Chapter 4: Eastern and Western Europe in the Early Medieval Period- Vocab

Question 1

Aegean Sea

Answer 1

Sea located between the mainlands of modern Greece and Turkey.

Question 2

Asceticism

Answer 2

The practice of severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.

Question 3

Byzantine Empire

Answer 3

Long-lasting empire centered at Constantinople; it grew out of the end of the Roman empire, carried the legacy of Roman greatness, and was the only classical society to survive into the early modern age; it reached its early peak during the reign of Justinian (483–565).

Question 4

Carolinginan Dynasty

Answer 4

Germanic dynasty that was named after its most famous member, Charlemagne.

Question 5

Caesaropapism

Answer 5

Concept relating to the mixing of political and religious authority, as with the Roman emperors, that was central to the church-versus-state controversy in medieval Europe.

Question 6

Charlemagne

Answer 6

Ruler of the European Carolingian Empire from 748–814 C.E.

Question 7

Constantinople

Answer 7

The purpose-built capital of the late-Roman and Byzantine empires from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries. The name translates as “city of Constantine,” the Roman emperor who founded the city.

Question 8

Corpus Iuris Civillis

Answer 8

Body of the Civil Law, the Byzantine emperor Justinian’s attempt to codify all Roman law.

Question 9

Franks

Answer 9

The most successful and influential Germanic people that had conquered most of Roman Gaul and Western Europe by the early 6th century.

Question 10

Greek Fire

Answer 10

Devastating incendiary weapon used mainly at sea by Byzantine forces in the seventh and eighth centuries C.E.

Question 11

Hagia Sofia

Answer 11

Massive Christian church constructed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian and later converted into a mosque.

Question 12

Iconoclasm

Answer 12

Supporters of the movement, begun by the Byzantine Emperor Leo III (r. 717–741), to destroy religious icons because their veneration was considered sinful.

Question 13

Justinian

Answer 13

Important early emperor of the Byzantine Empire, who reigned from 527 to 565 C.E.

Question 14

Louis the Pious

Answer 14

(814-840 CE) The only surviving son of Charlemagne, who held his father’s empire together until his sons split it up after his death in 843.

Question 15

Magyars

Answer 15

Hungarian invaders who raided towns in Germany, Italy, and France in the ninth and tenth centuries.

Question 16

Missi Dominici

Answer 16

“Envoys of the lord ruler,” the noble and church emissaries sent out by Charlemagne.

Question 17

Missionaries

Answer 17

People who travel on religious missions to help spread their faith.

Question 18

Monasticism

Answer 18

A movement that, for Christians, grew out of the efforts of devout individuals to lead holy lives. Early Christian ascetics adopted regimes of self-denial, living alone as hermits or devoting themselves to holiness.

Question 19

Odoacer

Answer 19

A Germanic general who deposed the last of the western Roman emperors in 476.

Question 20

Papacy

Answer 20

The office or authority of the pope.

Question 21

Patriarchs

Answer 21

Leader of the Greek Orthodox church, which in 1054 officially split with the pope and the Roman Catholic church.

Question 22

Pope Gregory I

Answer 22

(590–604 CE.) was pope of the Roman Church who faced challenges (like the campaigns of Germanic Lombards). He mobilized local resources and organized the defense of Rome. He also reasserted claims to papal primacy.

Question 23

Schism

Answer 23

Mutual excommunication of the Roman pope and Byzantine patriarch in 1054 over ritual, doctrinal, and political differences between the two Christian churches.

Question 24

St. Basil

Answer 24

A reformer in Byzantium (329-379 CE) that prepared regulations for monasteries.

Question 25

St. Benedict

Answer 25

A reformer in Italy (480-547 CE) that prepared regulations for monasteries.

Question 26

St. Scholastica

Answer 26

St. Benedict’s sister, a nun living from 482-543 who provided guidance for the religious life of women living in convents.

Question 27

Theme System

Answer 27

A system utilized by the Byzantine Empire that placed an imperial province (a theme) under the authority of an appointed general who handled military and civil administration. These generals recruited armies of peasants, who recieved allotments of land for their military service.

Question 28

Theodora

Answer 28

Wife of the Emperor Justinian, who played a key role in the success of his reign.

Question 29

Vikings

Answer 29

A group that raided the British Isles from their home at Vik in southern Norway.