Term | Definition |
Hagia Sophia | great domed church constructed during reign of Justinian in the Byzantine capital of Constantinople---later converted to mosque after its fall. |
Icon | images of religious figures venerated by Byzantine Christians; source of division between Orthodox & Catholic church |
Cyril & Methodius | Byzantine missionaries sent to convert eastern Europe and Balkans; responsible for creation of Slavic written script called Cyrillic. |
Vladimir I | ruler of Kiev (980–1015); converted kingdom to Orthodox Christianity. |
Boyars | Russian landholding aristocrats; possessed less political power than their western European counterparts. |
Tatars | Mongols who conquered Russian cities during the 13th century; left Russian church and aristocracy intact, in exchange of enforcement of taxation & tribute |
Middle Ages | the period in western European history between the fall of the Roman Empire and the 15th century, which saw a decline in trade, urban population, and centralized authority |
Vikings | seagoing Scandinavian raiders who disrupted coastal areas of Europe from the 8th to 11th centuries; pushed across the Atlantic to Iceland, Greenland, and North America. Formed permanent territories in Normandy and Sicily. |
Manorialism | rural system of living in which peasants and artisans exchanged labor for use of land and protection of the lord of the manor. |
Serfs | peasant agricultural laborers within the manorial system. |
the Moldboard | curved-plated accessory to the plow introduced in northern Europe during the Middle Ages; permitted deeper cultivation of heavier soils. |
Three-field System | practice of dividing land into thirds, rotating between two different crops and pasturage—an improvement making use of manure. |
Clovis | King of the Franks; converted to Christianity circa 496 |
Carolingians | royal house of Franks from 8th to 10th century. |
Charles Martel | first Carolingian king of the Franks; defeated Muslims at Tours in 732, stopping the Muslim advance into Western Europe |
Charlemagne | Carolingian monarch who was crowned by the Pope as Holy Roman Emperor in 800, trying to unify European politics with religion |
Vassals | members of the military elite who received land (fief) from a lord in return for military service and loyalty. |
William the Conqueror | invaded England from Normandy in 1066; established tight feudal system and centralized monarchy in England. |
the Magna Carta | Great charter issued by King John of England in 1215; represented principle of mutual limits and obligations between rulers and feudal aristocracy and the supremacy of law. |
Parliament | bodies representing privileged groups; institutionalized the principle that kings ruled with the advice and consent of their subjects; primarily concerned with taxation & warfare decisions |
the Three Estates | the three social groups considered most powerful in Western countries: church, nobles, and urban leaders. |
Hundred Years War | conflict between England and France (1337–1453) between proponents of feudal rights (France) and independent Nation-States (England) |
Pope Urban II | organized the first Crusade in 1095; appealed to Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim control. |
Gregory VII | 11th-century pope who attempted to free church from secular control; quarreled with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV over practice of lay investiture of bishops. |
Investiture | the practice of appointment of bishops; Pope Gregory attempted to stop lay investiture, leading to a conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. |
Peter Abelard | university scholar who applied logic to problems of theology-study of religion |
St. Bernard of Clairvaux | emphasized role of faith over logic; stressed importance of mystical union with God; successfully challenged Abelard and had him driven from the universities. |
Thomas Aquinas | creator of one of the great syntheses of medieval learning; author of Summa Theologica; believed that through reason it was possible to know much about natural order, moral law, and nature of God. |
Scholasticism | dominant medieval philosophical approach based in universities; use of logic to resolve theological problems. |
Gothic | an architectural style that developed during the Middle Ages in western Europe; featured pointed arches and flying buttresses as external supports on main walls. |
the Hanseatic League | an organization of north German and Scandinavian cities for the purpose of establishing a commercial trade alliance. |
Guilds | associations of artisans in the same occupation in a single city; stressed limited membership, regulated apprenticeship, guaranteed good workmanship; held a privileged place in cities. |
the Black Death | bubonic plague that struck Europe in the 14th century; significantly reduced Europe’s population; affected social structure. |