| A | B |
|---|
| Saint Patrick | missionary who converted the Celtic people in Ireland |
| monastery | place where Christian monks lived apart from the world in the service of God |
| convent | place where Christian nuns lived apart from the world in the service of God |
| Saint Benedict | man who set up a monastery at Monte Cassino and drew up rules for monks to live by |
| chonicles | historical records kept by monks |
| Clovis | king of the Franks from 481 to 511 and founder of the Merovingian dynasty |
| Roman Catholic | having to do with, or belonging to the Christian Church that recognizes the pope in Rome as the supreme head |
| Charles Martel | "Mayor of the Palace" for Frankish kingdom; defeated the Moors in 732 |
| Charlemagne | king of the Franks from 768-814 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 800 to 814 |
| Carolingian Renaissance | a great revival of learning which took place during the reign of Charlemagne |
| Vikings | Norsemen; the Scandinavian sefarers who raided the coasts of Europe between 700 and 900, conquered parts of Northern Europe and possibly explored North America as well |
| Muslims | people who believe in and follow the teachings of Muhammad; controlled Spain during the Middle Ages |
| feudalism | the social, economic, and plitical system where vassals gave military and other services to a lord in return for his protection anduse of his land |
| serfs | slaves who could not be sold off the land, but passed from one owner to another with the land |
| manorial system | the agricultural system that was centered on self-contained estates, part set aside for the lord and the rest divided among the peasants |
| vassal | a noble who serves a lord |
| dowry | money or property that a woman brings to the man she marries |
| sacraments | any of certain religious ceremonies of the Christian Church, considered especially ssacred, such as baptism |
| heresy | beliefs or statements that go against the teachings of the Catholic Church or the pope |
| Saint Francis of Assisi | Italian founder of the Franciscan order of friars which stressed vows of poverty and gentleness to all creatures |
| Saint Dominic | Spanish priest who founded orders of preaching friars and nuns that stressed vows of poverty and missionary work |
| Jerusalem | a holy city to Jews, Christians, and Muslims |
| Crusaders | people who took part in any of the military expeditions to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims |
| Urban II | pope who organized the First Crusade |
| First Crusade | the first organized (and successful) attempt to reclaim the Holy Land |
| Fourth Crusade | Attempt to retake the Holy Land ended in the sacking of Constantinople and the end of the crusades |
| interest | money paid for the use of money, usually a percenteage of the amount invested, borrowed, or loaned |
| Venice | city-state that flourished after the Crusades because of the increased trade |
| credit | money in a person's account; a merchant could deposit money in one city, get a receipt, and collect the money in another city |
| Black Death | the bubonic plague that spread through Europe and Asia in the 1300s |
| middle class | a class of people who are socially and economically between the very rich and the class of unskilled laborers and unemployed, also known as the bourgeoisie |
| guild | organization of merchants in towns or of persons in a particular trade or craft, formed to keep standards high, promote business interests, and prevent competition |
| university | institution of higher education usually including schools of law, medicine, education, etc. |
| Saint Thomas Aquinas | Italian philosopher and theologian of hte Roman Catholic Church; author of "Summa Theologica" |
| Roger Bacon | English philosopher and pioneer of modern science |
| Geoffrey Chaucer | English author who wrote in the Midland dialect of English |
| vernacular | "common" language |
| "The Canterbury Tales" | book written by Geoffrey Chaucer |
| Dante Alighieri | Italian poet and philosopher |
| "Divine Comedy" | poem written in Italian by Dante Alighieri |
