| A | B |
|---|
| feudalism | medieval system where serfs worked for landholders who protected them |
| serf | peasant bound to the manor |
| fief | tracts of land with serfs given by Frankish kings to warriors, counts, and local officials |
| vassel | feudal noble who served a lord of the next rank and owes homage |
| chivalry | code of honor for knights |
| manoralism | rules of a manor and how it was organized |
| sacrament | formal ritual of Catholic church |
| abbot | head of a monastery |
| cardinal | church official appointed by the pope and ranking directly below him |
| homage | loyalty owed by a vassel to his Lord--legally binding |
| lay investiture | when medieval secular rulers gave symbols of office to bishops they appointed |
| heresy | disbelief in Catholic doctrine by a church member |
| excommunication | expulsion from a church |
| friar | wandering preacher |
| mendicant | religious beggar |
| middle class | place in society between the laboring class and the wealthy |
| petty jury | the kind of jury used to establish the guilt or innocence of the accused |
| grand jury | group of men who submitted names of people suspected of crimes |
| common law | the law of a country based on custom, usage, and the decisions of a law court rather than codefied written laws |
