Medieval Terms
Use these vocabulary words to label the castle and the armored knight that you will draw. In
addition to each item or part you label on your drawings, write a brief two or three word definition
below it.
Castle Vocabulary:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
portcullis
bailey
bastion
turrets
motte
battlements
gatehouse
keep (or donjon)
General Vocabulary:
1. jennet
2. hospice - a place of shelter for travelers, esp. such a shelter maintained by monks
3. monastery
4. minstrels
5. parchment - the skin of an animal prepared as a surface on which to write or paint
6. scriptorium 7. farthing - a former small British coin , equal to one fourth of a penny
8. pilgrimage
9. black death (or plague)
10. coif
11. cloister
12. jerkin - a short, closefitting jacket, often sleeveless, or a vest
Armor Vocabulary:
Use Arms and Armory Glossary http://www.chronique.com/Library/Glossaries/glossary-AA/armsindx.htm
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
solleret
breastplate
gauntlet
visor
tasses
helmet
mail
8. Abear (885): Tolerate or Endure. This was used in lieu of ‘bear’, which also has the meaning: to
carry.
9. Bever (1451): A drink between meals.
10. Bode (888): A messenger or herald. Could also mean a message or command. When used as a verb
it means ‘to proclaim or preach’.
11. Char (1325): A single act of work. This survives today in charwoman, who is hired only for the job
at hand. A variant is ‘chares’ which means: a day’s work. Which today is the word ‘chore’.
12. Clout (1225): To patch or mend. It could also mean the piece of cloth used to make the patch. The
term ‘clout shoot’ first appears in 1584.
13. Cod (1000): Pillow, bag, or cushion. It could also be used as a suffix to indicate what it normally
held. Thus a peascod is a bag to hold peas.
14. Dow (1000): To be able, prosper. The more correct ending for the greeting: How do you do?
15. Dudgeon (1380): The box wood handle of a knife or dagger, or the wood itself.
16. Feudalism: The political system in vogue between the 9th and 15th centuries. Not an actual period
word, it was coined in 1839 to distinguish it from other political systems. The political theorists of
the period had no concept of vastly different systems so had no need for such a word. It comes
from the Latin word ‘feudum' which means reward, which usually was a piece of land or fief.
17. Forefighter: Champion. Anglo-Saxon, it literally means the fighter in front.
18. Gale (1200): A voice or sound; or to sound or sing. Thus ‘nightingale’ literally means ‘song of the
night’, while a madrigal is the ‘voice of the mother’. The latter was because they were to be sung
without accompaniment. Its use to refer to a storm does not occur until 1547.
19. Glaver (1380): To flatter, leer, or ogle.
20. Here (855): Anglo-Saxon word for army. Usually applied to the Danish invaders.
21. Kilt (1340): To lift up petticoats to avoid they dragging. The Gaelic name for that piece of Scottish
cloth is ‘feileadth-beag’ which means ‘little plaid’. This sense of the word was not used until 1730.
22. Kith or Kithe (900): To show or to make known. The word ‘couth’ has the same origins and
originally the same meaning. Today the words have evolved so that couth means ‘knowledgeable’
particularly of manners, while kith means acquaintances or known people who other then
relatives.
23. Math (963): A mowing. Thus ‘aftermath’ originally meant the pasture after it had been mowed. It
also referred to the second cutting of grass.
24. Matter (1330): Subject or theme of a tale or discourse. The matter of England is the story of King
Arthur. The matter of France is about Charlemagne.
25. Meal (897): A time or a mark. As originally applied it meant the fixed time of eating. The word for
the food has a different derivation. This meaning also survives in the word ‘piecemeal’, which
means a piece at a time.
26. Meare or Mere (825): A boundary. Often used a prefix to indicate the item so attached marks a
boundary.
27. Merle (1483): A blackbird. Used mostly in Scottish poetry.
28. Monger (975): A retail dealer. While originally applied to anyone sells physical goods, it has
broadened to include anyone who traffics in anything. It is often used a suffix to what the person
deals in. Thus a cheesemonger is a cheese dealer.
29. Nay (1175): No. There is a subtle difference between the two words. No is preemptive and final.
Nay is an objection or a negative opinion that could be reversed.
30. Prank (1546): To dress in fashion. This word was usually used as a depreciative remark.
31. Rape (1300): Haste. A related word ‘rapen’ means to make ready or prepare.
32. Rote (1315): Custom or habit, routine. This word is employed as a metaphor to indicate something
is done mechanically like a wheel that turns around and around.
33. Shaw (755): A small wood or thicket. Usually on the boundaries of fields.
34. Sooth (950): Truth or genuine. In Society usage the prefix ‘for’ is added and used to mean
‘correctly’. The prefix was often used on many words to accentuate that word’s meaning. Thus
‘forsoothly’ literally means strong resemblance of truth.
35. Stithy (1295): An anvil. By 1602 the word also could be used to mean a forge or smithy.
36. Swink (517): To labor over hard. To wear one out with labor is to be forswink with the past participle
being foreswunk.
37. Thews (893): Culture or manners.
38. Tickle (1325): Dangerous or difficult. Hence 'a ticklish question’.
A
Apprentice
B
Unpaid worker being trained in a trade ( like
carpenter, shoe maker
Chivalry
The nobel qualities of nights
Clergy
People who serve the church
Crusades
Military expeditions to win control of the Holy
Land from the Turks
Excommunicate
To prevent someone from participating in
church life
Feudalism
A system of power in Europe where kings and
queens had the most power, then the nobles,
knights and last were tahe peasants
Guild
Union of all the towns people who have the
same job
Magna Carta
Agreement between King John of England
and his nobles to limit thei hings power
Manor
Large estate owned by lord
Medieval
From the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
500 AD to 1500 AD in Europe
Nation
Large community or area that shares a single
government
Parliament
Council that advises the king or queen of
England on Government matters
Self-sufficent
Person who can supply everything they need
for themselves ( grow own food, make own
clothes, make and repair own tools)
Serf
Person wonsidered part of the land
Troubadour
Traveling performer who sang about the
deeds of the knights
Vassal
Person who swears loyalty to a lord
Fief
Land given in exchange for service