Early Middle Ages Study Guide

I. Vocabulary: The Church & Religious Life

  • Crusade/crusade: Military expeditions into the Holy Land to reclaim Jerusalem from the infidels.

  • Excommunicated: To be cut off from the Church and its sacraments (used as a political weapon by Popes).

  • Interdict: An order excluding an entire town or region from receiving most sacraments.

  • Heresy: Ideas or beliefs that go against the official teachings of the Church.

  • Indulgences: Pardons for sins, often granted by the Church.

  • Lay Investiture: The appointment of church officials (clergy) by secular rulers (kings).

  • Tonsure: The shaving of the head by monks to show humility.

  • Martyr: Someone who suffers or dies for their religious beliefs.

  • Infidels: A term used during the Crusades to describe non-Christians.

  • Secular: Meaning "in the world"; clergy (like priests) who lived among the people rather than in a monastery.

  • Secularism: An indifference to or rejection of religion or religious considerations.
       II. Vocabulary: Feudalism, Manorialism & Economy

  • Feudalism: A political and social system based on land ownership and loyalty between lords and vassals.

  • Manorialism: The economic system where serfs worked a lord's land in exchange for protection.

  • Manor: The lord's estate; it was self-sufficient (included everything needed to live).

  • Fief: The piece of land granted to a vassal by a lord.

  • Vassal: A person who received land and protection from a lord in return for military service.

  • Serfs: Peasants bound to the land; the "backbone" of the economic system.

  • Fallow: One field left unused in a three-field rotation to allow the soil to recover.

  • Guilds: Business associations formed to protect members (Craft vs. Merchant guilds).

  • Moneychangers: People who held money for protection, gave credit, or exchanged foreign currency.

  • Chivalry: The code of ethics/conduct that knights were expected to uphold.
       III. Vocabulary: Government & Law

  • Absolute Monarchy: A government where the king has total, unrestricted power.

  • Limited/Constitutional Monarchy: A government where the king’s power is restricted by law (e.g., Magna Charta).

  • Parliament: A body of representatives that makes laws (emerged in England).

  • Common Law: A legal system based on custom and court rulings that applied to the entire kingdom.

  • Mayor of the Palace: The manager of the household of the Frankish king (held the real power).

  • Depose: To remove a ruler from office or power suddenly and forcefully.

  • Duress: Threats or violence brought to bear on someone to do something against their will (e.g., King John signing the Magna Charta).
       IV. Vocabulary: Buildings & Roles

  • Monastery / Abbey: A religious community where monks lived (e.g., Monte Cassino).

  • Convent: A religious community for nuns.

  • Cloister: A covered walk in a monastery or college, usually opening onto a courtyard.

  • Scriptorium: A room in a monastery where manuscripts were copied by hand.

  • Refectory: The dining hall in a monastery or religious institution.

  • Chapter House: A building used for meetings of the clergy.

  • Diocese: A district under the pastoral care of a bishop.

  • Abbot / Abbess: The head of a monastery or convent.

  • Friar: A member of a religious order who lived among the public rather than in a secluded monastery.
       V. Key Historical Figures

  • Philip II of France: He attempted the third crusade, but went home to France with an illness.

  • William the Pig: Led the children to slavery.

  • William I: He was victorious at Hastings.

  • Pope Innocent III: It was his papacy during the “Scandal Crusade” and he had conflicts with John I.

  • Pope Urban II: He spoke at Clermont and called for a Crusade.

  • Henry IV of HRE: He fought the Pope over power which led to a public apology.

  • Pope Leo III: He crowned Charlemagne as HRE of the West.

  • Saladin: Great Muslim leader of the Third Crusade.

  • Harold II: He became king in 1066, then lost his life and crown.

  • Charles Martel: He led the Franks to victory at Tours.

  • Pope Gregory VII: He fought with the HRE over the appointment of clergy.

  • St. Benedict: He established the first monastery in Europe.

  • Stephen / Nicholas: Led children to recapture Jerusalem.

  • Louis VII: He led the Second Crusade, but failed to recapture Christian lands.

  • Eleanor of Aquitaine: Attended the Second Crusade and was the spouse to two kings.

  • Charlemagne: He was the first to be crowned HRE of the West.

  • John I: He signed the Magna Charta under pressure from the nobles.

  • Edward the Confessor: His death led to the French invasion of England.

  • Richard I: This English king signed a treaty of three years with the Muslims.

  • Frederick Barbarossa: He lost his life when he drowned on his way to Jerusalem during the Crusade.

  • Harald Hardrada: He was the Viking king who attacked England in 1066.

  • Clovis: He was the first of the Franks to begin to unite the tribes in the years after the fall of Rome.

  • Alcuin: European scholar who set up Charlemagne’s palace schools.

  • Louis the Pious: Son of Charlemagne who defended the empire.

  • Charles the Bald: Grandson of Charlemagne who received the western area of the empire.

  • Eleanor of Aquitaine: Inherited one of the largest duchies in France.

  • Stephen / Nicholas: Two young peasant boys (Stephen from France, Nicholas from Germany) who claimed to have visions from God; they led children to recapture Jerusalem.
       VI. Significant Dates

  • 529: First monastery built (Monte Cassino) by St. Benedict.

  • 732: Battle of Tours (Charles Martel stops the Muslim/Moorish advance).

  • 800: Charlemagne crowned Roman Emperor of the West.

  • 843: Treaty of Verdun (Empire split among Charlemagne’s grandsons).

  • 1066: Battle of Hastings (William the Conqueror takes England).

  • 1096: The First Crusade begins.

  • 1187: Muslims recapture Jerusalem (Battle of Hattin).

  • 1202: The "Scandal Crusade" (Fourth Crusade).

  • 1215: Signing of the Magna Charta.