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Feudalism
A hierarchical system where land is exchanged for service and loyalty.
Lord
A landowner who grants land to vassals in exchange for military or other services.
Vassal
A person who receives land (a fief) from a lord in exchange for loyalty and service.
Fealty
A vassal’s pledge of loyalty to their lord.
Liege
A vassal’s primary lord, to whom they owe the most loyalty.
Fief
A piece of land granted to a vassal.
Manor
The lord’s estate, which typically included agricultural land, a village, and a peasant workforce.
Chivalry
A code of conduct for knights, emphasizing bravery, honor, and respect for women and the weak.
Courtly Love
A highly ritualized form of love, often expressed through poetry and chivalric behavior.
Book of Hours
A prayer book that provided liturgical guidance for the faithful, common during the Middle Ages.
Primogeniture
The practice of passing inheritance to the eldest son.
Serf (Villein)
A peasant bound to the land and under the control of a lord, but not a slave.
Peasant
A lower-class farmer who worked the land and often lived in poverty.
3 Field System
A system of crop rotation that allowed for one-third of the land to lie fallow at any time, increasing agricultural productivity.
Town Charters
Documents granting certain rights and privileges to towns, often allowing them to self-govern.
Burghers
The merchant or middle class, who lived in towns and often gained wealth through trade.
Guilds
Organizations of skilled workers or merchants who controlled trade and commerce in medieval towns.
Usury
The practice of charging interest on loans, often considered immoral by the Church.
Universities
Educational institutions that emerged in medieval Europe, offering higher learning in subjects like theology, law, and medicine.
Desert Asceticism/Desert Mothers
Early Christian practice of living in isolation to seek spiritual purity, practiced by figures like St. Anthony and female ascetics in the desert.
Veneration of Saints, Relics, Intercession, Pilgrimage
Christians revered saints, and their relics were seen as objects of spiritual power. Pilgrimages to holy sites were a way to seek divine favor or penance.
Monasticism
A lifestyle dedicated to religious devotion, often involving vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Monks and nuns played key roles in preserving knowledge and providing charity.
Hildegard of Bingen
A prominent abbess, mystic, and scholar, Hildegard contributed to the Church through her writings, music, and visions.
Canon Law
Church law, governing religious practice and some aspects of secular life.
Pope Gregory VII
A pope who sought to reform the Church and asserted papal authority over secular rulers.
Gratian, The Decretum
A key legal text that codified canon law.
Statutory Law/Customary Law
Statutory law was formal legislation; customary law arose from the traditions of a community.
1066: William the Duke of Normandy and the Norman Invasion
William’s conquest of England established Norman rule and brought changes to law, landholding, and the English language.
Trial by Decree, Combat, Compurgation, Ordeal, Oath
Different medieval trial methods to determine guilt or innocence. Each had its pros and cons in terms of fairness and reliability.
