| A | B |
|---|
| Middle Ages | the European period from about AD 500 to 1500 |
| Dark ages | the medieval period generally devoid of knowledge and culture |
| Medieval | "middle ages" in Latin; usually used in the phrase "medieval civilization" |
| Trial by Ordeal | A system used in Roman courts, which Germanic judges used to determine guilt |
| Clergy | members of a strong religious organization made up of different levels of officials |
| Orders | communities of monks or nuns |
| Pope/Papacy | the leader of the church in Rome; the overall head of the church/ the office of the Pope (from 590 to 604) |
| Charlemagne | a.k.a. Charles the great; King of the Franks; he greatly expanded his empire |
| Feudalism | relating to a system of political organization prevailing in Medieval Europe, in which a vassal renders service to a lord and receives protection and land in return |
| Fief | a piece of land that one lord gives to a lesser lord in exchange for his loyalty and his help |
| Vassal | the noble who received the land |
| Oath of Fealty | an oath that a noble makes to a higher noble, pledging loyalty to him. |
| Knight | a mounted warrior |
| Manorial System | the basic economic arrangement during the Middle Ages |
| Serfs | peasants who did not have the freedom to leave the land where they were born |
| Chivalry | a knight's code of behavior |
| Nobility | those of high rank, birth, or station; aristocrats |
| Three Field System | a farming system which keeps the fields fertile by switching three different fields around every year |
| Castles | in early ages wooden, in later ages stone structures encircled by massive walls and guard towers built to withstand attack |
