Ch6 Early Christian Ireland

feudalism

system of land ownership where rulers divided land among their followers in return for loyalty and taxes

peasants

the people who worked on a lords land

bailiff

the official on the manor who was in charge of collecting taxes and maintaining order when the lord was away

open field system

system of farming where peasants were each given strips of land to farm in large fields

fallow

the one field left empty every year to let it regain its nutrients

the commons

a large field on the manor where the peasants animals grazed

tithe

payment of 1 tenth of a peasants income to the church

knights

warriors of noble birth who fought on horseback and swore an oath of chivalry

oath of chivalry

sworn by a knight to be loyal and protect the weak

charter

a contract where a town was granted freedom to run its own affairs but paid taxes to the king

curfew

a rule that required people in town to put out their fires at night

guild

an organisation of people who worked in the same trade

Christendom

the ‘kingdom of Christ’, referring to Europe

rule of st Benedict

strict set of rules monks lived by

friars

monks who travelled around the country tending to the poor and the sick