This term describes the political and economic system built on land-holding and loyalty in medieval Europe.
What is feudalism?
This religious leader stood at the very top of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy.
Who is the pope?
Craftsmen and merchants formed these organizations to set standards, train new members, and protect their trade.
What are guilds?
King John sealed this 1215 document, which limited royal power and became a cornerstone of English law.
What is the Magna Carta?
Roman emperor Constantine moved his capital here in 330 C.E., later renaming it after himself.
What is Constantinople?
This was land granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and service.
What is a fief?
This archbishop of Canterbury was murdered after a conflict with King Henry II over the Church's authority.
Who is Thomas Becket?
This document, granted to a town by its lord or king, gave residents specific rights and freedoms.
What is a charter?
This body eventually gave commoners and clergy a voice in English government.
What is the Model Parliament?
This Byzantine emperor is best known for creating a systematic body of law known as his Code.
Who is Justinian I?
This person worked the land but was legally tied to the manor and could not leave.
What is a serf?
Christians performed these religious rituals, believed necessary for salvation, at key stages of life from birth to death.
What are sacraments?
This disease, also called the Black Death, devastated medieval towns and countryside alike.
What is the bubonic plague?
This disease killed roughly one-third of Europe's population in the 1300s, shifting power from nobles to common workers.
What is the bubonic plague (Black Death)?
It's name means "Holy Wisdom."
What is Hagia Sophia?
This self-sufficient estate, run by a lord, was the basic economic unit of medieval life.
What is a manor?
People undertook these religious journeys to holy sites, such as Becket's shrine at Canterbury.
What are pilgrimages?
In the Early Middle Ages, an accused person might undergo this test, such as carrying a hot iron, to determine guilt.
What is trial by ordeal?
The English won this battle despite being outnumbered, thanks to the longbow's range and speed.
What is the Battle of Crécy?
This Christian church developed separately in the Byzantine Empire, led by a patriarch who was "first among equals."
What is the Eastern Orthodox Church?
This position sat at the top of the feudal pyramid, granting land to lords and nobles in exchange for loyalty.
Who is the king?
This Holy Roman Emperor stood barefoot in the snow at Canossa to seek forgiveness from Pope Gregory VII.
Who is Henry IV?
This type of play, performed in medieval towns, dramatized Bible stories or the lives of saints.
What is a mystery (or miracle) play?
This French peasant girl led French troops and changed the course of the Hundred Years' War before being captured and executed.
Who is Joan of Arc?
This event in 1054 made the split between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches permanent.
What is the Great Schism (the excommunications of 1054)?