Chpt. 10, Western Europe

Question 1

Medieval; Middle Ages

Answer 1

the period in western European history from the decline and fall of the Roman Empire until the 15th century

Question 2

Vikings

Answer 2

seagoing Scandinavian raiders from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway who disrupted the coastal areas of western Europe from the 8th to the 11th centuries

Question 3

manorialism

Answer 3

system that described economic and political relations between landlords and their peasant laborers during the Middle Ages; involved a hierarchy of reciprocal obligations that exchanged labor or rents for access to land

Question 4

serfs

Answer 4

peasant agricultural laborers within the manorial system of the Middle Ages

Question 5

moldboard

Answer 5

a heavy plow introduced in northern Europe during the Middle Ages that permitted deeper cultivation of heavier soils; it was a technological innovation of the medieval agricultural system

Question 6

three-field system

Answer 6

a system of agricultural cultivation by the 9th century in western Europe; it included always leaving one-third of the field fallow so that it did not get constantly drained of nutrients

Question 7

Clovis

Answer 7

an early Frankish king who converted the Franks to Christianity c. 496 and allowed the establishment of a Frankish kingdom

Question 8

Carolingians

Answer 8

the royal house of the Franks after the 8th century until their replacement in the 10th century (post-800-mid-900s)

Question 9

Charles Martel

Answer 9

a Carolingian monarch (major domo) of the Franks who was responsible for defeating the Muslims in the Battle of Tours in 732; this ended the Muslim threat to western Europe

Question 10

Charlemagne; aka Charles the Great

Answer 10

also known as Charles the Great, he was a Carolingian monarch who established a substantial empire in France and Germany c. 800, ruling as another Carolingian over the Franks

Question 11

Holy Roman Emperors

Answer 11

emperors in northern Italy and Germany following the split of Charlemagne’s empire; claimed the title of emperor c. 10th century; failed to develop centralized monarchy in Germany

Question 12

vassals; feudal monarchs

Answer 12

rulers who, rather than actually maintaining control of the land they governed themselves, would give this land to vassals, or subsidiary rulers in return for the loyalty of the vassals, and the vassals pledge to serve them in war if need be; this occurred during the Middle Ages because society was not yet able to support large kingdoms such as those generally associated with traditional monarchies

Question 13

William the Conqueror

Answer 13

invaded England from Normandy in 1066 and extended a tight feudal system to England; established an administrative system based on sheriffs and a established a centralized monarchy

Question 14

Magna Carta

Answer 14

A Great Charter issued by King John of England in 1215 that confirmed the feudal rights against monarchical claims and represented the principle of mutual limits and obligations between rulers and feudal aristocracy.

Question 15

parliaments

Answer 15

bodies representing privileged groups; they institutionalized the feudal principle that rulers should consult with their vassals; found in England, Spain, Germany, and France

Question 16

three estates

Answer 16

the three estates were the three social groups considered most powerful in Western countries, the First Estate (the clergy), the Second Estate (the nobility), and the Third Estate (a new church), the nobles, and the urban leaders

Question 17

Hundred Years’ War

Answer 17

a conflict between England and France from 1337 to 1453 that fought over lands that England possessed in France and feudal rights versus the emerging claims of national states; France eventually won

Question 18

Pope Urban the 2nd

Answer 18

called the First Crusade in 1095; appealed to Christians to mount a military assault to free the Holy Land from the Muslims.

Question 19

Pope Gregory the 7th

Answer 19

Pope during the 11th century who attempted to free the church from interference of feudal lords and quarreled with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry the 4th over the practice of lay investiture.

Question 20

investiture

Answer 20

the practice of the state appointing bishops, it was challenged by reform-minded popes such as Pope Gregory the 7th, to whom Holy Roman Emperor Henry the 4th ultimately plead for forgiveness on his knees in the snow of an Italian winter

Question 21

Peter Abelard

Answer 21

The author of Yes and No; a university scholar who applied logic to problems of theology and demonstrated the logical contradiction within established doctrine.

Question 22

Bernard of Clairvaux

Answer 22

Emphasized the role of faith in prefence to logic and stressed the importance of mystical union with God; successfully challenged Abelard and had him driven from the universities.

Question 23

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Answer 23

Creator of one of the great syntheses of medieval learning, he taught at the University of Paris, and was the author of several Summas. He believed that through reason it was possible to know much about natural order, moral law, and the nature of God.

Question 24

scholasticism

Answer 24

a dominant medieval philosophical approach that was so-called because of its base in the schools or universities. It was based on the use of logical to resolve theological problems. It typified Aquinas.

Question 25

Gothic

Answer 25

an architectural style developed during the Middle Ages in western Europe that featured pointed arches and flying buttresses as external supports on main walls

Question 26

Hanseatic League

Answer 26

an organization of cities in northern Germany and southern Scandinavia for the purpose of establishing a commercial alliance; it ensured free trade, eliminated sea-going piracy, and established trade regulations; it existed during the High Middle Ages

Question 27

guilds

Answer 27

sworn associations of people in the same business or craft in a single city; stressed security and mutual control rather than individual achievement, limited membership, regulated apprenticeship, guaranteed good workmanship, and often established franchises within cities

Question 28

Black Death

Answer 28

a plague that struck Europe in the 14th century and significantly reduced Europe’s population, as well as affecting social structure

Question 29

Pope Boniface the 8th

Answer 29

as time wore on, many rulers wanted to deviate from Catholic guidance from the emperor, who was in many ways political; this Pope released a statement asserting the importance of the Pope, upon which he was jailed by Philip the 4th of France; he died shortly thereafter