Download The European Middle Ages

Chapter 6 Vocabulary: The European Middle Ages
The Low Middle Ages: 500 to 1000
Aachen was the German city where Charlemagne built his capital.
Alaric was the king of the Visigoths from 395 to 410. In 410 he sacked Rome and died shortly thereafter.
Alfred was an early king of Angles and Saxons in England. He expanded from his base in southern
England to territories further north held by Danish invaders; built a navy to challenge the Vikings at sea
and constructed fortresses on land to secure the conquered areas. He reigned from 871 to 899.
The Angles, Saxons and Jutes were Germanic tribes who established kingdoms in England, pushing the
Romanized Celts to the fringes of the island. (i.e., Cornwall, Wales and Scotland).
Battle of Adrianople was a Roman defeat in 378 at the hands of the mistreated Visigoths who rose up in
rebellion killing the emperor Valens in the rout.
Benefice was a grant provided by a lord to his vassals with which the vassal supported himself and his
family. Benefices usually were grants of land, often called fiefs, but they sometimes took other forms,
such as the right to income from mills, village rents, and money; see also fief below.
St. Benedict of Nursia strengthened the early monastic movement by providing it with a Rule or selfgoverning regulations; summarized in the Latin expression Orare et Laborare/Work and Pray
Clovis was an early Frankish king who ruled the Franks from 481 to 511. He converted to Roman
Christianity and built a powerful kingdom in Gaul that laid down the foundation for Charlemagne's
empire.
Clotilda was the wife of Clovis and a devout Christian. Most likely she was the reason for his conversion.
Charlemagne was the grandson of Charles Martel who reigned from 768 to 814. He established a
substantial empire which covered France, Germany, northeastern Spain, Bavaria, and northern Italy, and
introduced some centralized institutions. He was crowned Emperor of the Romans in 800 by Pope Leo III.
Carolingians: Frankish royal family who replaced Clovis's line in 751 and ruled France until the 10th
century.
Counts: Title for aristocratic deputies in Charlemagne's empire; held political, military, and legal
authority in local jurisdictions.
Hugh Capet, a minor French noble was elected king of France when the last Carolingian died in 987.
Fief: Land granted by a lord to his vassal in exchange for his loyalty, obedience, counsel, and military
service during the medieval period of European history; see also benefice above.
Feudalism refers to a political and social order, which decentralized public authority into an elaborate
society in which local rulers used their military powers to gain political power. Like Japan, the European
Feudal System revolved around political and military relationships. The most important relationship was
between a lord and his vassal.
Romulus Augustulus was the last Roman emperor who abdicated his throne in 476 C.E. (A.D.)
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Roger Guiscard was a Norman adventurer who was responsible for reconquering Sicily in 1090 and
returning it to Christian hands.
Pope Gregory I (or Gregory the Great, 590-604) was the most important individual in guiding the
Roman church along its independent path. He was a politician and temporal leader. He was also a church
politician because he asserted papal primacy over other bishops, which taught that the popes take their
power from the apostle Peter, whom Jesus himself had commissioned as head of the church. Finally he
was a theologian who wrote much and emphasized the authority of the Church over its members,
especially in stressing the sacrament of Penance.
Pope Leo III: 9th century pope who proclaimed Charlemagne emperor and placed an imperial crown on
his head on Christmas Day of 800.
The Lombards invaded Italy from Northwestern Germany in the 570s and set up a kingdom in central
Italy at the expense of the Byzantines. But they were harsh and so the Byzantines recaptured much of
Italy, especially the area around Ravenna. Lombard power would finally be broken by Charlemagne.
Louis the Pious was Charlemagne's only surviving son who reigned from 814 to 840. He was a good man
but a weak monarch who lost control of the counts and other local authorities of the Carolingian dynasty.
After his death, his three sons divided Carolingian dynasty into three kingdoms.
Magyars: Descendants of nomadic peoples from central Asia who had settled in Hungary; raided
settlements in Germany, Italy, and southern France from the late 9th to the mid-10th century.
