NPCs of Feudalism
Forget cash! In medieval Europe, a king or lord paid a knight for his loyalty and protection by giving him a gift of this
What is land? (or a fief)
As head of the Roman Catholic Church, this religious leader held the power to crown kings or kick them out of the Church
Who is the Pope?
In 1095, Pope Urban II called on European knights to launch the First Crusade to capture this holy city from Muslim control
What is Jerusalem?
This M-word refers to royal rulers—like kings and queens—who claimed divine authority to rule over their kingdoms
What is a monarch?
The language of the Byzantine Empire is where we'd find the names of fraternities and sororities such as ΦΣΚ, ΑΓΔ, ΩΨΥ
What is Greek?
They were peasant farmers at the very bottom of the social pyramid who were legally stuck working on the lord's land
What are serfs?
If a king broke Church rules, the Pope could use this severe punishment to completely cut him off from the Church and sacraments
What is excommunication?
Instead of reaching Jerusalem, knights on the Fourth Crusade got completely sidetracked and ended up sacking this Christian capital of the Byzantine Empire
What is Constantinople?
In 1215, angry English barons forced King John to sign this famous document, establishing for the first time that even the king must obey the law
What is the Magna Carta?
This famous Byzantine Emperor re-conquered old Roman lands, built the Hagia Sophia, and organized centuries of Roman laws into a clear code
Who is Justinian?
Because money was rare in the Early Middle Ages, this primary industry was the driving force of the whole economy
What is agriculture?
These religious men lived away from society in monasteries, spending their days praying, brewing beer, and copying ancient manuscripts by hand
Who are monks?
Known as "the Lionhearted," this English king became a legendary figure in Europe after securing a truce for Christian pilgrims
Who is Richard the Lionhearted
To blast through massive stone castle walls, European armies started using this explosive new military technology
What are cannons? (or artillery)
I love the smell of napalm in the morning. The Byzantines defended their waters using this highly flammable liquid that burned enemy ships
What is Greek Fire?
This large medieval farm was completely self-sufficient, meaning peasants grew all the food and made everything on-site
What is a manor?
Europe's earliest universities, like Paris and Oxford, originally started as these types of schools meant to train religious clergy
What are cathedral schools?
This famous Muslim Sultan earned respect for his leadership and mercy after recapturing Jerusalem during the Third Crusade
Who is Saladin?
This massive conflict between England and France started because of land disputes and fighting over who should inherit the French throne
What is the Hundred Years' War?
In 1054, arguments over papal authority caused this permanent split between Roman Catholicism in the West and Eastern Orthodoxy in the East
What is the Great Schism?
This V-word describes any noble or knight who promised loyalty and military service to a lord in exchange for land
What is a vassal?
This medieval architectural style was built taller and filled with light using pointed arches, flying buttresses, and giant stained-glass windows
What is Gothic architecture?
Meaning "reconquest," this centuries-long campaign ended in 1492 when Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella drove Muslim rule out of the Iberian Peninsula
What is the Reconquista?
Signed in 1648 to end the Thirty Years' War, this treaty helped create modern nation-states with defined borders and gave rulers the right to pick their country's religion
What is the Treaty of Westphalia?
This political and religious system gave the Byzantine Emperor total control over both the government and the Church
What is caesaropapism?