Feudalism & Nobles
The top ruler in the European feudal system who owned all the land.
Who is the King?
Religious men who lived in monasteries to pray, study, and copy books.
Who are Monks?
Another common name for the Middle Ages, lasting roughly from 500 to 1500 CE.
What is the Medieval Period (or Dark Ages)?
the deadly epidemic that swept through Europe in the 1300s and killed many.
What is the Bubonic Plague (Black Death)?
The Asian counterpart to European knights who served Japanese daimyo and followed a strict code called Bushido.
Who are Samurai?
How the king paid his loyal nobles and lords for their service.
What is Land (fiefs)?
The head of the Roman Catholic Church, based in Rome.
Who is the Pope?
The main purpose of most holidays celebrated during medieval times.
What are religious events?
One major way the Black Death changed Europe's social structure for peasants.
What is Peasants demanding higher pay/more rights (revolting against Lords)?
The rich African empire led by Mansa Musa, famous for its gold and salt trade.
What is the Mali Empire?
Heavily armored mounted warriors who swore loyalty to their lords.
Who are Knights?
The historic 1054 split that divided Christianity into the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
What is the Great Schism?
Two main purposes of medieval art (hint: think about reading and faith).
What are helping people pray and educating those who could not read?
A series of religious wars launched by European Christians to take back the Holy Land from Muslims.
What are the Crusades?
The empire that kept the Roman legacy alive in the East, centered around Constantinople.
What is the Byzantine Empire?
The lowest members of the feudal system who were legally tied to the land.
Who are serfs (or peasants)?
Large, ornate medieval churches featuring stained glass and flying buttresses.
What are Cathedrals?
Architectural features built on medieval cathedrals and castles to drain rain water and scare away evil spirits.
The Frankish king who united many Germanic kingdoms and was crowned Emperor by the Pope in 800 CE.
The religion founded on the Arabian Peninsula in the 600s that spread rapidly across parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe.
What is Islam?
The economic system of the Middle Ages centered around a lord's self-sufficient estate.
What is Manorialism?
Religious people who traveled across Europe to convert others and spread Christianity.
Who are Missionaries?
The group of people who held power in castles, managed manors, and could occasionally command knights if they were widowed noblewomen.
Who are Nobles, Noblewomen, and Lords?
The document signed in 1215 that first limited the power of the English king.
What is the Magna Carta?
The Mongol leader who united nomadic tribes to build the largest land empire in history.
Who is Genghis Khan?