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ch.13
vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Charlemagne | King of the Franks; he united much of France , Germany and northern Italy in one Frankish empire; crowned Emperor of the Roman people in 800. |
| Papal States | territories in central Italy controlled by the pope. |
| counts | title of nobility; in Charlemagne's empire, chosen officials who ruled parts of the empire in his name. |
| navagation | the guidance of ships from place to place. |
| sagas | long stories, written about great Icelandic heroes and events. |
| Leif Eriksson | Norwegian explorer; he led a group of Vikings to North America and settled on the eastern shore of modern-day Canada. |
| knights | in medieval Europe, nobles who were members of a lord's heavily armoured cavalry. |
| fief | a grant of land from a lord to a vassal. |
| vassal | in medieval Europe, a person granted land from a lord in return for services. |
| feudal system | a political system based on the granting of land in exchange for loyalty, military assistance, and other services |
| fealty | the loyalty owed by a vassal to his feudal lord. |
| manorial system | an economic system in the Middle Ages that was built around large estates called manors. |
| serfs | peasants who were legally bound to their lord's land. |
| Alfred the Great | king of Wessex; he defeated Danish invaders and united Anglo-Saxon England under his control. He complied a code of laws and promoted learning. |
| William the Conqueror | king of England ; he was a powerful French noble who conquered England and brought feudalism to England. |
| Domesday Book | the written record of English land owners and their property made by order of William the Conqueror. |
| Eleanor of Aquitaine | queen of France and England; she was one of the most powerful women in Europe during the Middle Ages. |
| Magna Carta | a charter agreed to by King John of England that granted nobles certain rights and restricted the king's powers. |
| Parliament | the governing body of England. |
| Hugh Capet | King of France; elected by Frankish nobles to succeed King Louis V, he founded the Capetian dynasty, which ruled France for 300 years. |
| Otto the Great | king of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor; he defeated the Magyar army, which ended the Magyar raids in the mid-900s. |
| Requista | the effort of Christian leaders to drive the Muslims out of Spain, occurring between the 1100s and 1492 |
| piety | devotion to one's religion. |
| pontificate | papal term in office. |
| Pope Gregory VII | Roman Catholic pope; his assertion of church power to appoint bishops led him into conflict with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, who claimed the powers fr himself. Gregory excommunicated Henry, who relented. |
| Henry IV | king of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor; he was excommunicated by Pope Gregory VII over bishop appointments; he acknowledged the Pope's authority and was readmitted to the church. |