Feudal Society: Privileged and Peasants

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the social hierarchy, castle fortifications, monastic layout, and peasant classifications of medieval feudal society.

Feudal Society

A hierarchical and unequal medieval social structure divided into privileged and non-privileged orders, characterized as a pyramid with a few privileged elites at the top and a large peasant base sustaining it.

Privileged Class (Los Privilegiados)

The dominant medieval social group consisting of the nobility and the clergy who held lands, military power, and political control, and were exempt from paying taxes.

Non-Privileged Class (Los No Privilegiados)

The peasant majority of medieval society who worked the land, paid taxes and tributes, and sustained the entire economy under harsh living conditions and low life expectancy.

Medieval Nobility

A privileged group that resided in castles and focused primarily on warfare, training young sons through stages as pages and squires before knighting them, and arranging marriages for daughters.

Medieval Castle

A fortified complex that served as the center of a noble's power, functioning as a primary residence, a defensive refuge, and a visible symbol of authority.

Torre del Homenaje (Keep)

The tallest and most fortified tower in a medieval castle, serving as the private living quarters of the feudal lord.

Muralla (Castle Wall)

A large exterior stone wall surrounding a medieval castle designed for structural defense and protection.

Barbacana (Barbican)

The interior courtyard situated between the outer wall and the main castle buildings, utilized as an active defensive zone.

Moat and Drawbridge (Foso y Puente Levadizo)

A defensive ditch surrounding a castle paired with a movable bridge that could be hoisted vertically to block hostile crossing.

Merlets (Merlons)

Tooth-shaped stone battlements positioned along the summit of castle walls to provide shielding for archers and defenders.

Secular Clergy

The branch of the medieval Catholic Church clergy, including bishops and parish priests, who operated in direct contact with the public outside of monastic orders.

Regular Clergy

The ecclesiastical branch consisting of monks and friars who resided in monasteries according to strict monastic rules.

Monastery

A self-contained complex of buildings where monks or nuns lived under a shared rule, functioning as a key center of medieval culture, landownership, and education.

Claustro (Cloister)

A central square open-air courtyard in a monastery containing a garden and well, around which primary rooms and hallways were situated.

Sala Capitular (Chapter House)

The monastic assembly hall where the community met to read monastic rules and coordinate daily assignments.

Scriptorium / Library

The designated monastic workshop and archival room where monks painstakingly copied manuscripts and ancient texts by hand.

Refectorio (Refectory)

The communal dining hall of a monastery, positioned adjacent to the kitchen.

Aloer

A free peasant who possessed full private ownership of their land (alodio) and was not required to pay rent to a feudal lord.

Arrendatario (Tenant Farmer)

A legally free peasant who worked a lord's land on a contractual basis in exchange for cash rents or a share of the crop.

Siervo de la Gleba (Serf)

An unfree peasant legally bound to the lord's estate and demesne (reserva señorial), unable to depart or marry without permission, whose unfree condition was hereditary.

Diezmo (Tithe)

A mandatory tax imposed by the Catholic Church requiring peasants to surrender $10\%$ of their agricultural and livestock yield.