Ch8 Flashcards
seventh-century Merovingian kings who reigned but did not rule; the power went to the mayor of the palace
Do-nothing kings
the most powerful Germanic people in the early Middle Ages
Franks
principal palace official under the Merovingian House
Mayor of the Palace
The best remembered mayor of the palace
Charles Martel
group of Asiatic nomads who later became known as the Hungarians.
Magyars
A political system in which local rulers offered the people protection in return for their services
Feudalism
Landholding noble in feudalism
Lord
Land grants given in return for services
Fiefs
Recipient of a fief; owed allegiance to a lord
Vassal
the ceremony by which a man became a vassal and thus eligible for a fief
Homage
symbolic act by which the lord gave to the vassal the right of use of a fief
Investiture
medieval warriors who protected life and property and lived by the “code of chivalry”
Knight
boy placed under the care of a knight for the purpose of becoming a knight
Page
the personal servant of a knight
Squire
A knight’s strict code of behavior
Chivalry
the center of medieval society, a self-contained farming community controlled by a lord and farmed by peasants
Manor
Planting crops on half or one-third of the cultivated land, leaving the other to lie fallow for a year to recover its fertility
Two/Three Field System
Privileged peasants who served as manorial officials
Freemen
majority of those living on a manor; their status was midway between the ancient slave and the medieval freeman
Serfs
place of temporary punishment where souls
bound for heaven must go after death to atone for their minor sins
Purgatory
those who did not take Holy Orders
Laity
conducted religious services, administered the sacraments to the laity, and supervised the business
Secular Clergy