Manor: Self-sufficient, large estate of a feudal lord consisting of fields, meadows, forests, agricultural
tools, domestic animals, and sometime lakes or rivers, as well as serfs bound to the land; the principal
form of agricultural organization in medieval western Europe.
Monte Casino was the site of the monastery built by St. Benedict in 529 and is located just south of Rome
Charles Martel was the founder of Carolingian dynasty; began to run the Frankish State from behind the
throne. From his father he took the title “Mayor of the Palace.” He was never king, but began to unify
Frankish Gaul like a king. He secured his reputation in 732, when he defeated a Muslim army advancing
into Europe from Spain at The Battle of Tours in Southern Gaul. By the time of his death in 741, he had
reestablished the Franks as rulers of Gaul. His son took the title king.
Moldboard: another name for the iron plow which helped bring more land under cultivation
Middle Ages: was the Post Classical period of European history from about 500 to 1500; so called
because it falls between the classical era and modern times.
Missi Dominici (Envoys of the Lord): Charlemagne's imperial officials who traveled every year to all
local jurisdictions and reviewed the accounts of local authorities.
Otto I was king of Saxony in Germany (reigned 936-973). He defeated the Magyars in 955 at Lechfeld on
the Rhine River, imposed his authority on most of Germany and he twice invaded Italy, destroying
Lombard power. Pope John XII crowned him Holy Roman Emperor in 962. Although he laid the basis
for the modern German State, he was more interested in imperial power as Holy Roman Emperor and
dreamed of a Christian Roman Empire, not a German state. (He was king of Germany, but the title of
Holy Roman Emperor was more important.)
St. Scholastica was St. Benedict's sister; a nun who adapted St. Benedict's rules and provided guidance
for the religious life of women living in convents.
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The Ostrogoths invaded the Roman Empire in the 470s and attacked Constantinople. The Emperor Zeno,
who resented the overthrow of Romulus Augustulus (the last emperor in the west) by Odoacer in 476,
actually encouraged the Ostrogoths to retake the Western Empire for him. Under their leader Theodoric,
the Goths killed Odoacer, but set up their own kingdom in Italy which lasted until Belisarius conquered
them in the 530s as part of Justinian’s partially successful plan to recononquer the Western Empire.
Serfs: Social class of feudal Europe; formed through merging of slaves and free peasants into an
intermediate, semi-free category of individuals; owed obligations to the lord whose lands they cultivated.
Theoderic was the Ostrogothic king who invaded Italy, killed Odoacer and set up his own kingdom.
The Vandals were a Germanic tribe who crossed the Rhine when it froze in the winter of 406. They
devasted Gaul, crossed into Spain and finally set up a kingdom in North Africa with Carthage as their
capital. In 455, they crossed the Mediterranean and sacked Rome.
Vikings: Outstanding Scandinavian seafarers and most feared invaders who mounted raids in Russia,
Germany, England, Ireland, France, Spain, and the Balearic Islands during the period from the 8th through
the 11th centuries; some of them colonized Iceland and Greenland, some settled in northern France, and a
small group even established a colony in Newfoundland in modern Canada. Perhaps the most famous
Vikings were the Varangian Guard who were the personal guard of the Byzantine Emperor.
The Visigoths were the first group of Germanic invaders to penetrate the Roman Empire. They defeated
the Romans at the Battle of Adrianople in 378 and, under Alaric, sacked Rome in 410. They eventually set
up a kingdom in Spain.
Eastern Europe: Kiev and Early Russia
Saints Cyril and Methodius were two Byzantine missionaries sent into the Balkans where they worked to
convert pagans. As they worked among the Slavs, they devised a written script – from their native Greek
for the Slavic language, called Cyrillic.
