| A | B |
|---|
| lay | short romantic poem or song |
| fabliau | short story with a snappy ending |
| obeisance | attitude of deference or homage |
| secular | worldly rather than spiritual |
| prioress | nun lower than the abbess of an abbey |
| friar | cleric of a mendicant Roman Catholic order |
| penance | sacrament including contrition, confession, punishment, absolution |
| parish | religious community attending one church in a diocese |
| ecclesiastic | clergyman; priest |
| parson | Anglican cleric controlling a parish; a rector |
| hyprocrisy | falseness; insincerity |
| foible | minor character flaw; vice |
| perpetuity | eternity; infinity |
| languish | debility; infirmity |
| plaudits | enthusiastic praise or approval |
| ennoble | dignify |
| mendicant | depending on alms for a living; beggar |
| shire | English countryside |
| duchy | province in England |
| celibate | to remain unmarried |
| heresy | belief going against official church doctrine |
| folly | lack of common sense, understanding, foresight |
| alms | money of goods given to the poor |
| pedantic | narrow concern for book learning and formal rules |
| wanton | immoral; lewd; merciless |
| celibate | unmarried |
| shrewd | keen awareness; sharp intelligence |
| uncouth | vulgar; disrespectful |
| brawny | strong and muscular |
| naive | lacking worldly experience |
| magnanimity | liberal generosity of spirit |
| subservient | obsequious; servile |
| treatise | tale or narrative; formal exposition |
| fortitude | strength of mind to endure adversity |
| temperance | in moderation; self-restraint |
| abstinence | the act of refraining from |
| prude | person excessively concerned about propriety and decorum |
| avarice | greed |
| manciple | steward or purchaser of supplies for a monastery or college |
| contrition | heartfelt sorrow for sin |
| gluttony | excessive appetite for food and drink |
| lechery | theft |
