Global Studies 9, Unit 4

Question 1

Bubonic plague

Answer 1

a deadly disease that spread across Asia and Europe in the mid-14th century, killing millions of people

Question 2

Burgher

Answer 2

a medieval merchant-class town dweller

Question 3

Canon Law

Answer 3

the body of laws governing the religious practices of a Christian church

Question 4

Carolingian Dynasty

Answer 4

a dynasty of Frankish rulers, lasting from A.D. 751 to 987

Question 5

Chivalry

Answer 5

a code of behavior for knights in medieval Europe, stressing ideals such as courage, loyalty, and devotion

Question 6

Clergy

Answer 6

a body of officials who perform religious services—such as priests, ministers, or rabbis.

Question 7

Commercial Revolution

Answer 7

the expansion of trade and business that transformed European economies during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Question 8

Common Law

Answer 8

a unified body of law formed from rulings of England’s royal judges that serves as the basis for law in many English-speaking countries today, including the United States

Question 9

Crusade

Answer 9

one of the expeditions in which medieval Christian warriors sought to recover control of the Holy Land from the Muslims

Question 10

Estates-General

Answer 10

an assembly of representatives from all three of the estates, or social classes, in France

Question 11

Fief

Answer 11

an estate granted to a vassal by a lord under the feudal system in medieval Europe

Question 12

Franks

Answer 12

a Germanic people who settled in the Roman province of Gaul (roughly the area now occupied by France) and established a great empire during the Middle Ages

Question 13

Gothic

Answer 13

relating to a style of church architecture that developed in medieval Europe, featuring ribbed vaults, stained glass windows, flying buttresses, pointed arches, and tall spires.

Question 14

Great Schism

Answer 14

a division in the medieval Roman Catholic Church, during which rival popes were established in Avignon and in Rome

Question 15

Guild

Answer 15

a medieval association of people working at the same occupation, which controlled its members’ wages and prices

Question 16

Holy Roman Empire

Answer 16

an empire established in Europe in the 10th century A.D., originally consisting mainly of lands in what is now Germany and Italy

Question 17

Hundred Years’ War

Answer 17

a conflict in which England and France battled on French soil on and off from 1337 to 1453

Question 18

Inquisition

Answer 18

a Roman Catholic tribunal for investigating and prosecuting charges of heresy—especially the one active in Spain during the 1400s.

Question 19

Knight

Answer 19

in medieval Europe, an armored warrior who fought on horseback

Question 20

Lay Investiture

Answer 20

the appointment of religious officials by kings or nobles

Question 21

Lord

Answer 21

in feudal Europe, a person who controlled land and could therefore grant estates to vassals

Question 22

Magna Carta

Answer 22

“Great Charter”—a document guaranteeing basic political rights in England, drawn up by nobles and approved by King John in A.D. 1215

Question 23

Manor

Answer 23

a lord’s estate in feudal Europe

Question 24

Middle Ages

Answer 24

the era in European history that followed the fall of the Roman Empire, lasting from about 500 to 1500—also called the medieval period.

Question 25

Monastery

Answer 25

a religious community of men (called monks) who have given up their posses- sions to devote themselves to a life of prayer and wor- ship.

Question 26

Parliament

Answer 26

a body of representatives that makes laws for a nation.

Question 27

Reconquista

Answer 27

the effort by Christian leaders to drive the Muslims out of Spain, lasting from the 1100s until 1492.

Question 28

Sacrament

Answer 28

one of the Christian cere- monies in which God’s grace is transmitted to people.

Question 29

Scholastics

Answer 29

scholars who gathered and taught at medieval European universities

Question 30

Secular

Answer 30

concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters.

Question 31

Serf

Answer 31

a medieval peasant legally bound to live on a lord’s estate.

Question 32

Simony

Answer 32

the selling or buying of a position in a Christian church.

Question 33

Three-Field System

Answer 33

a system of farming developed in medieval Europe, in which farmland was divided into three fields of equal size and each of these was succes- sively planted with a winter crop, planted with a spring crop, and left unplanted.

Question 34

Tithe

Answer 34

a family’s payment of one-tenth of its income to a church

Question 35

Tournament

Answer 35

a mock battle between groups of knights.

Question 36

Troubadour

Answer 36

a medieval poet and musician who traveled from place to place, entertaining people with songs of courtly love.

Question 37

Vassal

Answer 37

in feudal Europe, a person who received a grant of land from a lord in exchange for a pledge of loyalty and services.

Question 38

Vernacular

Answer 38

the everyday language of people in a region or country.