Early Middle Ages

Vocab

• Medieval – Fall of Rome – Renaissance, 500-1500

• Dark Ages – another title for the Middle Ages suggesting the lack of learning and culture

• Monastery – where monks live to separate from ordinary people. (live, work, eat, pray) Monk’s time and labor belonged to monastery

A medieval monastery in Southern Armenia

• Abbot – head of the monastery and community of monks. Controlled and distributed all property.

• Monk – a man who separates himself from society in order to pursue a life of total dedication to God.

• Christendom – all areas and kingdoms that are predominantly Christian.

• Knight – armored cavalry. Had social prestige. Follows chivalry code. Heavy armor. Jousting for entertainment

• Count – nobleman in charge of a county

• Missi Dominici – “lord’s messengers” men who were sent out to local districts to ensure the counts were carrying out the king’s wishes

Count Vasiliy Alekseevich Perovskiyk

• Treaty of Verdun – 843 Charlemagne’s grandsons diving the Carolingian Empire into 3 parts. Frankish split inheritance. Rest of Europe followed Primogeniture.

• Feudalism – feudal contract – relationship between lord and vassals. Noble granted land to a lesser noble.

•Lord – paid for knights equipment. Ran the manor that serfs/peasants worked on. Vassals gave an “oath of fealty” or homage to Lord.•Manor – Agricultural estate run by a lord and worked on by peasants. Self-sufficient Communities•Vassal – a man who served a lord in a military capacity. Each had a piece of land/fief. Preformed act of homage to lord/king

• Investiture – the practice by which secular rulers both chose nominees to church offices

• Fief – grant of land given to the vassal by the lord

• Serf – similar to peasants and are legally bound to the land. Had to provide labor, services, rent. Year 800 = 60% serfs

• Aid – providing services or economic help

• Clergy - church leaders and staff

• Age of Faith – Term used for the Middle Ages to suggest the growth of Christianity and the RCC.

A church leader and two of his staff – this painting is at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC

• Longship – Dragon Ship. Viking ship that could hold 50 men. Shallow bottom could go up streams to attack and

across oceans.• St. Patrick – credited with bringing

Christianity to Ireland in 432 AD

• Clovis – Strong military leader. 500 became 1st Germanic leader to convert to Christianity. Est. Frankish kingdom. Makes connections with RCC

• St. Benedict – founded community of Monks. Est. a list of Benedictine Rules – emphasis on prayer and labor

• St. Scholastica – 480-543 Community for women/abbey about 5 miles for Benedict’s monastery.

• Gregory I – “the Great” Strengthensthe papacy and RCC. Increases spiritual authority and actively converts Germanic tribes

• Merovingian – Dynasty of Franks beginning with Clovis. Trace their ancestor back to Merovech.

• Carolingian – 768-814 Largest Empire until Napoleon. Est. by Charlemagne

• Franks – Germanic tribe that invades Gaul at the Fall of Rome

• Charles Martel – “the Hammer” Leader of the Franks. Defeats the Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732.

• Pepin III – “the Short” overthrew his brother to become king of the Franks. Defeats the Lombards and gives land to the Pope. “Donation of Pepin”

• Charlemagne – “the Great” highly intelligent, fierce warrior. Supports learning and converting people to Christianity. 800 crowned the Holy Roman Emperor

• Vikings – Northmen, Norsemen, from Scandinavia. Adventurous search for spoils of war. 9thc. Sacked villages and towns in N. Europe. Settle in Normandy, France.

• Eric the Red – Founded 1st Nordic settlement in Greenland. Left Norway & Iceland for committing murders.

• Leif Ericson – 970-1020 was a Norse explorer, thought to be the 1st European to have landed in North America, maybe Newfoundland, Canada. Son of Eric the Red.