Ivan of Moscow married Sophia Palaeologus, the niece of the last Byzantine Emperor and claimed the
Byzantine inheritance when her brother, Andreas Palaeologus, died in 1503. His grandson, Ivan IV, would
formally take the title of Tsar (Caesar)
Mongols were Turkish invaders who destroyed the Kievan State between 1237 and 1250 and forced the
Princes of Moscow to pay tribute.
Sophia Palaeologus was the niece of the last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI, who married Prince
Ivan of Moscow and, through his marriage to her, Ivan claimed the title of emperor of Eastern Orthodoxy.
Remember that Tsar (Czar) means Caesar.
Rurik was a Danish Viking who was the first king of Kiev
Vladimir of Kiev converted to Orthodox Christianity in 989 and ordered his subjects to do the same.
Vladimir and his successors established a Caesaropapist form of control over the Russian Orthodox
Church. It is said that Vladimir feared Roman Catholicism because it was to demanding and rejected Islam
because he would not accept a religion that forbade alcohol.
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The High Middle Ages: 1000 to 1300 C.E.
Albigensian Crusade: Military campaign against the Cathars; called for by Pope Innocent III; feudal
warriors from northern France undertook the crusade and ruthlessly crushed Cathar communities in
southern France, 13th century.
Canute and Edward the Confessor were two famous English kings of the later Saxon era. Canute, the
Dane (1016 – 1035) was famous both for his conversion to Christianity and his just reign, and Edward the
Confessor (1042 – 1066), was a sincere, pious ruler who gave money to the poor, but failed to curb the
growing power of the nobility.
Capetian France: Term for France during the high middle ages after Hugh Capet, the first Capetian king
who reigned beginning in 987; during the following three centuries, Capetian kings gradually gained
power and resources to establish centralized authority in France.
Canossa was the town in the Italian Alps where Henry IV submitted to Pope Gregory VII. So today, if
someone meets their “Canossa” they are defeated or outwitted.
Cathars, also known as Albigensians, adopted the teachings of heretical groups in Eastern Europe who
viewed the world as a site of an unrelenting, cosmic struggle between the forces of good and evil. They
rejected the Roman Catholic church, sought spiritual perfection, renounced wealth and marriage, and led a
strict vegetarian life.
Cathedral Schools: Schools established by bishops and archbishops in cathedrals of Europe; curricula
emphasized the liberal arts; some also offered advanced instruction in law, medicine, and theology;
become common during the 11th and 12th centuries.
Chivalry: Informal but widely recognized code of ethics and behavior considered appropriate for feudal
nobles of Europe; substantially influenced by Christian faith and romantic love cultivated by troubadours.
Circuit judges were judges created by Henry II of England who took the king’s law to all parts of the
land and thus created the common law (meaning law that was the same for everyone), helping to unite the
country.
The First Crusade was the first military expedition to win back the Holy Land organized by French and
Norman nobles in 1096. The crusaders captured Edessa, Antioch, and Jerusalem in the following years;
Muslim leader Saladin recaptured Jerusalem in 1187.
Third Crusade (1189-1192) was the third military expedition to win back Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
It was led by three famous kings: Richard the Lionhearted of England (brother of the unlucky John),
Phillip Augustus of France and Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire. Although the crusade
ended in a stalemate with Saladin’s forces still holding Jerusalem, the crusade nevertheless won rights for
Christian pilgrims to visit the holy land.
Fourth Crusade was the fourth military expedition attempting to recapture the Holy Land of Palestine;
took place between 1202 and 1204; instead of capturing Palestine, crusaders conquered Constantinople
and subjected the city to a ruthless sack.
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St. Dominic and St. Francis were founders of religious orders known as the Dominican and Franciscan
friars; both of these orders were called mendicant (‘beggars”) because the monks (or friars as they came
to be called) freely agreed to renounce personal possessions and beg for their food. The Franciscans and
Dominicans both worked in urban areas where the secular clergy needed help and led the fight against
heterodox movements debating with and trying to get heretics to return to the Roman Catholic Church.
