| A | B |
|---|
| middle ages | the period in European history between Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance |
| medieval | relating to, involving, belonging to, or typical of the Middle Ages in Europe |
| feudalism | the legal and social system that existed in medieval Europe, in which vassals held land from lords in exchange for military service |
| vassal | somebody who gave loyalty and homage to a feudal lord and received the right to occupy the lord's land and be protected by him |
| fief | An estate in land held on condition of homage and service to a superior lord, by whom it is granted and in whom the ownership remains |
| primogeniture | the right of the first-born child, usually the eldest son, to inherit the parents' entire estate |
| manor | a house and the land surrounding it, owned by a medieval noble |
| serfs | an agricultural worker, especially in feudal Europe, who cultivated land belonging to a landowner, and who was bought and sold with the land, a laborer legally bound to and obliged to serve a lord |
| chivalry | the combination of qualities expected of the ideal medieval knight, especially courage, honor, loyalty, and consideration for others, especially women |
| sacraments | in Christianity, a rite that is considered to have been established by Jesus Christ to bring grace to those participating in or receiving it. |
| monasticism | the way of life characteristic of monks or nuns, in which they withdraw entirely or in part from society to devote themselves to prayer, solitude, and contemplation |
| abbot | the monk in charge of a monastery |
| canon law | the body of laws that governs the affairs of the Christian church or a particular branch of it |
| interdict | a ban imposed by a pope, church council, or bishop that excludes a person, group, or nation from the sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. In the past, the interdict was used to enforce obedience. |
| tithe | one tenth of somebody's income or produce paid voluntarily or as a tax for the support of a church or its clergy |
| simony | the buying or selling of sacred Christian objects |
| inquisition | a former organization in the Roman Catholic Church established to find, question, and sentence those who did not hold orthodox religious beliefs. The Spanish Inquisition lasted until the 19th century and was known for its harsh punishments and use of torture. |
| friars | a man belonging to a Roman Catholic religious order, especially a mendicant one. The four main orders of friar are the Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, and Franciscans. |
| magna carta | a charter establishing the rights of English barons and free citizens, granted by King John at Runnymede in 1215 and regarded as the basis of civil and political liberty in England |
| common law | the body of law developed as a result of custom and judicial decisions, as distinct from the law laid down by legislative assemblies. Common law forms the basis of all law that is applied in England |
| Clovis | in German, Chlodwig (circa 466-511), king of the Franks (481-511) and first important ruler of the Merovingian dynasty. Great military man |
| Merovingian | Merovingian, dynasty of kings that ruled the Franks, a Germanic tribe, from ad481 to 751 |
| Charles Martel | Carolingian ruler of the Frankish kingdom of Austrasia (in present northeastern France and southwestern Germany). Charles, whose surname means “the hammer,” was the son of Pepin of Herstal and the grandfather of Charlemagne. |
| Pepin the Short | mayor of the palace of Austrasia and king of the Franks (751-768), the son of the Frankish ruler Charles Martel, and the grandson of Pepin of Herstal. He was mayor of the palace during the reign of Childeric III (reigned about 743-751), the last of the Merovingian dynasty. |
| Charlemagne | During his reign, Charlemagne built a kingdom that included almost all of western and central Europe |
| Louis the Pious | Holy Roman Emperor and king of france and germany |
| Magyars | The people who habituated hungary |
| Vikings | The Scandinavian people who used boats and sacked and pillaged European coasts |
| Curia | ancient division of the Roman state. According to tradition, the Roman people were divided by Romulus, the founder and first ruler of Rome,... |
| Cardinals | highest dignitary in the Roman Catholic church after the pope |
| St Benedicts | born 1927, pope since 2005, the first German pope since Victor II, who died in 1057, and the first noted scholar in theology to be. |
| Alfred the Great | king of the West Saxons (871-899), and one of the outstanding figures of English history. Born in Wantage in southern France. |
| Edward the Confessor | king of England (1042-1066), son of King Ethelred the Unready. During most of the rule of the Danish kings of England who followed Canute II, Edward lived at the court of the dukes of Normandy |
| William the Conquerer | He called The Conqueror (1027-1087), first Norman king of England (1066-1087), who has been called one of the first modern kings. |
| Thomas Becket | one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Although much has been written on his life, only biblical accounts |
| Simon de Montfort | English statesman and soldier, born of an Anglo-French family in Normandy (Normandie), France. In 1229 he came to England from France, where two years later Henry III, king of England, confirmed his title and estates. He married Eleanor, the youngest sister of the king, in 1238 |
| Otto I | called Otto the Great (912-973), Holy Roman emperor (962-973), king of Germany (936-973), the son of the German king Henry I. After subduing an uprising of nobles incited by his brother, Otto consolidated his kingdom by granting duchies to faithful relatives and followers |
| Henry III | king of France (1574-1589), the last of the Valois kings. Despite his considerable gifts, he failed to resolve the religious civil wars in his country and brought it close to bankruptcy. |
| Henry IV | king of France (1589-1610), who restored stability after the religious wars of the 16th century. He was the first of the Bourbon kings of France and also, as Henry III, king of Navarre (1572-1610). |
| Federick Barbarossa | Holy Roman emperor and king of Germany (1152-1190), king of Italy (1155-1190), and as Frederick III, duke of Swabia (1147-1152, 1167-1168), known as Frederick Barbarossa (“red beard”). He was born in Waiblingen, the son of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, duke of Swabia, and the nephew of Conrad III, king of Germany. |
| Pope Innocent III | pope (1198-1216), who is generally considered the most capable and effective of the medieval popes. |
| Papal States | territory of Italy formerly under direct temporal rule of the pope. They were also known as the States of the Church or Pontifical States. The popes became de facto rulers of the city of Rome and the surrounding area by the 6th century ad. This territory was formally granted to Pope Stephen II by Pepin the Short, king of the Franks, in 754. |
| Aix- la- Chapelle | city in west central Germany, in North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen), near Belgium and the Netherlands. |
| Hastings | borough, East Sussex, southeastern England, on the English Channel. The borough is a popular summer resort, with sandy beaches and a seaside boulevard |
| Canterbury | city, Kent, southeastern England, on the Stour River, the ecclesiastical center of England. |
| Ile de France | meaning Isle of France, historic region and former province of France, centering around the capital city of Paris. |
| Aquitaine | traditional name for southwestern France |
| Canossa | In January 1077 the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, who had been excommunicated by Pope Gregory VII, traveled from Germany to Canossa to seek an audience with the pope, who was staying at a castle there. Henry stood for three days in the castle courtyard, bareheaded and barefooted |
| Worms | city in southwestern Germany, a port on the Rhine River, near Mannheim in Rhineland-Palatinate. Concordat of Worms. By the terms of this agreement, investiture of bishops and abbots, a right long claimed by the emperors, was thereafter reserved to the papacy. Kings dealt with govt. Separation of Church and State. |
