King Clovis
Became the first monarch to unite all of the Frankish tribes and was also the first Roman Catholic ruler of the Franks (ruled 481-511)
Charles Martel
A military leader of the Franks who led Christian forces of northern France, Belgium, and western Germany to defeat the Muslims at the Battle of Tours; founded the Carolingian Dynasty
Charlemangne
Martel's grandson who ruled the Frankish kingdom from 768-814; named Emperor of the Romans by the pope in 800; defeated the Saxons and converted them to Christianity; encouraged church-based education and used regional administrators to help govern his empire
Empress Wu
(Ruled 665-705) Tried to make Buddhism a state religion, but persecution of Buddhists followed her reigh, and Confucianism triumphed until the 20th century
Otto I
German king who was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor in 962
William the Conqueror
A monarch of Normady who invaded England and ruled kingdoms on both sides of the English Channel
Franks
Smaller, less-centralized Germanic states developed in the Early Middle Ages
Carolingian Dynasty
The Frankish kingdom founded by Charles Martel
Holy Roman Empire
Vikings
A second group of invaders who came from the north; traveled on longships
Norsemen
Scandinavian Vikings
Iceland
Country south of Greenland; the Vikings reached here
Greenland
Country north of Iceland; the Vikings reached here from Iceland
Vinland
A coastal area of North Americal that the Vikings named _____
Magyars
Originally from Central Asia, they encroached on the BYzantine Empire soon after the fall of Rome and wen on the settle in present-day Germany, Italy, and France
Normans
Descendents of Vikings who settled in the northwest corner of France
Venice
A wealthy city-state in northern Italy, had a contract to transport Crusaders to the Middle East
Battle of Tours
(732 CE) European victory over Muslims. It halted Muslim movement into Western Europe.
Estates-General
A body to advise the king that included representatives from each of the three legal classes in France--the clergy, nobility, and commoners
Estates
Legal classes
Lay Investiture Controversy
Dispute over whether a secular leader, rather than the pope, could invest bishops with symbols of office in the 11th and 12th centuries
Magna Carta
Signed by King John in 1215; required the king to observe certain rights, such as the right to a jury trial before an noble could be sentenced to prison
English Parliament
Formed in 1265; increased the rights of the English nobility, but not the general population
House of Lords
Represented the nobles and Church hierarchy
House of Commons
Made up of elected representatives of wealthy townspeople
Hundred Years' War
(1337-1453) Tables were turned between the rival monarchies; England invaded France; spread the use of gunpower
Reconquista
"Reconquest;" Christian forces began taking control of Spain from Muslim rulers
Holy Land
The region of present-day Israel; includes the city of Jerusalem, which is a holy city to Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
Crusades
A series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule.
Knights Templar
Combined the functions of knights and monks
Teutonic Knights
Fought pagan Slavs near the Baltic Sea and introduced Christain missions and churches there
Lords
A person of high rank who owned land but owed loyalty to his king
Vassals
Oweing service to abother person
Knights
Hired by Lords to fight for them by offereing them a piece of land; vassals of the lords and owe the lords service
Feudalism
A political system of obligations; widespread in Europe from 800s-1200s
Serfs
Peasants (not slaves) who were tied to the land and who couldn't marry or travel without permission from their lords
Squires
Bishops
Who owed allegiance to the pope; supervised local priests
Pope
Head of the Roman Catholic Church
Priests
Supervised by bishops
Primogeniture
Rules where the eldest brother in a family inherited the entire estate
Bourgeoisie
Growth in commerce caused the development of a small _____, a middle class
Burghers
Growth in commerce caused the development of a small bourgeoisie, a middle class
Lay People
Those who were not members of the clergy
Dialects
A regional variety of a language
Vernacular Languages
The common language of a particular region
University of Paris
Students in the 12th century could study liberal arts or theology here
Colleges
In response to disputes between students and townspeople, universities set up _____, boardinghouses for scholars, which were sometimes divided according to students' nationality or discipline
Cambridge
Oxford
Salerno Medical School
Teaching here was based on knowledge handed down from the time of Hippoctates, Greek physician Galen and on medical information available from ongoing learning in the Arab world
Avicenna
The best-known scholar of the time and is sometimes called "the father of modern medicine; wrote "Canon of Medicine"
Renaissance
A revival of interest in classical Greek and Roman literature, art, civic virtue, and culture
Humanism
The focus on individuals rather than God
Dante Alighieri
A writer who used a religious framework for "The Divine Comedy"
The Divine Comedy
Written by Dante Alighieri; features hell, purgatory, and heaven
Geoffrey Chaucer
Author of "The Canterbury Tales"
The Canterbury Tales
Written by Geoffrey Chaucer, portrayed a microcosm of middle-class occupations in England, including several Church positions
Desiderius Erasmus
Author of "In Praise of Folly," was the most infuential northern humanist of the late 15th century
In Praise of Folly
Written by Desiderius Erasmus
Nicolaus Copernicus
A Polish scientist who showed increasing interest in understanding the physical world, and interest that would sometimes lead to conflict with the Catholic Church
Petrarch
Vulgate Bible
Thomas Aquinas
Scholasticism
A system of study
Romanesque Cathedrals
Gothic Cathedrals
Gargoyles
Exaggerated carvings of humans or animals designed to serve as warter spouts
Flying Buttresses
Buttresses or supports were extended outward from the wall to a stone foundation, rather than running alongside the wall
Great Schism
Donation of Constantine
A Roman document from the 8th century provided the Church with evidence that the pope should assume political as well as spiritual authority
Babylonian Captivity
A reference to the Jewish exile in the 6th century BCE
Cluniac Reforms
Originated from the monastery at Cluny, France, in the 11th century, attempted to reform the Church from within. Corruption & theological disagreements drove reformers to part ways with the Catholic Church.
Religious Orders
Various groups of monks and nuns, usually living in vowed communities of the Catholic Church; advanced Europe's progress by keeping learning alive and by promoting practical advice, such as better agricultural methods
Code of Chivalry
A way to resolve disputes and to shop etiquette
Tournaments
Medieval contests that tested strength, skill and endurane
Jousts
Fights with lances between two knights on horseback
Romanesque
A cathedral in the new Gothic stule, which replaced a style common since the mid-eleventh century
Manors
Large farm estates of the Middle Ages that were owned by nobles who ruled over the peasants living in the land
Manorial System
Provided economic self-sufficiency and defense; small villages that included a church, a blacksmith shop, a mill, presses, and homes
Hanseatic League
Guilds
Association of craftspeople or merchants, originated in the towns
Cartography
Mapmaking
Marco Polo
A 17 year-old Venetian who visited China. When he returned to Italy, he wrote a book about his trip. People didn't believe his descriptions of China until they actually visited. Then, they realized that he was right about China's prosperity and innovations
Longships
Boats that enabled sailors to travel far inland on rivers; had single large sails with as many as 50 fierce men aboard using oars to paddle
Fiefs
Kings paid nobles with land called _____
Three-Field System
A system where crops were rotated in and out of three fields
Horse Collar
Harnessing method that increased the efficiency of horses by shifting the point of traction from the animal's neck to the shoulders; its adoption favors the spread of horse-drawn plows and vehicles.
Stirrups
Black Death
A deadly plague that swept through Europe between 1347 and 1351; spread via trading routes
Little Ice Age
A century-long period of cool climate that began in the 1590s. Its ill effects on agriculture in northern Europe were notable.