Charlemagne
King of the Franks who conquered much of Western Europe, great patron of leterature and learning
Papal States
A region around Rome that was captured from the Lombards by Pepin the Short and given to the pope.
counts
French law court officials.
navigation
The guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place.
sagas
Long Icelandic stories about great heroes and events.
Leif Erikson
Norse explorer who reached the shores of Canada in A.D. 1000. Viking- first European to reach America.
knights
In the Middle Ages, lesser noble who served as a mounted warrior for a lord.
fief
Land granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and service.
vassal
In the middle ages, a noble who usually was given a fief by his lord in exchange for loyalty.
feudal system
A system of ownership usually associated with pre-colonial England, in which the king or other sovereign is the source of all rights. The right to possess real property was granted by the sovereign to an individual as a life estate only. Upon the death of the individual, title passed back to the sovereign, not to the decedent's heirs.
fealty
Intense loyalty.
manorial system
A self sufficient, economic structure that is the relationship b/w the Lord and the peasants or serfs who produced all the necessary goods to keep the manor running.
serfs
A person who lived on and farmed a lords land in feudal times.
Alfred the Great
Stopped Vikings and unified Anglo-Saxon kingdom to put up a united front against the Vikings; only English king with the title "Great".
William the Conqueror
1027-1087 Norman king in 1066 he defeated Harold, the Anglo-Saxon king, to become the first Norman king of england.
Doomesday Book
A book that helped King William keep track of all of the people and property in England.
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Powerful French duchess; divorced the king of France to marry Henry II of England and ruled all of England and about half of France with him.
Magna Carta
The royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215.
Parliment
The lawmaking branch of the British government.
Hugh Capet
King of France elected in 987 and founding the Capetian dynasty (940-996).
Otto the Great
The King of Germany and the Holy Roman Emperor (912-973).
Reconquista
The effort by Christian leaders to drive the Muslims out of Spain, lasting from the 1100s until 1492.
piety
Religious devotion.
pontificate
Papal term in office.
Pope Gregory VII
Fought lay investiture by issuing a decree forbidding high-ranking clerics from receiving their investiture from lay leaders.
Henry IV
Holy Roman Emperor who argued with the pope over lay investiture.