Dante wrote The Divine Comedy which was an allegorical story of Dante’s own journey through hell and
purgatory before he finally enters into heaven or paradise. By writing in Italian and not Latin Dante hoped
to reach more readers and thus brought his ideas to a larger part of society. Dante’s themes of enduring
love and the two-fold goals of mankind (happiness on earth and eternal happiness in heaven) established
him as one of the few poets who belong to all times and all cultures.
Edward the Confessor (1042 – 1066) was the king of England, who was a sincere, pious ruler who gave
money to the poor, but failed to curb the growing power of the nobility. His death touched of a crises of
succession which ultimately resulted in the triumph of William the Conqueror.
Eleanor of Aquitaine was the most celebrated noblewoman of her day. She was known for her
enthusiastic patronage of troubadours and encouragement of the cultivation of good manners, refinement,
and romantic love.
Eric the Red was a Viking leader of Scandinavian seafarers and was responsible for discovering and
colonizing Greenland in North Atlantic Ocean at the end of the 10th century.
Frederick Barbarossa (reigned 1152 to 1190 C.E.) was Frederick I, the emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire. He worked hard to absorb the wealthy urban region of Lombardy in north Italy, but his attempt
was defeated by a papal coalition with other European states.
Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile were married in 1469. They joined their kingdoms and
unified Spain. They expelled the Moors in 1492, the same year that Isabella financed an Italian explorer,
Christopher Columbus.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) wrote the Canterbury Tales, a lengthy, humorous story of a group of
pilgrims traveling to the shrine of St. Thomas à Becket at Canterbury. Rather than concentrate on religious
teaching or morality plays, Chaucer strove to give a true and fair presentation of ordinary people in the
14th century.
Granada was the last Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula conquered by the Spanish and Portuguese.
The Grand Jury System was a group of people who served Henry II of England by presenting judges
with names of people suspected of crimes. Out of this grew the English idea of trial by jury. (12 people
decide guilt or innocence).
Pope Gregory VII or Hildebrand (pope from 1073-1085 C.E.): Active during the 1070s and 1080s;
known for his victory over Emperor Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire during the Investiture Contest.
Henry IV (1056-1106 C.E.): Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire; known for his challenge to the
pope's policy of appointing church officials by church authorities (the Investiture Contest); upon being
excommunicated, Henry IV had great trouble dealing with rebellious German princes; regained imperial
control only after beseeching the pope's mercy while standing barefoot in the snow.
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Henry II (1154 to 1189) was the English monarch who used the law to increase his authority. A central
royal court was set up in London. Circuit judges took the king’s law to all parts of the land and thus
created the common law, helping to untie the country. Henry also used the grand jury system or group of
people who present to judges names of people suspected of crimes, out of which grew the English idea of
trial by jury. (12 people decide guilt or innocence).
Hanseatic League: Also known as the Hansa; association of trading cities stretching from Novgorod to
London and embracing all the significant commercial centers of Poland, northern Germany, and
Scandinavia; dominated trade of northern Europe during the high middle ages.
The Hundred Years’ War was a sporadic series of mini-wars between France and England, which was a
result of political entanglements between the intermarried French and English monarchs, France’s attempt
to regain English (formally Norman) territories in France and economic competition for the wool trade.
The English won many early victories, but by the 1420s the future Charles VII (aided by the short lived
Joan of Arc) managed to rally the French and drive the English out of France.
Investiture Contest: was a controversy between emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and the popes over
appointments of Roman Catholic Church officials in the late 11th and early 12th century. The papacy won
out over the imperial authorities.
John, the brother of Richard the Lionhearted and the king of England, who was forced to accept the
Magna Carta, which guaranteed both the rights of the nobility and the obligation of the king to follow the
law.
Leif Ericsson was the son of Eric the Red who led a group of Scandinavian seafarers and sailed to what
they called Vineland (modern Newfoundland in Canada) by about 1000 C.E. They founded a small
colony and maintained it for several decades.
