Feudal Hierarchy
A powerful landowner
Lord
A noble’s house and the villages on his land where the peasants lived.
Manor
A strong military leader who help control Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire
Charlemagne
a charter of rights to which the English barons forced King John to give his assent in 1215.
Magna Carta
A series of religious wars during the Middle Ages in which European Christians fought against Muslim forces to gain control of holy lands, especially the city of Jerusalem.
Crusades
A vassal who is trained in combat who fought on behalf of lords.
Knight
a medieval association of craftsmen or merchants, often having considerable power.
Guild
The Duke of Normandy (in modern-day France) who invaded England in 1066, won the famous Battle of Hastings, and became the King of England.
William the Conqueror
A group of elected representatives responsible for making laws, levying taxes, and advising the head of government (like a king or prime minister).
Parliament
A powerful organization established by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain in 1478 to root out and punish people accused of heresy and maintain strict Catholic unity.
Spanish Inquisition
A person who lived and worked on the manor of a lord or vassal
Serf
a person who is learning a trade from a skilled employer in a guild.
Apprentice
A teenage French peasant girl during the Middle Ages who claimed to hear heavenly voices directing her to lead the French army against the English during the Hundred Years' War.
Joan of Arc
The belief that God gives monarchs the right to rule.
Divine Right of Kings
a contagious bacterial disease characterized by fever and delirium, typically with the formation of buboes
Bubonic Plague
A less wealthy noble who paid taxes to and served a lord in exchange for land.
Vassal
an estate of land, especially one held on condition of feudal service.
Fief
A Muslim sultan and brilliant military leader who united Muslim forces across Egypt and Syria to recapture Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187.
Saladin
Several territories united through religion in Europe from the Early Middle Ages through the early 1800’s.
Holy Roman Empire
The code of conduct and honor that medieval knights were expected to follow.
Chivalry
A political system in the Middle Ages that divided society into classes.
Feudalism
A peasant is a poor farmer or agricultural laborer of low social status who owns or rents a small piece of land. [1, 2]
Peasant
a form of government in which a single individual—such as a king, queen, emperor, or sultan—acts as the head of state, usually for life or until abdication.
Monarchy
A belief or opinion that directly contradicts the official teachings and doctrines of an established religion.
Heresy