History of the European Legal Systems: The Middle Ages

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the history of European legal and social systems from the Carolingian State through the Late Middle Ages, including key legal terms, social structures, and religious reforms.

Middle Ages (Periodisation)

The period in European history lasting from $500$ to $1500$.

Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)

A scholar ($1034$-$1374$) who described the period as tenebrae (darkness) and used the term media aetas.

Capitularies

The legislative activities and documents produced by the Carolingian State.

Missi dominici

Officials in the Carolingian State responsible for the control of justice and inspection of the empire's territories.

Commendatio

A ceremony through which an individual became fideles (performing homagium), marking the birth of the relation between a lord and a vassal.

Fief (beneficium)

The benefice or land grant provided by a lord to his vassal.

Immixtio manuum

The ceremony of joining hands, used to symbolize the bond between lord and vassal.

Serfdom

A degraded personal status that replaced slavery; while serfs had a better status than slaves, their personal freedom was significantly limited.

Treaty of Verdun ($843$)

An agreement that divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts, leading to the birth of the Holy Roman Empire.

Mouldboard-plough

A technological innovation in agriculture that helped support population growth after the year $1000$.

Banal Revolution (bannus)

The transformation of local power and the creation of the seigneury, characterized by the construction of many small castles.

Motte-and-bailey

A specific type of early castle constructed during the proliferation of local aristocratic power.

Reformatio

A concept of reform understood as a return to the original form or as an improvement.

Clunisian Order

A network of monasteries headed by Cluny that spread across Europe and was later critiqued by the Cistercians.

Mendicant Orders

Religious orders such as the Franciscans and Dominicans that emerged during the Central Middle Ages.

Gregorian Reform

The movement led by Gregory VII ($1073$-$1085$) to separate the papacy from the emperor and address the investiture controversy.

Investiture Controversy

The conflict over the process and authority of choosing bishops within the Church structure.

Concordat of Worms ($1122$)

The agreement that resolved the investiture controversy.

Pontifical Monarchy

A model of Church governance where the Pope is the Vicar of Christ, possessing both spiritual and temporal power and centralizing decisions through councils like Latran IV ($1215$).

Hanseatic League

A trade association of cities that exemplified urban autonomy and self-government.

Black Death ($1347$-$1353$)

A plague that resulted in the death of $\frac{1}{3}$ of the European population during the Late Middle Ages.

Great Jacquerie of $1358$

A significant peasant rebellion occurring during the social and economic crises of the Late Middle Ages.

Unam Sanctam ($1302$)

A papal bull issued by Boniface VIII articulating an extreme position of papal theocracy.

Conciliarism

The doctrine that the supreme authority in the Church resides in a general council rather than with the Pope.

Great Schism ($1378$-$1417$)

A period in Church history defined by the simultaneous claim to the papacy by two different popes.