6 - High Middle Ages

Question 1

In architecture, a place for walking, esp. an aisle around the apse or a cloister in a church or monastery.

Answer 1

ambulatory

Question 2

buttress

Answer 2

In architecture, a projecting structure of masonry or wood for supporting or giving stability to a wall or building; something that supports or strengthens.

Question 3

One of the sections into which certain long poems are divided

Answer 3

canto

Question 4

The chief church of a diocese, in which the bishop has his official seat (cathedra=”throne”) and close to which is his residence; it is, properly speaking, the bishop church, wherein he presides, teaches, and conducts worship for the whole Christian community.

Answer 4

cathedral

Question 5

commedia

Answer 5

“Comedy,” not necessarily in terms of frolic and laughter but, as opposed to tragedy, ends in a state of happiness rather than sorrow; cf. the Divina Commedia by Dante

Question 6

Designed or intended to teach; intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment.

Answer 6

didactic

Question 7

The Christian ceremony commemorating the Last Supper, in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed. The service of worship is also called Holy Communion or (chiefly in the Protestant tradition) the Lord’s Supper or (chiefly in the Catholic tradition) the Mass or (chiefly in the Eastern Orthodox tradition) the Divine Liturgy.

Answer 7

Eucharist

Question 8

To atone for (guilt or sin); to extinguish the guilt incurred by

Answer 8

expiate

Question 9

gargoyle

Answer 9

: A grotesque carved human or animal face or figure projecting from the gutter of a building, typically acting as a spout to throw rain water clear of a building.

Question 10

The painting, sculpture, and architecture characteristic of the second of two great international eras that flourished in western and central Europe during the Middle Ages, prevalent in the 12th-16th centuries; the architectural style is characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, flying buttresses, large windows, elaborate tracery, verticality, and emphasis on light.

Answer 10

Gothic

Question 11

A medieval association of craftsmen or merchants, often having considerable power

Answer 11

guild

Question 12

A theological doctrine or system contrary to orthodox doctrine accepted in the Christian church, particularly as laid down by church councils and creeds.

Answer 12

heresy

Question 13

A kind of drama with personified abstract qualities as the main characters and presenting a lesson about good conduct and character, popular in the 15th and early 16th centuries.

Answer 13

morality play

Question 14

mysticism

Answer 14

According to its etymology, implies a relation to mystery. In philosophy, Mysticism is either a religious tendency and desire of the human soul towards an intimate union with the Divinity, or a system growing out of such a tendency and desire

Question 15

Made in an intricate shape or decorated with complex patterns

Answer 15

ornate

Question 16

Music with two or more independent melodic parts sounded together; the musical style of simultaneously combining a number of parts, each forming an individual melody and harmonizing with each other.

Answer 16

polyphony

Question 17

A place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are not entirely free from venial faults or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions

Answer 17

purgatory

Question 18

Container or shrine in which sacred relics are kept

Answer 18

reiquary

Question 19

The cancellation of a debt, charge, or penalty; forgiveness of sins

Answer 19

remission

Question 20

requiem (also requiem mass)

Answer 20

Especially in the Roman Catholic Church, a Mass for the repose of the souls of the dead; a musical composition setting parts of the Mass

Question 21

Characteristic of the first of two great international artistic eras that flourished in Europe during the Middle Ages. This architecture emerged about 1000 and lasted until about 1150, by which time it had evolved into Gothic. characterized by round arches and massive vaulting, and by heavy piers, columns, and walls with small windows; it was disseminated throughout western Europe.

Answer 21

Romanesque

Question 22

Also called wheel window in Gothic architecture, decorated circular window, often glazed with stained glass, with mullions or tracery radiating in a form suggestive of a rose.

Answer 22

rose window

Question 23

A Christian rite (as baptism or the Eucharist) believed to have been ordained by Christ and held to be a means of divine grace or to be a sign or symbol of a spiritual reality. The Protestant tradition recognizes two (see above) and the Catholic tradition five more (confirmation, penance, anointing of the sick, ordination, and matrimony).

Answer 23

sacraments

Question 24

The dominant Western European theological and philosophical movement of the Middle Ages, synthesizing the Church Fathers (esp. St. Augustine) with Classical philosophy.

Answer 24

scholasticism

Question 25

A comprehensive treatise, esp. one by a scholastic philosopher; a synthesis or summary of any subject.

Answer 25

summa

Question 26

An institution of higher learning providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant academic degrees. Although the name university is sometimes given to the celebrated schools of Athens and Alexandria, it is generally held that the universities first arose in the Middle Ages.

Answer 26

university