Middle Ages, the Crusades, the Mongol Empire, and the Black Death

Vocabulary flashcards covering the Middle Ages, the Crusades, the conquests and culture of the Mongol Empire, and the spread and consequences of the Black Death.

Middle Ages

A historical era lasting from the 5th to the 15th centuries following the fall of Western Rome, categorized into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages.

Early Middle Ages

The phase of the Middle Ages lasting from 476 to 1000 CE.

High Middle Ages

The phase of the Middle Ages lasting from 1000 to 1300 CE.

Late Middle Ages

The phase of the Middle Ages lasting from 1300 to 1499 CE.

Vikings

Seafaring Scandinavian people from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden who traveled in longboats, settled in Iceland, Greenland, Europe, and Russia, established Russia's first major cities, and eventually converted to Christianity to enhance trade.

Leif Erikson

A Norse explorer who landed in parts of Canada in roughly 1000 CE and named the territory Vinland.

Vinland

The name given to parts of Canada around 1000 CE by Leif Erikson, meaning 'land of wine' because of the wild grapes discovered there.

Feudal Land System

A socio-economic arrangement where a land-owning lord lent land to a worker in exchange for military service, farm work, or miscellaneous labor.

Chivalry

A medieval system of ideals and social codes governing interactions between knights and women that fostered idealized attitudes toward women without altering their actual societal standing.

Temujin

The birth name of Genghis Khan, born around 1162 in the Central Asian Steppe, who endured a harsh upbringing and killed his brother at an early age.

Merit-Based Military Promotion

Genghis Khan's organizational policy of assigning military command and ranks according to personal capability and skill rather than family lineage.

Mongol Siege Tactics

Warfare methods including demanding surrender, feigning retreat and returning days later to slaughter hidden survivors, or encircling cities and living off the land to starve inhabitants.

Conquest of China (1215)

A major military invasion by Genghis Khan in 1215 in which 90 Chinese cities were burned to the ground.

Invasion of the Islamic World

A campaign of vengeance waged by Genghis Khan after an Islamic governor executed his envoys and subsequent messengers, culminating in the destruction of the region and the death of its leader in under five years.

Pax Mongolica

A period of roughly 100 years of peace following Mongol conquests during which the Mongols paved roads and substantially expanded Silk Road trade and travel.

Mongol Cultural Relocation

An economic and social reform whereby the Mongol Empire relocated scholars, artisans, and poets across its domains to spread culture and ideas globally.

Mongol Religious Toleration

An imperial policy under the Mongol Empire permitting the open practice of multiple faiths, including Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity.

Decline of the Mongol Empire

The gradual collapse of the empire caused by overexpansion, extreme diversity across vast territories, and key successor leaders lacking strength.

The Crusades

A sequence of religious military expeditions launched by European Christians to reclaim the Holy Land, spurred by papal promises of salvation because 'God has willed it.'

Jerusalem (Religious Significance)

The focal city of the Crusades, revered by Christians as the site of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, by Jews as Zion and the location of Solomon's Temple, and by Muslims as the third holiest city where Muhammad ascended.

Papal Motives for the Crusades

Ambitions of Catholic popes to consolidate power across Europe, heal the Great Schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, and redirect Europe's excess population toward the Middle East.

First Crusade

The initial military campaign where crusaders gathered at Constantinople, captured Jerusalem, slaughtered Muslims, Christians, and civilians leaving blood knee-high, and burned mosques.

Second Crusade

A crusade fought between 1141 and 1149 in which Seljuk Turks participated and emerged victorious.

Third Crusade

A campaign lasting from 1189 to 1192 led by Richard the Lionheart of England against Saladin, concluding with Saladin retaining control of Jerusalem while granting Christian pilgrims access.

Saladin

The Muslim ruler who unified Islamic forces, retook Jerusalem in 1187, and negotiated safe entry for Christian pilgrims during the Third Crusade.

Fourth Crusade

A 1204 expedition where crusaders abandoned their plans to travel to Jerusalem and instead raided and sacked the Christian city of Constantinople.

Effects of the Crusades

Historical results including deep bitterness among Muslims, Christians, and Jews, the breakdown of feudalism, monarchs seizing authority from popes and nobles, the weakening of the Byzantine Empire, and the creation of trade networks.

Bubonic Plague (Black Death)

A bacterial pandemic that arose in Asia during the mid-1300s, dispersed along trade routes and through the Mongol siege of Kaffa, Russia, and caused the deaths of over 25 million people—approximately one-third of Europe's population.

Invasion of Kaffa

A Mongol military campaign in Russia that served as a primary pathway for the Black Death to enter European trade routes.

Plague Doctor Equipment

Gear utilized by medieval doctors consisting of a bird-like mask stuffed with aromatic herbs to block foul odors of decomposition and a wooden stick to inspect patients from a safe distance.

Medieval Plague Cures

Unsuccessful medical attempts to treat the Black Death, including lancing buboes with fig-and-onion-softened knives, rubbing live frogs and chickens against sores to 'absorb disease,' and scapegoating Jews and lepers.

Social Effects of the Black Death

Societal fallout characterized by towns turning into ghost towns, abandonment of homes and loved ones, pervasive smells of decaying corpses, citywide self-quarantines, and the collapse of normal funeral services.

Economic Effects of the Black Death

Financial repercussions including crippled trade due to fear, workers demanding increased wages, widespread shortages of labor, bankrupted governments, and severe disruption to feudalism.

Religious Effects of the Black Death

Spiritual shifts where populations interpreted the plague as divine retribution, abandoned religious beliefs when prayers went unanswered, and exhibited growing skepticism toward the Catholic Church.