Polo brothers
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Holy Roman Empire
a political entity in Europe that began with the papal coronation of Otto I as the first emperor in 962 and laster until 1806 when it was dissolved by Napoleon.
Otto l
German ruler who successfully subdued all the competing dukes and crushed the Magyars. Crowned emperor by Pope John XII in 962, helped revive the eastern half of Charlemagne's empire. Established an empire that would last until 1806.
Investiture Contest
A struggle between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope over who nominates clergymen. The Pope eventually won this struggle.
Gregory Vll
the pope who fought to establish the supremacy of the pope over the Church and the supremacy of the Church over the state (1020-1085).
Henry lV
Fights with Pope Gregory Vll aboput lay investiture. Supportes by german religious officials. Gets reinstated after being excommunicated. Wants a new Pope to crown him Holy Roman Emperor, goes with his new Pope to Rome. Leaves back to Germany.
Frederick Barbarossa
Among the most vigorous of the medieval emperors. Clashed with the pope over the appointment of the clergy. Known as "the red beard" (r. 1152-1190). He attempted to conquer Lombardy (n. Italy) and unite the German princes, but the popes did not approve of this and forced him to surrender Lombardy.
Hugh Capet
King of France elected in 987 and founding the Capetian dynasty (940-996).
Capetian dynasty
after the Carolingians were dissolved, this was founded by Hugh Capet. It was the beginning of the French monarchy, consolidated by King Louis IX.
Normans
a member of a Viking people who raided and then settled in the French province later known as Normandy, and who invaded England in 1066.
William of Normandy
landed on coast of England and defeated king harold at the battle of hastings. took a census known as domesday book, became king of england.
Papal State
Part of Italy the pope ruled until 1870.
Iberia
Spain and Portugal penensula where exploration of slave trade began.
crop rotation
the system of growing a different crop in a field each year to preserve the fertility of the land.
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.
urbanization
the social process whereby cities grow and societies become more urban.
Hanseatic League
a commercial and defensive confederation of free cities in northern Germany and surrounding areas.
Venice
An Italian trading city on the Ariatic Sea, agreed to help the Byzantines' effort to regain the lands in return for trading privileges in Constantinople.
Three estates
The clergy made up a very small percentage but owned 10% of the land; the nobles made up another small percentage but also owned most of the land; and the rest of the people made up 97% of France and owned very little land.
chivalry
a code that knights adopted in the late Middle Ages; requiring them to be brave, loyal and true to their word; they had to fight fairly in battle.
troubadors
poet-musicians at the castles and courts in Europe; wrote short verses and songs about the pleasures of life and love; use the venacular.
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen of France as the wife of Louis VII.
guilds
Association of merchants or artisans who cooperated to protect their economic interests.
cathedral schools
Bishops and Archbishops organized these types of schools and invited well known scholars to serve as master teachers. Established formal curricula based on writings in Latin. Famous ones at Paris, Chatres, and Bologna.
universities
Degree-granting institutions of higher learning. Those that appeared in Latin West from about 1200 onward became the model of all modern universities.
St. Thomas Aquinas
developed five precepts that prove the existence of God.
sacraments
a formal religious act conferring a specific grace on those who receive it.
saints
a person who has died and has been declared a saint by canonization.
notre dame
cathedral with large gargoyles and stained glass windows
relics
the body parts, clothing, or objects associated with a holy figure, relics were stored in reliquaries.
pilgrimages
a journey to a sacred place.
St. Dominic
He established an order which combined the rule of poverty and the practice of mendicancy with careful study and informed preaching.
St. Francis
founded orders of beggars and worked to pursuade heretics to return to the Roman Catholic Church.
Cathars
a Christian religious sect in southern France in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Innocent lll
pope under whome the papacy reached its zenith.
Vinland
Scandinavian name for the land explored near present day Newfoundland.
Leif Erikson
first European to reach the Americas, son of Erik the Red. The alleged leader of a group of Viking people who sailed to the eastern coast of Canada and unsuccessfully attempted to colonize the area around the year 1000, nearly 500 years before Columbus arrived in the Americas.
Templars
group of warriors who live like monks. established in 1120 to protect the pilgrims and defend Jerusalem. Headquartered in "temple of the Lord" in Jerusalem. Bernard Clairvaux was their most prominent spokesperson.
Teutonic Knight
crusaders who had a papally granted right to perpetual crusade in their own state along the Baltic coast.
Guiscard Brothers
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Reconquista
The effort by Christian leaders to drive the Muslims out of Spain, lasting from the 1100s until 1492..
The crusades
A "holy war" that was issued by Pope Urban II so that they would be able to gain control of the Holy Land.
Urban ll
called for a holy crusade to free the Holy Land from the Turks.
Peter the Hermit
french religious leader who led one of the bands of the first crusades.
Saladin
The leader of the Muslims in the third crusade and captured Jerusalem in 1187.
The Fourth Crusade
Wealth became the driving force, crusaders pilgrimaged Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia, stole paintings,gold, and statues. also they raped women and killed fellow christians.