The Byzantine Empire, Charlemagne Unites Germanic Kingdoms, Feudalism and Manorialism, Society in the Feudal Era

Justinian

powerful ruler of Byzantine Empire from 527 to 565

Justinian Code

body of Roman law collected and organized by Justinian around A.D. 534

Hagia Sophia

church destroyed by mobs of rioters in 532 and rebuilt by Justinian

patriarch

Leader of the Eastern church

icon

religious image used in practices by Eastern Christians

excommunication

formal declaration that someone is no longer a member of the Church

Cyrillic alphabet

alphabet invented by Saint Cyril and Methodius, in which most Slavic languages, including Russian, are written

Middle Ages

period of European History from 500 to 1500, also called the medieval period

Franks

Germanic people who held power in the Roman province called Gaul

monastery

a religious community of men (monks) devoted to worship and prayer

secular

concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters

Carolingian Dynasty

dynasty of Frankish rulers, lasting from 751 to 987

Charlemange

Powerful Frankish ruler (768 to 814) who built a huge empire

lord

landowner

vassal

person receiving a fief from a lord

fief

land granted by a lord to a vassal

knight

knight warrior on horseback who promised to defend his lord's land in exchange for a fief

serf

peasant who worked the land of a lord and could not lawfully leave it

manor

lord's estate

tithe

Church tax; usually one-tenth of a peasant family's income

chivalry

code of behavior for knights, stressing ideals such as courage, loyalty, and devotion

tournament

staged battle for entertaining audiences and training knights

troubadour

poet-musician at the castles and courts of Europe