Middle Ages Lecture Notes Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the Middle Ages unit, including important figures, events, social structures, and cultural developments.

Middle Ages

The time period in Europe following the Fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE until the Renaissance around the 1400s.

Dark Ages

Another name for the Middle Ages, characterized by slow growth, no learning, and communities in survival mode.

Medieval

A Latin term meaning "middle age," referring to the Middle Ages era.

Franks

The largest of the Germanic tribes, inhabiting the land now called France, who became the most powerful force in Western Europe during the Middle Ages.

Clovis

The first great Frankish king in 418 CE who converted the Franks to Christianity and united them under his rule.

Charles Martel

Nicknamed "The Hammer," a great leader of the Franks who consolidated control after his victory at Tours against the Muslims in 732.

Pepin the Short

Son of Charles Martel and leader of the Carolingian Dynasty, who extended Frankish control to northern Western Europe.

Carolingian Dynasty

The Frankish dynasty founded by Pepin the Short.

Charlemagne

"Charles the Great," son of Pepin the Short, who cemented Catholicism in Western Europe and greatly extended Frankish rule, becoming Holy Roman Emperor in 800.

Holy Roman Emperor

A title given to Charlemagne by Pope Leo III in 800 CE, rewarding his work in extending Christianity.

Treaty of Verdun

The treaty that split Charlemagne's kingdom into three regions after his death in 814 CE, further dividing Europe.

Vikings

Seafaring people from Scandinavia who began raids around 800s, terrorized northern Europe, and eventually settled to become the Normans in France.

Eric the Red

Viking leader who discovered and created a colony in Greenland around 980 CE, making Vikings the first Europeans to the Americas.

Normans

The name given to Vikings who eventually settled in Northern Europe, specifically France.

Loki

In Viking mythology, the Evil God of Deception.

Thor

In Viking mythology, the God of Thunder.

Odin

In Viking mythology, the God of Creation, Death, and Royalty.

Tyr

In Viking mythology, the God of War.

Feudalism

A class structure society that took hold of Europe during the Middle Ages, based on the exchange of land for military service.

Manor

All the land owned by the king in the feudal system.

Fiefs

Small parcels of land into which the king's manor was divided and given to Lords to manage and protect.

Lords

Nobles who received fiefs from the king to manage and protect, then divided land further for knights.

Knights

Individuals who received land from Lords to manage and protect, and provided land to peasants.

Serfs

Individuals bound to the soil in the feudal system, who could not leave and paid rent with manual labor.

Chivalry

A code of conduct lived by Knights, swearing them to protect the helpless, treat others with respect, and exhibit loyalty and brave behavior.

Three-field system

An agricultural system popular during the Middle Ages where land was divided into three parts, with specific crops rotating and one part left fallow each year.

Parish priest

The lowest rank in the Church hierarchy, operating an individual parish or church.

Bishop

A Church official who rules over multiple parishes, within a territory called a diocese.

Diocese

The territory ruled over by a bishop, typically comprising about 10 parishes.

Archbishop

A Church official who rules over multiple dioceses, within a territory called an archdiocese.

Archdiocese

The territory ruled over by an archbishop, typically comprising over 10 dioceses (100-200 individual parishes).

Cardinals

The people who choose and advise the Pope.

Pope

The most powerful person in the Church hierarchy, believed to have the power to excommunicate and influence one's afterlife.

Excommunicate

To officially exclude someone from participation in church services.

Heresy

Denying the teachings of the Catholic Church.

First Crusade

A holy war called by Pope Urban II in 1096 against the Seljuk Turks, resulting in a Christian victory and the establishment of four kingdoms around Jerusalem.

Pope Urban II

The Pope who called for the First Crusade in 1096, in response to Seljuk Turks attacking Christians in the Holy Land.

Second Crusade

Launched in 1144 after Muslims conquered Edessa, ending in Christian failure as Crusaders arrived weak and ineffective.

Third Crusade

Also called the "King's Crusade," involving kings like Richard "the Lionheart," which failed to capture Jerusalem but secured a peace deal allowing Christian access.

Richard I "the Lionheart"

English King who participated in the Third Crusade, reclaiming land but failing to capture Jerusalem, eventually making a peace deal with Muslim leader Saladin.

Saladin

The Muslim leader who agreed to a peace deal with Richard I during the Third Crusade, allowing Christians to visit Jerusalem peacefully while the land remained in Muslim hands.

Children's Crusade

An attempt in 1212 by thousands of children to retake Jerusalem, which resulted in many deaths crossing the Alps or in the Mediterranean.

Guilds

Groups of people in the same craft or trade who set standards for work, training, and prices, comparable to modern unions.

Vernacular

Local languages in which books were written during the growth of cities and education (e.g., Canterbury Tales).

Canterbury Tales

A famous work written in vernacular by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Scholasticism

A method promoted by Sir Thomas Aquinas that explores the world through reason, not just faith, using ancient texts to learn from non-Christians like Aristotle.

Sir Thomas Aquinas

Promoted scholasticism, arguing that the world could be explored through reason using ancient texts from non-Christians.

Black Death

A massive epidemic that hit Europe in 1347, caused by the Bubonic Plague, with symptoms including swollen lymph nodes (buboes) turning black and a high death rate.

Bubonic Plague

The disease responsible for the Black Death, carried by infected fleas on rats from China via the Silk Road.

Buboes

Swollen lymph nodes, a distinct symptom of the Black Death, which turned black as skin rotted.

King John

A corrupt English king whose actions led his Lords to raise armies and force him to sign the Magna Carta in 1215.

Magna Carta

The first document signed by King John in 1215 that limited the power of the king, created what became the British Parliament, and required the king's consent from a council for certain actions.

British Parliament

An institution that began to form as a result of the Magna Carta, requiring the king to seek consent from a council before taking certain actions.