medieval europe vocabulary

NEW UNIT

Middle Ages: A period between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Renaissance in Europe (500 to 1500), also called Medieval times.

Lord: A landowner who has power and authority over others.

Knight: A professional warrior in medieval Europe.

Vassal: Someone (usually a knight) who promised to serve a lord in exchange for land in medieval Europe.

Feudalism: A system of obligations (promises) that govern the relationships between the lords and vassals in medieval Europe.

Nation-State: A form of political organization in which a group of people who share the same history, traditions, or language live on specific land under one government.

Serfs: Workers in medieval Europe who were tied to the land on which they lived.

Manor: A large estate (land) owned by a knight or lord.

Manorialism: An economic system of obligations (promises) that govern the relationships between lords and peasants (serfs) in medieval Europe.

Clergy: Church officials, such as priests, given authority to perform the sacraments (religious services).

Religious Order: A group (organization) of people who dedicate their lives to Jesus and the Church, and follow common rules.

Monastery: A community of monks (religious men who lived apart from society).

Scriptorium: A room set aside in a monastery for copying and writing important manuscripts (ex: Bible)

Excommunicate: To cast out of the Church because of bad behavior or heresy (false teaching).

Holy Land: The region on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea where Jesus lived, preached, and died. Also holy to Jews and Muslims.

Crusades: A long series of wars between Christians and Muslims in Southwest Asia fought for control of the Holy Land from 1096 to 1291.

Reconquista: The Christian struggle to take back the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) from the Muslims.

Magna Carta: A document signed in 1215 by King John of England that required the king to honor certain rights and limited his power.

Parliament: The Great Council, established by the Magna Carta to advise the King of England, which became the first democratic, legislative body in modern Europe.

Black Death: A deadly plague that swept through Europe between 1347 and 1351