Middle Ages Vocabulary
CONCORDAT- agreement between the pope & the ruler of a country P.251
FEUDALISM-political order; under feudalism, nobles governed and protected
people in return for services. P. 252
VASSAL-a low-ranking noble under the protection of a feudal lord. P.252-253
FIEF-a feudal estate belonging to a vassal. P. 253
KNIGHT-a mounted man-at-arms serving a lord. P. 253-254
CHIVALRY-the system, spirit, or customs of medieval knighthood p. 253
SERFS-a member of the peasant class tied to the land and subject to the will of the
landowner. P.255
ANGLO-SAXONS-Germanic groups called the Angles and the Saxons that settled in
what is today England. P.246
GUILD-a group of merchants or craftspeople. P. 259
GRAND JURY-a group of citizens that meets to decide whether people should be
accused of a crime. P. 262
TRIAL JURY-a group of citizens that decides whether an accused person is innocent
or guilty. P. 262
MAGNA CARTA-the Great Charter-document that placed limits on the king’s power.
P. 262
PARLIAMENT-group of council members that were given increased authority by
King Edward I after the Magna Carta was signed. P.262
CATHEDRALS-large churches built in either the Romanesque or Gothic styles. P.
268-269
THEOLOGY-the study of religious faith, practice, and experience. P. 269
MASS-religious worship service for Catholic Christians. P. 272
SCHOLASTICISM-a way of thinking that combined faith and reason. P. 269-270
SACRAMENTS-church rituals such as Communion. P. 272
HERESY-ideas that go against church teachings. P. 273
ANTI-SEMITISM-hostility toward or discrimination against Jews. P. 273
PLAGUE-a disease that spreads quickly and kills many people. P. 274-275
FAMINE-an extreme shortage of food. P. 274
MANOR-a farming community that a noble ran and peasants worked consisting of
the noble’s castle, the surrounding fields, and a peasant village. P. 255-256
Description and Connection