Middle Ages and Renaissance vocabulary

9th grade World History

Humanism

Intellectual movement with an emphasize on studying human-centric topics, including grammar, poetry, and history.

Individualism

You choose your ow path; trying to achieve your individual potential.

Secularism

Non-religious.

Classicism

Things from Ancient Greece and Rome.

Machiavelli

A Renaissance political philosopher known for his works on political theory, notably 'The Prince,' which discusses statecraft and the use of power.

Florence

Capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, famous as the “cradle of the Renaissance” for its immense influence on art, architecture, and culture.

Feudalism

A social, political, and economic hierarchy system in medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries, centered on land ownership in exchange for service and loyalty. It goes serfs on the very bottom, knights, lords, and monarch at the very top.

Black Death

A devastating plague, which was a bacteria that was carried by fleas and was spread through trade with the East. It killed millions of people in Europe between 1347 and 1353.

Serfs

Agricultural laborers in medieval Europe who were bound to the land and unable to leave without their lords’s permission. They were the lowest group in the feudal system.

Hundred Year War

War from 1337 and 1453 between England and France (France won with the help of Joan of Arc).

Manor

Large estate or land property granted to a lord or king.

Medici

 A powerful Italian banking and political family that ruled Florence from the 1400s to the 1700s.

Renaissance

A period in European history, typically dated from the 14th to the 17th century, characterized by a revival of Classical learning art, literature, and innovation that followed the Middle Ages (the rebirth of Europe).

A “patron of the art”

An individual or organization that supports and provided financial or other forms of aid to artists, writers, museums, or other cultural endeavors (including visual arts and preforming arts).

Perspective

The way of viewing something.

Sacraments

Significant Christian rites.

Petrarca

A poet during the Renaissance era in Italy

Salvation

The act of being saved or protected from harm, risk, and destruction.

Tithe

A one-tenth part of something, typically one’s income or produce, given as a contribution to a religious organization or as a tax.

Pope/papacy

The term “papacy” refers to the office held by the Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

Monarch

A sovereign head of state, typically a king or queen, who often rules for life and inherits their position.

Lord

A person with supreme power and authority

Knight

A medieval mounted soldier in armor. In the feudal system, they are between the serfs and the lords.

The Roman Catholic Church

The largest Christian Church.

Excommunication

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

Interdict

A formal prohibition or command to stop a certain action, either from a court of law or an administrative body.

Crusades

Religious wars largely between Christian Kingdoms in Europe and Muslim Kingdoms in the Middle East.

Centralized vs. Decentralized powers

Centralized power concentrated decision-making authority at the top levels of an organization or government. Decentralized power distributed decision-making authority across various levels.

Scholasticism

A medieval European movement that sought to reconcile faith and reason by using a highly logical and dialectical method to analyze and resolve philosophical and theological questions.

Thomas Aquinas

An Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and theologian.