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Ch. 15 History Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| fjord | steep-sided valley that is an inlet of the sea. |
| missionary | person who travels to carry the ideas of a religion to others. |
| excommunicate | to declare that a person or group no longer belongs to a church. |
| concordat | agreement between the pope and the ruler of a country. |
| feudalism | political system based on bonds of loyalty between lords and vassals. |
| vassal | in feudalism, a noble who held land from and served a higher-ranking lord, and in return was given protection. |
| fief | under feudalism, the land a lord granted to a vassal in exchange for military service and loyalty. |
| knight | in the Middle Ages, a noble warrior who fought on horseback. |
| guild | medieval business group formed by craftspeople and merchants. |
| grand jury | group that decided whether there was enough evidence to accuse a person of a crime. |
| trial jury | jury that decided whether an accused person was innocent or guilty. |
| clergy | religious officials, such as priests, given authority to conduct religious services. |
| mass | Catholic worship service. |
| heresy | belief that differs from or contradicts the accepted teachings of a religion. |
| anti-semitism | hatred of Jews. |
| theology | the study of religion and God. |
| scholasticism | medieval way of thinking that tried to bring together reason and faith in studies of religion. |
| vernacular | everyday language used in a country or region. |
| plague | disease that spreads quickly and kills many people. |
| reconquista | (reconquest) Christian struggle to take back the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims. |
| serf | peasant laborer bound by law to the lands of a noble. |