Chapter 9 - Christian Societies Emerge in Europe 600-1200

Question 2

Charlemagne

Answer 2

King of the Franks (r.768-814); emperor (r.800-814). Through a series of military conquests he established the Carolingian Empire, which encompassed all of Gaul and parts of Germany and Italy. Though illiterate himself, he sponsored a brief intellectual revival.

Question 3

Medieval

Answer 3

Literally “middle age,” a term that historians of Europe use for the period ca.500 to ca.1500, signifying its intermediate point between Greco-Roman antiquity and the Renaissance

Question 4

Byzantine Empire

Answer 4

Historians’ name for the eastern portion of the Roman Empire from the fourth century onward, taken from “Byzantium,” an early name for Constantinople, the Byzantine capital city. The empire fell to the Ottomans in 1453

Question 5

Schism

Answer 5

A formal split within a religious community

Question 6

Manor

Answer 6

In medieval Europe, a large, self-sufficient landholding consisting of the lord’s residence (manor house), outbuildings, peasant village, and surrounding land

Question 7

Serf

Answer 7

In medieval Europe, an agricultural laborer legally bound to a lord’s property and obligated to perform set services for the lord.

Question 8

Fief

Answer 8

In medieval Europe, land granted in return for a sworn oath to provide specified military service.

Question 9

Vassal

Answer 9

In medieval Europe, a sworn supporter of a king or lord committed to rendering specified military service to that king or lord.

Question 10

Papacy

Answer 10

The central administration of the Roman Catholic Church, of which the Pope is the head

Question 11

Investiture controversy

Answer 11

Dispute between the Popes and the Holy Roman Emperors over who held ultimate authority over Bishops in imperial lands.

Question 12

Monasticism

Answer 12

Living in a religious community apart from secular society and adhering to a rule stipulating chastity, obedience, and poverty. It was a prominent element of medieval Christianity and Buddhism. Monasteries were the primary centers of learning and literacy in medieval Europe

Question 13

Horse Collar

Answer 13

Harnessing method that increased the efficiency of horses by shifting the point of traction from the animal’s neck to the shoulders; its adoption favors the spread of horse-drawn plows and vehicles.

Question 14

Crusades

Answer 14

1095-1204; Armed pilgrimages to the Holy Land by Christians determined to recover Jerusalem from Muslim rule. The Crusades brought an end to western Europe’s centuries of intellectual and cultural isolation.

Question 15

Pilgrimage

Answer 15

Journey to a sacred shrine by Christians seeking to show their piety, fulfill vows, or gain absolution for sins. Other religions also have pilgrimage traditions, such as the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and the pilgrimages made by early Chinese Buddhists to India in search of sacred Buddhist writings.