midieval test

Monastery

A building or complex of buildings used by a community of monks.

Secular

Not connected with religious or spiritual matters.

Germanic Tribes

Groups of tribes that spoke Germanic languages and inhabited parts of Europe.

Dialects

Variations of a language that are characteristic of a particular region or group.

Papacy

The office or authority of the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church.

Major-domo

A chief steward or administrator in a royal or noble household.

Lord

A person of high rank who owns land and has power over vassals.

Fief

An estate of land granted to a vassal by a lord in exchange for loyalty and service.

Vassal

A person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the feudal system.

Serf

A laborer bound under the feudal system to work on his lord's estate.

Manor

A large country house with lands; the principal house of a landed estate.

Tithe

A portion of one's income or produce, typically one-tenth, given to the Church.

Feudal(ism)

A social system in medieval Europe where land was held by lords and worked by vassals and serfs.

Franks

A group of Germanic tribes that conquered Gaul and established a significant empire.

Vikings

Scandinavian seafarers known for their raids and trade across Europe from the late 8th to early 11th centuries.

Chivalry

The medieval knightly system with its religious, moral, and social code.

Siege

A military operation where forces surround a town or building to cut off supplies and compel surrender.

Middle Ages

The period in European history from the fall of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the Renaissance.

Gregory I

A pope known for his contributions to the development of the medieval Church and its authority.

Benedict

An Italian monk who founded the Benedictine order and established the Rule of Saint Benedict.

Scholastica

The twin sister of Benedict, known for her contributions to monastic education.

Clovis

The first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler.

Charles Martel

A Frankish leader who is best known for his victory at the Battle of Tours in 732.

Charlemagne

King of the Franks who united much of Western Europe and was crowned Emperor of the Romans.

Carolingian Dynasty

A dynasty of Frankish rulers, including Charlemagne, that ruled from the 8th to the 10th century.

Clergy

The body of people ordained for religious duties, especially in the Christian Church.

Sacrament

A religious ceremony or act regarded as an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual divine grace.

Canon law

The body of laws and regulations developed or adopted by ecclesiastical authority.

Holy Roman Empire

A multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages.

Excommunication

The act of officially excluding someone from participation in the sacraments and services of the Church.

Lay investiture

The appointment of bishops and other church officials by secular subjects.

Frederick the Great

King of Prussia known for his military victories and reforms.

Simony

The act of selling church offices and roles.

Religious orders

Communities of monks or nuns who live under a common rule and dedicate their lives to religious service.

Cathedral

The principal church of a diocese, containing the bishop's throne.

Gothic

A style of architecture characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses.

Urban II

Pope who called for the First Crusade in 1095.

Alexius I

Byzantine Emperor who requested help from the West against the Seljuk Turks.

Crusade

A series of religious wars sanctioned by the Latin Church in the medieval period.

Saladin

The first sultan of Egypt and Syria and the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty.

Richard the Lion-Hearted

King of England known for his role in the Third Crusade.

Children's Crusade

A disastrous crusade in 1212 where children set out to peacefully reclaim the Holy Land.

Avignon

City in France that was the seat of the papacy for a period in the 14th century.

Three-field system

A system of farming where land is divided into three fields, rotating crops to improve soil fertility.

Craft and Merchant Guilds

Associations of artisans or merchants that controlled the practice of their craft in a particular area.

Commercial Revolution

A period of European economic expansion, colonialism, and mercantilism from the 11th to the 18th century.

Usury

The practice of lending money at unreasonably high interest rates.

Burgher

A member of the wealthy bourgeoisie in a medieval town.

Vernacular

The language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region.

Thomas Aquinas

A medieval philosopher and theologian known for his works on natural law and ethics.

Scholastics

Medieval scholars who sought to reconcile faith with reason.

Great Schism

The division in the Roman Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417 when there were rival popes.

John Wycliffe

An English theologian and early proponent of reform in the Church.

Jan Hus

A Czech priest and philosopher who was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement.

Kaffa

A major trading port in the Black Sea, known for its role in the spread of the Black Death.

Flagellants

Groups of people in medieval Europe who practiced self-flagellation as a form of penance.

Hundred Years War

A series of conflicts fought between England and France from 1337 to 1453.

Bubonic

A form of plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, characterized by swollen lymph nodes.

Yersinia Pestis

The bacterium that causes the bubonic plague.

Longbow

A powerful type of bow used in warfare, particularly by English archers.