1-2 Flashcards
Caesaropapism
A political-religious system in which the secular ruler is also head of the religious establishment, as in the Byzantine Empire.
Constantinople
A large and wealthy city that was the imperial capital of the Byzantine empire and later the Ottoman empire, now known as Istanbul
Hagia Sophia
The Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople, built by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian
Iconoclasm
Opposing or even destroying images, especially those set up for religious veneration in the belief that such images represent idol worship.
Greek Fire
Byzantine weapon consisting of mixture of chemicals that ignited when exposed to water; utilized to drive back the Arab fleets that attacked Constantinople
Kievan Rus
A monarchy established in present day Russia in the 6th and 7th centuries. It was ruled through loosely organized alliances with regional aristocrats from. The Scandinavians coined the term “Russia”. It was greatly influenced by Byzantine
Eastern Orthodoxy - The Great Schism
Was the break of communion between what are now the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Catholic Churches, which had lasted until the 11th century.
Manzikert (1071)
The Byzantine defeat at Manzikert (Malazgirt in Turkish) by the Seljuk Turks was a severe blow to the Byzantine empire’s control of Anatolia. The Seljuks were led by Alp Arslan, while Emperor Romanus IV led the Byzantines. The Byzantines split their forces in half before the battle by sending general Joseph Tarchaneiotes to Khliat, and were further weakened by the desertion of Andronicus Dukas. The Byzantine emperor was captured in the battle, but released by Alp Arslan after signing a peace treaty. Romanus IV was later deposed and blinded.
Gregory of Tours
literate monk who wrote the History of the Franks and some of the other few surviving histories of the Early Middle Ages
Papacy
The central administration of the Roman Catholic Church, of which the pope is the head.
Sacraments
Sacred rituals of the Roman Catholic Church
Relics
valued holy objects from the past
Excommunication
Banishment from the church
Monasticism
The practice of living the life of a monk
Feudalism
A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land
Manor System
an economic system of exchanging land use and protection for goods and services
Guilds
Association of merchants or artisans who cooperated to protect their economic interests
Chivalry
Code of conduct for knights during the Middle Ages
Charles Martel
Carolingian monarch of Franks; responsible for defeating Muslims in battle of Tours in 732; ended Muslim threat to western Europe.
Charlemagne
800 AD crowned by the Pope as the head of the Holy Roman Empire, which extended from northern Spain to western Germany and northern Italy. His palace was at Aachen in central Europe
Vikings
Invaders of Europe that came from Scandinavia
Eric the Red
Norwegian adventurer who founded a colony on Greenland
Leif Ericsson
late 900’s early 1000’s son of Eric the Red; sailed to North America in about 1000 and explored what is today know as Newfoundland
Holy Roman Empire
Loose federation of mostly German states and principalities, headed by an emperor elected by the princes. It lasted from 962 to 1806.
Otto I
10th century ruler who became emperor of the German states through close ties with the Catholic church
William the Conqueror
duke of Normandy who led the Norman invasion of England and became the first Norman to be King of England
Lay Investiture
A ceremony in which kings and nobles appointed church officials
Pope Urban II
Leader of the Roman Catholic Church who asked European Christians to take up arms against Muslims, starting the Crusades
Crusades
A series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule.
Kingdom of Jerusalem
a Catholic kingdom, or Crusader State, established in what is now Israel by European lords from 1099 to 1291
Knights Templar
Secretive group built to protect pilgrims on the road to the holy land.
Richard Lionheart
An English king who lead the Crusaders in an attempt to regain the Holy Land from Saladin.
King Louis IX
a religious French king who improved royal government
St. Thomas Aquinas
Dominican and church’s greatest theologian, formed Catholics understanding of natural law
Scholasticism
A philosophical and theological system, associated with Thomas Aquinas, devised to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy and Roman Catholic theology in the thirteenth century.
Hanseatic League
An economic and defensive alliance of the free towns in northern Germany, founded about 1241 and most powerful in the fourteenth century.
Reconquista
Beginning in the eleventh century, military campaigns by various Iberian Christian states to recapture territory taken by Muslims. In 1492 the last Muslim ruler was defeated, and Spain and Portugal emerged as united kingdoms.
Marco Polo
Venetian merchant and traveler. His accounts of his travels to China offered Europeans a firsthand view of Asian lands and stimulated interest in Asian trade.
