JC history - Ancient Rome, Early Christian Ireland, Medeival Life, Renaisance, Age of exploration, Reforamtion

Emperor – The supreme ruler of an empire.
Republic – A society without a king or queen. It is governed by elected representatives of the people.
Citizen – Romans with legal rights, including the right to vote.
Patricians – Rich nobles, including wealthy landowners. They made up a small percentage of the Roman population.
Plebeians – Poor working-class people, including soldiers, farmers, craftsmen and labourers. They made up the majority of the Roman population.
Legionnaires – Regular soldiers in the Roman army.

Monastery – A complex of buildings where monks live, work and devote their lives to god.
Abbot – The head monk in a monastery.
Scribe – A monk who works in a scriptorium producing manuscripts.
Book of Kells – The most famous manuscript from Early Christian Ireland. It is an illustrated copy of the four gospels.
Round tower – A stone tower used by monks as a belfry (bell tower).
Manuscripts – A book written by hand.

Feudal system – A way of dividing power and land ownership. The king or lord gave land to his vassals in return for money, loyalty and service.
Vassal – A person who received land (a fief) from the king or a lord.
Fief – Land given to a vassal by a king or lord.
Knight – A professional soldier who fought on horseback.
Guild – An organisation of master craftsmen that ensured high standards were maintained within their particular trade.
Black Death – A disease spread by fleas on rats (also called the Bubonic Plague).

Renaissance – A historic period when Europeans revived their interest in the learning of ancient Greece and Rome. Scholars, artists and scientists produced great works of art and inventions.
Humanism – The main philosophy of Renaissance scholars. Humanists emphasised the potential of the human mind to make sense of the world.
Leonardo da Vinci – Painted The Last Supper, Mona Lisa and The Virgin on the Rocks.
Michelangelo Buonarrotti – Artist who carved the Pietà and David. He also painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.
Perspective – A technique used in art to give the illusion of depth and space.
Moveable type printing – A type of printing in which individual letters and symbols can be moved and reused to make different words.

Christopher Columbus – He ‘discovered’ the Americas on behalf of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain in 1492.
Prince Henry ‘the Navigator’ – He sent voyages of exploration along the west coast of Africa in the 1410s.
Caravel – A small ship with triangular lateen sails.
Compass – An instrument of navigation to determine direction. The needle points to magnetic north.
Circumnavigation – A voyage all the way round the globe.
Great Exchange – The exchange of goods, including animals and food types, between Europe and the New World.

Reformation – A movement that saw Christianity split into the Catholic Church and the Protestant Churches.
95 Theses – Martin Luther’s list of complaints against the sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church.
Indulgences – Grants from the Church that pardoned sins in exchange for payment.
Protestant – A Christian who is a member of one of the Protestant Churches.
Counter-Reformation – The reaction of the Catholic Church to the Reformation.
Council of Trent – A meeting of the leaders of the Catholic Church to define doctrine (beliefs) and impose strict rules.
Justification by faith alone – The Lutheran belief that the only way to get to heaven is to have genuine faith in God.