medieval religious architecture.

Fourth Lateran Council (1215)

A major church council that defined the sacraments, established transubstantiation, and regulated clergy behavior and relic trafficking.

Transubstantiation

The doctrine that the bread and wine in the Eucharist become the actual body and blood of Christ while appearances remain.

Gregory VII (Gregorian Revolution)

11th-century pope who asserted papal supremacy, promoted clerical celibacy, and claimed the pope can judge secular rulers.

Lay Investiture

Practice by which secular rulers appointed bishops, leading to conflict between the monarchy and the papacy.

Investiture Controversy

Conflict between secular authorities and the papacy over the right to appoint bishops.

Cluny Reform

Monastic reform centered at Cluny to purify monastic life, reassert Rome as authority, and curb worldly clerical interests.

Papal Supremacy

The doctrine that the pope holds universal, ultimate authority over the Church and can judge secular rulers.

Innocent III (1198–1216)

Powerful medieval pope who intervened in politics, repressed heresies, and presided over the Fourth Lateran Council.

Anselm

Medieval theologian who wrote 'Why God Became Man,' a foundational figure in scholastic thought.

Abelard

Medieval philosopher known for 'Yes and No' and for shaping scholastic method; famous quote about doubt leading to questioning.

Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, author of Summa Theologica; fused faith and reason in scholasticism.

Summa Theologica

Aquinas’s comprehensive systematic work outlining Christian theology and philosophy.

The Crusades

Series of religious-military campaigns to recover the Holy Land, including major expeditions in the 12th–13th centuries.

Third Crusade (1189–1192)

Crusade led by European monarchs to reclaim the Holy Land after the fall of Jerusalem.

Sack of Constantinople (1204)

Crusaders’ capture and looting of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.

Reconquista

Christian campaigns to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule, completed in 1492 with Granada.

Albigensian Crusade

Crusade against the Cathars in southern France (early 13th century) leading to suppression of heresy.

Medieval Universities

Institutions of higher learning that emerged in the 12th century (e.g., Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Bologna) and organized scholarly activity across Europe.

Last Judgment (Fra Angelico, 1431)

A detailed medieval artwork depicting the final judgment by God, illustrating eschatological beliefs.

Last Judgment (Memling, c. 1470)

Another famous depiction of the Last Judgment in Flemish art, reflecting medieval eschatology.