Question

Middle Ages Vocabulary
Social & Political Structures
Medieval:
Feudalism:.
Vassal:
Lord:
Fief:
Serf:
Monarchy:
Knight:
Chivalry:
Aristocracy:
Nobility:
Magna Carta:
Common Law:
Parliament:
The Manorial System & Economy
15. Manor:
Manorialism:
Guild:
Apprentice:
Merchant:
Charter:
Three-field system:
Religious Life
22. Papacy:
Clergy:
Monastery:
Monasticism:
Excommunicate:
Heresy:
Secular:
Crusades:
Pilgrimage:
Tithe:
Major Events & Culture
32. Black Death (Bubonic Plague):
Gothic:
Romanesque:
Byzantine Empire:
Hundred Years' War:
Renaissance:
Scholasticism:
Vernacular:
Troubadour:

Answer 1

Here are concise definitions for each Middle Ages vocabulary term:

Social & Political Structures
- Medieval: Relating to the Middle Ages (roughly 500–1500 CE).
- Feudalism: Political and social system in which land (fiefs) was exchanged for military service and loyalty.
- Vassal: A person who swore loyalty and service to a lord in return for a fief.
- Lord: A landowner or noble who granted fiefs and offered protection to vassals.
- Fief: Land or rights granted by a lord to a vassal in return for service.
- Serf: A peasant legally tied to a manor who owed labor and payments to the lord.
- Monarchy: A government headed by a hereditary king or queen.
- Knight: Armored, mounted warrior who served a lord and fought in warfare.
- Chivalry: Code of conduct for knights emphasizing bravery, honor, loyalty, and courtesy (especially toward women).
- Aristocracy: Government or social class made up of privileged, landholding elites.
- Nobility: The titled, hereditary upper class (lords, barons, dukes) with social and political privileges.
- Magna Carta: 1215 English charter limiting royal power and affirming certain legal rights (early rule of law).
- Common Law: Legal system based on customs, judicial decisions, and precedents rather than solely on written codes.
- Parliament: Representative assembly that developed in medieval England to advise the king and consent to taxes and laws.

The Manorial System & Economy
- Manor: A lord’s estate, including the house, fields, and the peasants’ village.
- Manorialism: Economic system centered on self-sufficient manors where peasants worked the land for the lord’s benefit.
- Guild: Association of craftsmen or merchants that regulated trade, set standards, and trained apprentices.
- Apprentice: A young person learning a craft under a master for a set period before becoming a journeyman or master.
- Merchant: Trader who bought, sold, and transported goods, often across regions.
- Charter: Official written grant of rights or privileges (e.g., town charters allowing self-government).
- Three-field system: Agricultural rotation dividing land into three plots (two planted, one fallow) to improve yields.

Religious Life
- Papacy: Office and authority of the pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church.
- Clergy: Religious officials (priests, bishops, etc.) who perform church rites and duties.
- Monastery: Community where monks (or nuns) live under religious vows, praying and working together.
- Monasticism: Religious life devoted to communal or solitary living under vows (poverty, chastity, obedience).
- Excommunicate: To expel someone from participation in the sacraments and community of the Church.
- Heresy: Belief or teaching that contradicts official Church doctrine.
- Secular: Non-religious; relating to worldly authority or affairs.
- Crusades: Series of religious wars (mainly 11th–13th centuries) by European Christians to capture the Holy Land and other objectives.
- Pilgrimage: Religious journey to a holy site for penance, devotion, or miracle-seeking.
- Tithe: Payment (traditionally one-tenth of income or produce) given to support the Church.

Major Events & Culture
- Black Death (Bubonic Plague): Mid-14th-century pandemic (caused by Yersinia pestis) that killed large portions of Europe’s population and caused major social and economic change.
- Gothic: High medieval architectural style characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses, and large stained-glass windows.
- Romanesque: Earlier medieval architectural style with rounded arches, thick walls, and small windows.
- Byzantine Empire: Eastern continuation of the Roman Empire centered on Constantinople, preserving Greco-Roman traditions and Orthodox Christianity (until 1453).
- Hundred Years' War: Intermittent conflict between England and France (1337–1453) over territorial and dynastic claims.
- Renaissance: Cultural revival beginning in 14th-century Italy emphasizing classical learning, the arts, and humanism; a bridge to the early modern era.
- Scholasticism: Medieval intellectual method that used dialectical reasoning to reconcile faith and reason, practiced at universities.
- Vernacular: The everyday language spoken by common people (as opposed to Latin); literature written in that language.
- Troubadour: Traveling poet-musician (especially in southern France) who composed songs about chivalry and courtly love.

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