Louis IX of France (1226-1270) participated in two crusades and continued to expand the authority of the
monarchy at the nobles’ expense. For example, most nobility minted their own coins, but Louis forced the
nobles to use only money minted by the king.
Mendicants (beggars): Followers of St. Dominic and St. Francis; also known as the Dominican and
Franciscan friars; active in towns and cities of Europe during the high middle ages; worked within the
Roman Catholic church, but strongly emphasized spiritual over materialistic values.
The Papal States were a territory in central ruled by the Popes of Rome. Although the papacy was a
religious institution, its secular control of the Papal States would last until 1870.
Peter the Hermit was a foolish but zealous Christian preacher who traveled throughout France, Germany,
and the Low Countries to organize crusaders for recapturing Palestine as a response to Pope Urban II’ s
call. The crusade ended in utter disaster.
Philip II of France (often called Philip Augustus; 1180 to 1223) more than doubled the size of French
Royal Domains by marriage alliances and skirmishes with the English.
Christine de Pizan (1364–1430) was a Venetian, medieval writer, rhetorician, and critic, who strongly
challenged misogyny (hatred for women) in the male-dominated realm of the arts. Her forty one treatises most of which defended the contributions of women - established her as Europe’s first professional
woman writer.
Reconquista: Christians' reconquest of Spain from Muslim control; lasted from the 1060s to 1492.
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Rollo was the Viking-Norman king who carved out a kingdom in Western France in what is today the
Normandy Peninsula. Although he and his successors swore allegiance as vassals of the French king, in
reality they acted as an independent kingdom.
Sacraments were seven holy rituals administered by the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages.
They were Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Holy Orders, Holy Unction, Holy Matrimony and the most
popular was the Eucharist or the Mass.
Scholasticism: Influential theology of medieval Europe during the 13th century; sought to synthesize the
beliefs and values of Christianity with the logical rigor of Greek philosophy.
Teutonic Knights: One of several Christian military-religious orders active in the Baltic region during the
12th and 13th centuries; aided by German missionaries and the Roman Catholic church, became crusaders
who fought against the pagan Slavic peoples of Prussia, Livonia, and Lithuania; responsible for bringing
the Baltic region into the larger society of Christian Europe.
Three Estates: Conventional classification of European society during the middle ages, referring to "those
who pray, those who fight, and those who work."
Troubadours: Traveling poets, minstrels, and entertainers patronized by aristocratic women; most active
in southern France and northern Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries; drew inspiration from the long
tradition of love poetry produced in nearby Muslim Spain, and promoted refined behavior and tender,
respectful relations between the sexes.
Thomas a’ Becket was a friend a minister of Henry II of England until Henry managed to get him
appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. Becket then fought Henry for control of the church. Some of
Henry’s knights murdered Becket who became a national hero and Saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
St. Thomas Aquinas was a professor at the University of Paris; most famous as a scholastic theologian;
lived from 1225 to 1274. His teachings combined Aristotle's rational power with Christianity and sought
to formulate the most truthful and persuasive system of thought possible.
Summa Theologica was the greatest work of Thomas Aquinas in which he created a manual in which he
used Aristotelian logic to explain such concepts as the existence of God, what conditions make a just war,
and explanations of church doctrines such as transubstantiation and questions of ethics and morality.
Urban II was the eleventh century pope who called for the Crusades in 1095 in Clermont, France
Voltaire was the 18th century French writer once quipped that the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy,
nor Roman, nor an empire. What he meant was that the Holy Roman Empire was a feudal and regional
state, which weakly ruled central Europe. Although some of its Emperors had much influence and
accomplished much, it was in no way a rebirth of the Roman Empire. But the idea did not die!
William the Conqueror: Duke William of Normandy; invaded England in 1066 and introduced Normanstyle feudalism to England.
Waldensians: Popular heresy of 12th and 13th-century Europe; protested the increasing materialism of
European society; despised the Roman Catholic clergy as immoral and corrupt, and advocated modest and
simple lives.
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