Name:_______________________ Class:__________________
S.S. 8 – Vocabulary Definitions - Chapter 1 – Times of Change
1. Plague-also named Black Death, Black Plague or Bubonic Plague; an epidemic or pandemic of an infectious disease that spread through
Europe in the mid 1300’s
2. Manor-a piece of land with a Lord’s mansion on it; sometimes called a fief
3. Serf-peasants who worked for the lord & weren’t allowed to leave the manor without the lord’s permission
4. Guild -early form of labor union that controlled goods, standards, training & work in trades
5. Noble-an upper class person distinguished by superior birth, rank or title
6. Medieval- also named the Middle Ages time period
7. Journeyman-a person who has learned a trade & joined a guild
8. Tithe- a portion of crops or percentage of earnings (taxes) paid to the church
9. Renaissance -rebirth of classical (ancient Greeks & Romans) knowledge and learning
10. Time -an abstract concept created to govern; uses clocks or calendars
11. Merchants- one whose business is buying & selling merchandise for profit; storekeeper
12. Worldview -a collection of beliefs about life & the universes held by an individual or a
group; the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world
13. Sumptuary Laws -laws that controlled consumption or how people spent their money & dressed; like modern G.S.T.
14. Monastic -the way of life lived by monks & nuns that involves spending time each day studying religious texts, praying & carrying out
religious work & duties
15. Allegiance -loyalty
16. Italy -a country in Southern Europe on the Mediterranean Sea
17. Hierarchy -a social system in which status is ranked, & power is concentrated in the higher ranks
18. Monastery-building & lands in which monks lived and carried out their religious duties
19. Feudalism-a system of political organization during the Middle Ages in which the lord owned the land & all others served him