| A | B |
|---|
| Eleanor of Aquitaine | Most celebrated noblewoman of her day; known for her enthusiastic patronage of troubadours and encouragement of the cultivation of good manners, refinement, and romantic love |
| Eric the Red | Leader of Scandinavian seafarers; responsible for discovering and colonizing Greenland in North Atlantic Ocean at the end of the 10th century |
| Frederick Barbarossa | - Frederick I, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire; policy sought to absorb the wealthy urban region of Lombardy in north Italy; attempt was defeated by a papal coalition with other European states. |
| Henry IV | Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire; known for his challenge to the pope's policy of appointing church officials by church authorities (the Investiture Contest); upon being excommunicated, Henry IV had great trouble dealing with rebellious German princes; regained imperial control only after beseeching the pope's mercy while standing barefoot in the snow. |
| Leif Ericsson | Son of Eric the Red; led a group of Scandinavian seafarers and sailed to what they called Vinland (modern Newfoundland in Canada) by about 1000 C.E.; founded a small colony and maintained it for several decades. |
| Peter the Hermit | - Zealous Christian preacher; traveled throughout France, Germany, and the Low Countries to organize crusaders for recapturing Palestine as a response to Pope Urban II’ s call; the campaign was a disaster for the crusaders. |
| Pope Gregory VII | Active during the 1070s and 1080s; known for his victory over Emperor Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire during the Investiture Contest. |
| Roger Guiscard | Norman adventurer; responsible for reconquering Muslim Sicily in 1090 and returning it to Christian hands. |
| St. Dominic and St. Francis | Founders of orders of mendicants known as the Dominican and Franciscan friars; lived in late 12th and early 13th centuries |
| St. Thomas Aquinas | - Professor of the University of Paris; most famous scholastic theologian; lived from 1225 to 1274. His teachings combined Aristotle's rational power with Christianity; sought to formulate the most truthful and persuasive system of thought possible. |
| Urban II | Pope of the 11th century; responsible for launching a crusade; called for Christian knights to take up arms and seize the holy land of Palestine in 1095 |
| William the Conqueror | Duke William of Normandy; invaded England in 1066 and introduced Norman-style feudalism to England. |
