Religion
This sea separated much of southern Europe from North Africa and was important for trade and travel.
Mediterranean Sea
The narrow body of water between southern England and northern France important for trade and defense.
English Channel
This ocean to the west influenced the climate of western Europe
Atlantic Ocean
A document signed in 1215 that limited the king’s power and protected certain rights.
Magna Carta
Large, flat area good for farming that stretches across northern Europe.
North European Plains
The pope called for Christians to fight in these religious wars to regain control of holy places
The Crusades
The social system based on landholding where lords and vassals owed each other protection and service.
Feudalism
This group grew in size and importance as more people began buying and selling goods after the Black Death.
Merchants
The mountain range that forms a boundary between Europe and Asia.
Ural Mountains
The economic system where peasants worked land on a lord’s estate (manor) in exchange for protection and a place to live.
Manorialism
These religious communities, run by monks, preserved books and learning during the early Middle Ages
Monasteries
The manor usually included these self-sufficient working PEOPLE who farmed the land for the lord
With fewer workers available, Europeans used improved versions of these tools to make farm work faster and easier.
farming tools
The empire created when the pope crowned Charlemagne emperor, shaping medieval political order.
The Holy Roman Empire
The disease that killed large numbers of people in the 1300s and led to labor shortages and economic change.
Black Death
The leader who called for the First Crusade in 1095.
Pope Urban II
The process in the Iberian Peninsula where Christian kingdoms reclaimed territory from Muslim rule.
Reconquista
Because farms had fewer workers, this happened to wages, giving peasants more bargaining power.
Wages increased/went up
The king of England whose victories in the Hundred Years’ War helped shape English national pride (famous for Agincourt)
These animals—often carried on merchant ships—played a major role in spreading infected fleas.
Rats
The religious court that tried to enforce religious unity in Spain during and after the Reconquista.
Inquisition
Contact with other cultures during the Crusades increased trade and brought new ideas back to Europe, leading to growth of these urban centers.
Towns
As trade networks grew and people needed safer ways to store and move money, this financial system expanded across Europe.
Banking
The French peasant-turned-soldier who inspired the French and helped turn the Hundred Years’ War in France’s favor.
Joan of Arc
Trade along this major route helped the plague spread into China, the Middle East, and Europe.
Silk Road