Early Middle Ages Study Guide

Crusade

Military expeditions into the Holy Land to reclaim Jerusalem from the infidels.

Excommunicated

To be cut off from the Church and its sacraments (used as a political weapon by Popes).

Interdict

An order excluding an entire town or region from receiving most sacraments.

Heresy

Ideas or beliefs that go against the official teachings of the Church.

Indulgences

Pardons for sins, often granted by the Church.

Lay Investiture

The appointment of church officials (clergy) by secular rulers (kings).

Tonsure

The shaving of the head by monks to show humility.

Martyr

Someone who suffers or dies for their religious beliefs.

Infidels

A term used during the Crusades to describe non-Christians.

Secular

Meaning 'in the world'; clergy (like priests) who lived among the people rather than in a monastery.

Secularism

An indifference to or rejection of religion or religious considerations.

Feudalism

A political and social system based on land ownership and loyalty between lords and vassals.

Manorialism

The economic system where serfs worked a lord's land in exchange for protection.

Manor

The lord's estate; it was self-sufficient (included everything needed to live).

Fief

The piece of land granted to a vassal by a lord.

Vassal

A person who received land and protection from a lord in return for military service.

Serfs

Peasants bound to the land; the 'backbone' of the economic system.

Fallow

One field left unused in a three-field rotation to allow the soil to recover.

Guilds

Business associations formed to protect members (Craft vs. Merchant guilds).

Moneychangers

People who held money for protection, gave credit, or exchanged foreign currency.

Chivalry

The code of ethics/conduct that knights were expected to uphold.

Absolute Monarchy

A government where the king has total, unrestricted power.

Limited/Constitutional Monarchy

A government where the king's power is restricted by law (e.g., Magna Charta).

Parliament

A body of representatives that makes laws (emerged in England).

Common Law

A legal system based on custom and court rulings that applied to the entire kingdom.

Mayor of the Palace

The manager of the household of the Frankish king (held the real power).

Depose

To remove a ruler from office or power suddenly and forcefully.

Duress

Threats or violence brought to bear on someone to do something against their will.

Monastery / Abbey

A religious community where monks lived (e.g., Monte Cassino).

Convent

A religious community for nuns.

Cloister

A covered walk in a monastery or college, usually opening onto a courtyard.

Scriptorium

A room in a monastery where manuscripts were copied by hand.

Refectory

The dining hall in a monastery or religious institution.

Chapter House

A building used for meetings of the clergy.

Diocese

A district under the pastoral care of a bishop.

Abbot / Abbess

The head of a monastery or convent.

Friar

A member of a religious order who lived among the public rather than in a secluded monastery.

Philip II of France

He attempted the third crusade, but went home to France with an illness.

William the Pig

Led the children to slavery.

William I

He was victorious at Hastings.

Pope Innocent III

It was his papacy during the 'Scandal Crusade' and he had conflicts with John I.

Pope Urban II

He spoke at Clermont and called for a Crusade.

Henry IV of HRE

He fought the Pope over power which led to a public apology.

Pope Leo III

He crowned Charlemagne as HRE of the West.

Saladin

Great Muslim leader of the Third Crusade.

Harold II

He became king in 1066, then lost his life and crown.

Charles Martel

He led the Franks to victory at Tours.

Pope Gregory VII

He fought with the HRE over the appointment of clergy.

St. Benedict

He established the first monastery in Europe.

Stephen / Nicholas

Led children to recapture Jerusalem.

Louis VII

He led the Second Crusade, but failed to recapture Christian lands.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Attended the Second Crusade and was the spouse to two kings.

Charlemagne

He was the first to be crowned HRE of the West.

John I

He signed the Magna Charta under pressure from the nobles.

Edward the Confessor

His death led to the French invasion of England.

Richard I

This English king signed a treaty of three years with the Muslims.

Frederick Barbarossa

He lost his life when he drowned on his way to Jerusalem during the Crusade.

Harald Hardrada

He was the Viking king who attacked England in 1066.

Clovis

He was the first of the Franks to begin to unite the tribes in the years after the fall of Rome.

Alcuin

European scholar who set up Charlemagne's palace schools.

Louis the Pious

Son of Charlemagne who defended the empire.

Charles the Bald

Grandson of Charlemagne who received the western area of the empire.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Inherited one of the largest duchies in France.

Stephen / Nicholas

Two young peasant boys (Stephen from France, Nicholas from Germany) who claimed to have visions from God; they led children to recapture Jerusalem.

529

First monastery built (Monte Cassino) by St. Benedict.

732

Battle of Tours (Charles Martel stops the Muslim/Moorish advance).

800

Charlemagne crowned Roman Emperor of the West.

843

Treaty of Verdun (Empire split among Charlemagne's grandsons).

1066

Battle of Hastings (William the Conqueror takes England).

1096

The First Crusade begins.

1187

Muslims recapture Jerusalem (Battle of Hattin).

1202

The 'Scandal Crusade' (Fourth Crusade).

1215

Signing of the Magna Charta.