| A | B |
|---|
| Little Ice Age | A period of noticeable weather cooling in the late 13th century which helped create food shortages known as the Great Famine. It weakened the health of Europeans, leaving them susceptible to the plague. |
| Black Death | mid-14th century pandemic, most devastating natural disaster in European history |
| Decameron | Book that describes life in 14th century Italy, captures citizens' reactions to the Black Plague |
| Flagellants | people who wandered from town to town, whipping themselves to win the forgiveness of God, whom they thought had sent the plague as punishment for sins |
| pogroms | The worst organized massacre of Jews in Germany during the Black Plague |
| Statute of Laborers | a set of laws passed by the British Parliament which attempted to limit wages and forbid peasant mobility |
| English Peasant Revolt of 1381 | A prominent uprising in 1381 against monarchy's imposed taxes upon the peasant population |
| Richard II | King who was 14 during the Peasant Revolt of 1381, promised to accept their demands but later arrested the rebels |
| Ciompi | Wool workers in Florence's most prominent industry, who revolted in 1378 |
| Hundred Years' War | Series of conflicts from 1337 to 1453 in dispute over the right of succession to the French throne |
| Edward III | King of England from 1327 to 1377 who had a claim to the French throne. Quarrel between him and the french king began the Hundred Years' War. |
| Philip IV | King of France from 1285 until his death, also known as "the fair." His clashes with Edward III of England began the Hundred Years' War. |
| longbow | a bow invented by the Welsh, used by the English in the Hundred Years' War. |
| Henry V | King of England from 1413 until 1422, noted for military success in the Battle Agincourt |
| Battle of Agincourt | Overwhelming victory for the English against the French in the Hundred Years' war, in 1415. |
| Joan of Arc | French peasant girl who led the French army and rallied them against the British. |
| Charles VII | Crowned by Joan of Arc, king of France from 1422 until his death |
| Calais | Small, coastal town in France that was captured by the English during the 100 years' war and remained in its possession for an additional century. |
| scutage | A payment made to a lord in substitution to military service |
| Alexander V | Elected Pope by Council of Pisa |
| Boniface VIII | Pope who began the Great Schism, said spiritual authority was superior over secular authority |
| Capetian Dynasty | French dynasty that went extinct |
| Catherine of Siena | Mystic who convinced Gregory XI to return to Rome |
| Charles V (France) | French king who recovered all lands lost to England |
| Clement V | Pope who moved from Rome to Avignon |
| Christine de Pizan | Author, women's rights advocate |
| Clement VI | Pope who crushed Flagellant movement |
| Clement VII | Pope elected by French, competed against Urban V |
| Divine Comedy | Book by Dante Alighieri, describes soul's progression into heaven |
| Edward III | English king, overthrew father and had claim to French throne |
| Black Prince | Edward, Prince of Wales |
| Black Death | there were new employment opportunities as a result. |
| Petrarch | One of Europe's greatest lyric poets. He was a Florentine who wrote in the vernacular. He was the father of the sonnet and wrote love poems to "Laura" |
| Dante's "Divine Comedy" | considered a synthesis of medieval Christian thought. It describes soul's progression into heaven |
| Mysticism | emphasized an intensely personal feeling of oneness with God. |
| Marsiglio of Padua | Wrote Defender of the Peace, denied spiritual authority's power over temporal authority |
| The Great Schism | arose in 1378 when the French cardinals elected a second pope. It badly damaged the faith of many Christian believers. |
| Avignon | From 1305 to 1377, the Papacy resided in this French border town |
| Venice | The goal of this growing Italian City-State was to create a maritime commercial empire throughout the Mediterranean and Black seas. |
| popolo grasso. | Florence was ruled throughout most of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by this class |
| condottieri | leaders of mercenary bands, occasionally ruling as military dictators. |
| The Golden Bull of 1356 | gave seven electors the power to choose the "king of the Romans." It was an attempt to centralize authority in the region where there were virtually hundreds of independent city-states. |
