Middle Ages Flashcards
What is a fief
An area of land which the king granted a lord. In return the lord promises to fight for the king
What is the feudal system
The name given to the system of land ownership in the middle Ages
What is a motte
A man-made hill on which a Castle was built
What is a bailey
The court yard of medieval Castle
What is a moat
A deep ditch dug around the walls of a castle
What is a keep
A large square tower
What is a portcullis
An iron gate which could be lowered over the entrance of the Castle during an attack
What is a turret
A small tower built on a castle wall
What is a barbican
A defensive gatehouse at the entrance of a castle
What is fosterage
A common practice in the middle Ages whereby the children of the lord and lady of the castle were sent to other noble families to supervise the up bringing
What is hawking
A form of hunting whereby birds of prey are trained to hunt for small animals
What is the Manor
The land owned by the lord
What is demense
The land retained by the lord for his own use
What is a page
The first stage of the Knights training. Young boys were taught manners and basic fighting skills
What is squire
The second stage of a knights training. Squires accompanied full trained Knights and learn how to fight with real weapons
What is a tournament
A contest between Knights
What is jousting
A contest in which two Knights on horseback charge at each other with a lance in an attempt to unseat their opponent
What is chivalry
A code of conduct for Knights
What is the open field system
A system in which the land in the village is divided into three large fields and then divided into different strips, which were farmed by the serfs
What is a serf
A peasant who was not allowed to leave the village without the lord’s permission
What is a tithe
Every year the serfs had to give one tenth of their crops to the parish priest to pay for the upkeep of the church
What is pottage
A vegetable stew
What is a charter
A list of rules from the medieval town or city
What is the toll
Money that had to be paid in order to trade in the medieval town
What is the curfew
Once darkness came, townspeople had to extinguish all fires
What is a guild
An organisation for craft workers which had strict rules for all its members
What is pillory
A medieval form of punishment where an offender’s hands and head were locked in a wooden frame
What is a sanctuary
A place of refuge from the law within church grounds
What is a cloister
A walled, enclosed area in a monastery where monks prayed
What is the abbot
The monk in charge of the monastery
What is a tonsure
The shaving of the crown of a monk’s head
What is the chapter house
It is where the monks held daily meetings
What is the refectory
The dinning room in a monastery
What is an infirmarian
A monk that looked after the sick
What is an almoner
A monk that looked after visitors and distributed food to the poor
What is the Black Death
A medieval plague
