Despite being at the "top" of the feudal pyramid, these rulers had less power in the Middle Ages than they would in the early modern period.
Who are the monarchs (kings/queens)?
Monasteries in the Middle Ages engaged in a variety of economic activities, including brewing and selling this product.

What is beer?
These Central European "barbarians" are credited with felling Western Rome. Later, they gave their names to an architectural style, literary genre, and subculture.
Who are the Goths?
The fifth Pillar of Islam, the Haj, means making a pilgrimage to this city at least once in your life.
What is Mecca?
This term, now considered somewhat outdated, refers to the era following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in Europe.
What are the "Dark Ages"?
What is a fief?
In this room of the monastery, monks would work tirelessly to copy down ancient texts and create books.
What is the Scriptorium?
This name was given by later historians to describe the Eastern Roman Empire which survived into the 1400s while the West fell into dissaray.
What is the Byzantine Empire?
There's a good chance you would find these religious images of saints, angels, and Jesus in Orthodox or Catholic Christian churches.
What are icons?
In medieval heraldry, these shields represent a specific family, institution, or monarch.

What is a coat of arms?
Nobles and knights provided this service to peasants in return for labor and/or rent.
What is security/protection?
What is Eastern Orthodox/ Greek Orthodox?
Charlemagne was crowned "Holy Roman Emperor" by Leo III the then Bishop of Rome, a title more often referred to by this fatherly name.
Who is the Pope?
In Islam, this phrase is used to describe both Jews and Christians referencing their reliance on some of the same texts.
What are People of the Book?
This famous Gothic cathedral in France suffered significant damage from an accidental fire in 2019.
What is Notre Dame?
This feudal term refers to someone who receives land from an overlord in return for the promise of military service in times of war.
What is a vassal?
Monks and nuns can also be found in this religious tradition, founded in Ancient India.

What is Buddhism?
Charlemagne's Holy Roman court sponsored this educational and literary revival, drawing in scholars from all over Europe.
What is the Carolingian Renaissance?
Originally a shrine built by the prophet Abraham, by Muhammad's time it was filled with pagan idols.
What is the Kaaba/Qa'aba?
When the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, they renamed it this which remains its name on a modern map.
What is Istanbul?
What is the "Black Death" (Bubonic Plague)?
This Egyptian saint is often considered the first monastic in the Christian tradition.
Who is Anthony of Egypt?
This Roman Emperor converted to Christianity and legalized it through the Edict of Milan, laying the groundwork for its spread throughout the Middle Ages.
Who is Constantine?
After repeated raids carried out against Francia, Charlemagne's army attacked and massacred this pagan people and destroyed their sacred tree.
Who are the Saxons?
Boethius, a philosopher who lived in the "Dark Ages" described life as this, which later would become the name of a popular American game show.
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What is a "Wheel of Fortune"?