Middle Ages

an era that took place in Western Europe, also known as the Medieval Age (c. 500-1500), separated into three time periods: Early Middle Ages (c. 500-1000), High Middle Ages (c. 1000-1350), Late Middle Ages (c. 1350-1500)

Vikings

any of the Scandinavian seafaring pirates and traders who raided and settled in many parts of northwestern Europe in the 8th-11th centuries.

Fief

a plot of land

Knights

soldiers that served the king and many other powerful noblemen

Clergy

group of religious officials (as priests, ministers, or rabbis) specially prepared and authorized to conduct religious services

Gothic

known for its slender columns, pointed arches, and slimness

Three-field system

rotating crops and leaving one field "fallow" each season

Scholasticism

system of theology and philosophy taught in medieval European universities, based on Aristotelian logic and the writings of the early Church Fathers and having a strong emphasis on tradition and dogma.

Black Death

bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Europe from 1346 to 1353, reduced the urban labor force, led to higher wages for remaining workers, called into question the Church's spiritual authority as an effective mediator between God and believers

Renaissance

artistic movement of the Middle Ages (inspired by the Classical Age) originating in northern Italy, revival of art and culture based on classical Greece and Rome

Humanism

idea that celebrated the human individual and focused on secular (worldly) matters, emphasized not blindly following religion

Nation-states

system of organization in which people with a common identity live inside a region with a centralized government.

Franks

a western European people during the Roman Empire and Early Middle Ages

Magyars

a member of a people who originated in the Urals and migrated westward to settle in what is now Hungary in the 9th century AD

Vassal

noble who swore his loyalty to their lord in exchange for real estate

Tithe

one tenth of annual produce or earnings taken as a tax for the support of the Church and clergy

Sacraments

the Roman Catholic Church's most important rituals (separated into three categories): Initiation (baptism, the Eucharist, and confirmation), healing (reconciliation and anointing of the sick), and Vocational Consecration (matrimony and ordination)

Crusades

a series of religious wars involving eight major Crusades, or battles, between 1095-1291, fought by Christians to take back their Holy Land

Guild

association of merchants and craftsmen made for mutual aid, provided funds for funerals of their members, widows, and their orphans

Norman Conquest

invasion of England by William the Conqueror of Normandy that cut ties with Scandinavia for the English and made it more culturally closer to France

Hundred Years' War

war (1337-1453) that was caused over territorial and economic disputes and feudal rivalries between England and France

Credit

an amount of money

Secular

the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion

Commercial Revolution

great increase in commerce in the Late Middle Ages

Monasteries

communities of faith made up of monks and nuns who devoted themselves to a spiritual life

Feudalism

political-military system of landholding and governing based on the exchange of land and services between lords and vassals

Serfs

workers who were not free and were bound to the land they worked on and gave their lord most of whatever they produced, their lord gave them shelter and protection in return, able to buy their freedom.

Chivalry

effort to set basic rules for knightly behavior, developed as a code of honor that represented bravery, loyalty, etc.

Canon law

body of rules and regulations governing the Christian Church and its members

Reconquista

reconquest of Spain by Christians, small Christian kingdoms emerged over several centuries, pushing back Muslim control

Mongol Exchange

a largely undisturbed exchange of goods between peoples from Europe to East Asia under Mongol rule

Magna Carta

charter that was signed by King John and his nobles that established rule of law

Battle of Agincourt

an English victory in the Hundred Years' War, took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt in northern France

Banking

business of protecting money for others

Patrons

people who used some of their wealth to support artists

Lay investiture

appointment of religious officials by kings or nobles

Battle of Tours

battle between North African armies and victorious Frankish forces led by Charles Martel in Gaul in 732 C.E.

Lord

landholder, the king was technically the landowner

Manor

a self-contained world on land belonging to a lord

Castles

large building, typically of the medieval period, fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, towers, and a moat

Holy Roman Empire

Roman Catholic empire in western/central Europe headed by the Holy Roman Emperor

Spanish Inquisition

a Catholic Church tribunal designed to eliminate heresy, Jews and Muslims were forced to convert, flee, or die

Vernacular

everyday language of people in a local region, allowed for the increased literacy and knowledge among everyday people

Parliament

group of elected representatives with the power to make laws

Great Schism

split of Christianity into two divisions caused by the differences of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church

Literacy

the ability to read and write

Printing Press

developed around 1450 by blacksmith Johaan Gutenberg, able to arrange letters in any way and reuse its pieces

Gregory the Great

developed the Roman Catholic Church into a secular power, served from 590 to 604, developed much of the Latin liturgy and collected funds to rebuild roads, raise armies for defense against the Lombards, and help the poor

Saladin

founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, first Sultan of both Egypt and Syria, brought both the Egyptian and Syrian forces under his own control, employed them to reduce the Crusader states and to recapture Jerusalem in 1187, led the Muslims to victory in the Crusades.

William the Conqueror

warrior from Normandy who invaded England during the Norman Conquest and was victorious

Jan Hus

argued that the Bible was the ultimate authority in Christian faith, not the pope in Rome, burned as a heretic in 1415 in Prague

Thomas Aquinas

most famous thinker of scholasticism

Francesco Petrarch

known as the "father of humanism", collected classical Greek and Latin manuscripts and wrote poetry that focused on themes of love in the 1300s

Thomas More

humanist who promoted free education for men and women

Charlemagne

Pepin's son who was crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III

Richard the Lion-Hearted

leader of the third crusade, achieved victories over Saladin, never ended up retaking Jerusalem, had a reputation as a great military leader

Henry II (England)

brought about reforms that made up the foundation of the English Common Law, sent royal judges to every part of England at least once a year, introduced the use of jury in courts, and issued the Constitutions of Clarendon

Joan of Arc

great military leader that led France to victory during the Hundred Years' War

Michelangelo

Italian painter, architect, poet, and sculptor (artist behind David and La Pieta)

Niccolo Machiavelli

writer of a book on effective leadership called The Prince

Ferdinand & Isabella

married in 1469, unified Spain and completed the Reconquista in 1492 by driving Muslim moors out of Granada, financed Colombus in his voyage to the New World

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II.

Temujin (Genghis Khan)

united the Mongol tribes and ruled over Central Asia

Louis IX (France)

King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270, reign was marked as an economical and political high point for medieval France

Dante Alighieri

Italian writer, poet, theorist, and political thinker that wrote Divine Comedy, which took the readers on a tour of the afterlife.

Leonardo da Vinci

Italian inventor, painter, and "Renaissance Man" (artist behind the Mona Lisa)

Desiderius Erasmus

key humanist leader who made classical works and Christian texts more accessible to people, criticized some Church practices and called for reform

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer and navigator who made voyages across the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the New World in 1492

Urban II

pope that wanted to mend the Great Schism to gain power over Muslims and increase authority through Christianity

Marco Polo

stored his knowledge in a novel which would led to increased European interest of Eastern trade

John Wycliffe

sought to create an English version of the Bible in the late 1300s

Geoffrey Chaucer

English poet, author, and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales, also known as the "father of English literature".

Raphael

Italian personal painter for Pope Paul II (artist behind School of Athens and Sistine Madonna)

St. Augustine of Hippo

highly respected Christian bishop who lived during the last years of the Western Roman Empire, his theological writings such as his autobiographical Confessions and The City of God are considered some of the greatest works of Western literature

St. Benedict

founded the Benedictine order based on his famous Rules, which influenced all of western monasticism (way of living that's religious, isolated from other people, and self-disciplined)