Lana West

Honors World History

December 25, 2009

ID Terms and Concepts

Holy Roman Empire: The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central
Europe during the Middle Ages under a Holy Roman Emperor. It was important to
history because of the significant events that occurred there.

Investiture Contest: In the late eleventh century, the conflicting ideas between lay
investitures were becoming very serious. The result of the Investiture Contest changed
the course of Religion forever.

Capetian Dynasty: The Capetian dynasty was founded by Hugh Capet, elected king of
France in 987. The Capetian dynasty changed the major religion of France.

Normans: A group of Scandinavian invaders under the leadership of Rollo sailed up the
Seine River and forced the French king to give up French territory. Rollo, however,
considered himself to be an independent ruler started increasing the territory under his
control. This constant expansion of territory became the feature of the Norman incident in
history.

Capetian Dynasty: The Champagne fairs were an annual cycle of trading fairs held in
towns in the Champagne and Brie parts of France in the Middle Ages. They were
important because without them, many different cultures wouldn’t have been mixed.

Hanseatic League: The Hanseatic League was a group of trading cites and their groups
that started a trade cite along the shoreline of Northern Europe during the Late Middle
Ages.

Three Estates: Clergy: responsible for the nation’s spiritual well-being. Aristocracy: for
its military protection. Commoners: for the production of all material goods. These
estates were the first modern-day class systems.

Chivalry: Chivalry is the “knight in shining armor” we have all read so much about. It’s
important today because chivalry was the first ‘code of conduct’ for Men that included
being respectful and loving strong towards women.

Troubadours: Troubadours were the first traveling circus folk ever. They lead the way
for all of the traveling performing artists we have today. And that’s why we study them.
Guilds: The earliest guilds were formed as groups of workers. It’s important to learn
because the unions we know/have today were formed from the Guilds in the Middle
Ages.

Cathedral Schools: Charlemagne started Cathedral Schools while he was king of the
Franks. He knew that the Frankish empire would be weak without an education. Because
a Frankish King started it, it quickly spread throughout northern and central France. Over
time, the schools were merged with the church and became cathedral schools. It’s
important because we still have them today. For example, Regina.

Universities: The first university in medieval Europe was the University of

Constantinople. Every university after that followed it’s example in education and
teaching methods.

Scholasticism: Scholasticism was taught by medieval universities. The main figures of

scholasticism were Peter Abelard, Albertus Magnus, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham,
Bonaventure and, above all, Thomas Aquinas.

Saints: People devoted to God and the Christian faith. Most of them died as martyrs.

Relics: A relic is an object of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of

worship as a solid monument.

Pilgrimages: In religion, a pilgrimage is a long journey of great ethnical meaning.

Sometimes, it is a journey to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith.
Members of many major religions participate in pilgrimages. The tradition became very
common/popular in the Medieval Ages. They are still practiced today.

Waldensians: Waldensians, Waldenses or Vaudois are names for a Christian evangelical

movement of the later Middle Ages, children of which still exist in various regions.

Cathars (Albigensians): Catharism was a name given to a Christian religious cult with
elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in
the 11th century and thrived in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Vinland: Vinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norsemen,
about the year 1000 CE. There is an agreement among scholars that the Vikings reached
North America; approximately five centuries before the crossings of Christopher
Columbus.

Teutonic Knights: They were a German Roman Catholic religious order. It was formed
to help Catholics on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to found hospitals to care for
the sick and injured. Its members have regularly been known as the Teutonic Knights,
because they also worked as a crusading military order during the Middle Ages.
Reconquista: The Reconquista was a period of 800 years in the Middle Ages where
Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula succeeded in retaking the Iberian Peninsula
from the Muslims.

Crusades: The Crusades were a series of religious based military operations paid by
much of Latin Christian Europe, mainly the Franks of France and the Holy Roman
Empire.