Elizabethan England

Courtiers

Usually members of the nobility

Spent much of their lives with Elizabeth I

Nobility

Group of people belonging to the the highest social class

Aristocracy

Militia

Military force of ordinary people

Usually raised for an emergency

Divine Right

Belief that the Monarch’s right to rule was from God

Patron

Someone who gives encouragement or financial support to an individual or cause

Crown

Monarch and their government

Succession

The issue of who would succeed a monarch after death

Catholicism

Form of Christianity

Followed in all of Western Europe until 1500

Allegiance to the Pope

Queen Regnant

A queen who rules in her own right (e.g Elizabeth I)

Mass

Roman Catholic service

Bread and wine = body and blood of Christ

The Reformation

Challenge to the teachings and power of the Roman Catholic Church

Said to have begun in Europe in 1517

Intermediary

Someone who is a go-between in the absence of direct communication

Last Supper

Last meal that Christ shared with his disciples, very important to Christians

Sacraments

Special church services

Communion

An alternative name for Mass, used by Protestants

Clergy

Religious leaders such as priests and bishops

Diocese

An area overseen by a bishop

Altar

The table in Church where mass is performed

Ecclesiastical

An adjective used to describe things related to the Church

Royal Supremacy

When the monarch is also head of the Church

Pilgrimage

A religious journey to an important monument, shine or place

Recusants

Catholics who were unwilling to attend religious settlement services

Papacy

The Church government ruled by the Pope

Heretics

People with controversial opinions and beliefs denying the Catholic Church teachings

Martyr

Someone killed for their beliefs - often religious

Holy Roman Empire

A grouping of states and kingdoms in Central Europe

Includes Modern Germany

Each state had a leader

Leaders of 7 largest countries elected a Holy Roman Emperor

Trade Embargo

Governments banning trade from another country

Excommunicated

Severe punishment imposed by the Pope, expelling people from the Catholic Church

Spanish inquisition

Political and religious body setup by Spain in 1478 to keep the state Catholic and persecute heretics

Anointed

When holy oil is applied to a monarch in their coronation

Most important part of the coronation

Makes the person a monarch

Abdicate

A king or queen giving up the throne

Extraordinary taxation

Occasional, additional taxation to pay for unexpected expenses like war