The Feudal System
This is an economic and political system where a king grants land to a noble or knight in exchange for service.
What is Feudalism?
He was viewed as God’s representative on Earth and held immense power over both spiritual and political life.
Who is the Pope?
Also known as Charles the Great, he ruled a vast empire and was crowned "Emperor of the Romans" in 800 CE.
Who is Charlemagne?
This is the code of honor (including loyalty and justice) that all knights were expected to follow
What is Chivalry?
These invaders from Scandinavia were feared for raiding monasteries and villages using shallow ships.
Who are the Vikings?
These individuals comprised 80 to 90 percent of the population and were responsible for the hard labor on a manor.
Who are peasants or serfs?
This was the belief that kings were chosen directly by God and therefore had a "right" to rule over others.
What is Divine Right?
The Medieval Period officially began after the collapse of this great empire in 476 CE.
What is the (Western) Roman Empire?
This self-sufficient estate included the lord's residence, villages, and the farmland worked by peasants.
What is a Manor?
The word "Crusade" comes from the Latin for this phrase, because fighters sewed the symbol onto their clothing.
What is "marked with a cross"?
Because kings could not always defend their large territories from raiders, this specific need caused nobles to build castles and hire their own private armies, creating the feudal structure.
What is the need for protection/security?
This term refers to being formally kicked out of the Church, a punishment that made many kings fear they wouldn't go to heaven.
What is excommunication?
This ferocious tribe, led by figures like Clovis and Charlemagne, conquered Gaul (modern France).
Who are the Franks?
This was the earliest form of a castle, featuring a raised earth mound and an enclosed courtyard.
What is a Motte and Bailey?
The plague was able to spread rapidly from Asia to Europe because of high trade traffic along this route.
What is the Silk Road?
This type of peasant was legally "tied to the land" and could never leave, regardless of who owned the manor.
Who is a serf?
Unlike monks who lived in solitude, these religious figures traveled among the people, barefoot and in simple robes, to offer aid.
Who are friars?
Charlemagne built many of these institutions and hired scholars to teach at his capital city of Aachen.
What are universities?
In a stone castle, this structure served as the main residence for the lord and the "last line of defense."
What is the keep?
The Magna Carta established the foundation for English law by declaring that the King was not above the law; this shift in power eventually gave way to the creation of this governing body.
What is Parliament?
This was a one-time tax that a lord could demand from peasants whenever he was low on funds.
What is tallage?
These were formal writings issued by the Pope regarding moral and spiritual teachings or church policy.
What are bulls?
The Franks were converted to Christianity after this leader married a Christian woman named Clotilda.
Who is Clovis?
These are the three stages of training a young man went through to become a knight.
This 1486 text claimed women were more "prone to superstition" and was used to justify the prosecution of witches.
What is the Malleus Maleficarum?