Medieval Europe Terms

Byzantine Empire

Long-lasting empire centered at Constantinople; it grew out of the end of the Roman empire, carried the legacy of Roman greatness, and was the only classical society to thrive into the early modern age; it reached its early peak during the range of Justinian

Charlemagne

Ruler of the European Carolingian Empire from 748-814

Vikings

A group that raided the British Isles from their home at Vik in southern Norway

Normans

group of people that originated in Normandy, France; they were descendants of the Vikings settlers that had invaded and settled in the area in the 9th and 10th centuries

heavy plow

In light, well-drained Mediterranean soils, cultivators used small wooden plows that broke the surface of the soil, created a furrow, and uprooted weeds → increased agricultural production

guilds

a medieval association of craftsmen or merchants, often having considerable power

schism

Mutual ex-communication of the Roman Pope and Byzantine patriarch in 1054 over ritual, doctrinal, and political differences between two Christian churches

papacy

The office or authority of the pope

iconoclasts

Supporters of the movement, begun by the Byzantine Emperor Leo III, to destroy religious icons because their veneration was considered sinful

Investiture Controversy

One aspect of the medieval European church-versus-state controversy, the granting of church offices by a lay leader

feudalism

the dominant social system in Medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles , while the peasants (villeins or serfs) were obliged to live on their lord's land for labor

chivalry

European medieval code of conduct for knights based on loyalty and honor

bubonic plague

The plague that infected Medieval Europe from 1347-1351- 40 million people died (1/3-1/2 of the population)

Renaissance

French word meaning rebirth- now used to describe the great revival that took place in Italy from about 1400 under the influence of the rediscovery of classical art and literature

humanists

Renaissance scholars who looked to classical rather than medieval literary models, and they sought to update medieval moral thought and adapt it to the needs of an urban society

perspective

Artists such as DaVinchi and Masaccio relied on the technique of linear perspective to represent the three dimensions of real life on flat- two dimensional surfaces

Scholasticism

Medieval attempts of thinkers such as St. Thomas Aquinas to merge the beliefs of Christianity with the logical rigor of Greek philosophy

St. Thomas Aquinas

An Italian Dominican friar and a Catholic priest whose religious writings became enormously influential in the school of Scholasticism

Crusades

series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control over holy sites considered sacred by both groups (like Jerusalem)

Petrarch

A scholar who laid the foundations for Renaissance humanism which emphasized the study of Classical authors from antiquity over the Scholastic thinkers of the Middle Ages.

Pico

Italian humanist who sought to harmonize the various religions and philosophies of the world