CH 1 Growth of Towns

Charlemagne

greatest of all Frankish Kings and crowned First Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III.

Feudalism

a political and social system based on the granting of land in exchange for loyalty, military assistance, and other services.

Fief

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

Vassal

a person granted land from a feudal lord whom he or she owes allegiance.

Manor System

an economic system built around large estates called manors

Canon Law

laws written by the Roman Catholic Church that are based on the Bible.

Magna Carta

A document signed by King John of England in 1215, providing nobles with certain rights and limiting powers of the Monarch.

Vikings

A pagan people from Scandinavia that raided seaports of Northern & Western Europe

Pope

leader of the Roman Catholic Church

Crusades

A series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD by European Christians to free Jerusalem from Muslim rule.

tithe

one tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the church and clergy.

Franks

Germanic people who lived and held power in Gaul. Their leader was Clovis and he would later bring Christianity and control the largest and strongest parts of Europe.

Pope Leo III

Crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, 800

Middle Ages

Also known as the medieval period, the time between the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century AD and the beginning of the Renaissance in the fourteenth century.

Battle of Tours

(732 AD) European victory over Muslims. It halted Muslim movement into Western Europe.

Pope Urban II

Pope who called for the first crusade to reclaim Jerusalem from the Muslims

Serfs

Workers who were bound to the land on which they lived.

Moors

Spanish Muslims

lay investiture

appointment of bishops by anyone who is not a member of the clergy

Secular

Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters

Excommunication

The taking away of a person's right of membership in a Christian church

Black Death

A deadly plague that swept through Europe between 1347 and 1351

Hundred Years War

a series of battles fought between France and England from 1337 to 1453 over the throne of France.

Joan of Arc

peasant girl who led french army to victory over the english in the Hundred Years' War and was later martyred.

Common Law

A legal system based on custom and court rulings

Heretics

those who hold to a belief opposed to the established teachings of the Church.

Reconquista

The effort by Christian leaders to drive the Muslims out of Spain, lasting from the 1100s until 1492.

Benedictine Rule

rules for monastic life including: poverty, chastity & obedience

Inquisition

A Roman Catholic court for investigating and prosecuting charges of heresy - especially in Spain during the 1400s.

Concordant of Worms

agreement between the Pope and Henry IV that separated the appointment of church and government officials

papal supremacy

the claim of medieval popes that they had control of political rulers.

Germanic Tribes

the groups of invaders who took over the Western Roman Empire

Clovis

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

Parish

A local church community

Charles Martel

Carolingian monarch of Franks; responsible for defeating Muslims in battle of Tours in 732; ended Muslim threat to western Europe.