Leader of a Frankish kingdom in 481; baptized his men into Christianity; began Merovingian House

a leading palace official

Sole ruler of the Frankish kingdom for whom the Carolingian House is named. Crowned emperor by the pope on Christmas Day, 800

estate on which most people lived in a feudal society; it supported itself; it had a lord who owned it and serfs/peasants who lived on the land and worked for the lord

Term meaning "papa"; bishop of Rome who claims supremacy over all other Christians

The pope that claimed to have supreme authority over all; made Roman Church's political power its strongest

legal document listing the privileges of the townspeople

This man in 1066 invaded England and founded the Norman dynasty

William the Conqueror's great-grandson. He strengthened English royal authority by expanding the use of royal circuit courts.

royal court with judges who heard cases in a particular province (circuit) of England.

The count of Paris. He founded a new royal line in France

Developed a strong monarchy in France. This king took back English-controlled land in France

also known as bailiffs. These men collected taxes for the king and ensured justice in carrying out laws.

group of local citizens who would make up a list of accusations of the crimes committed and the people suspected of committing the crimes

jury's accusations of the crimes committed and the people suspected of committing the crimes.

Term for laws that are the same across a whole nation; Henry II created this when he developed uniform laws for all of England that overruled local laws

"Great Charter" declared that the king's power over all citizens was limited. King John was forced to sign it.

group of advisors to the king

The ability of Parliament to grant or withhold its approval of new taxes. This limited the king's power

the power of Pope to deny access to most of the sacraments of the church

Christians traveling to the Holy Land to liberate the Holy Land from the Seljuk Turks; motivated by religious reasons

new economic class composed of those who lived in towns and included the merchants, bankers, craftsmen, and other skilled laborers

comes from the Italian word banca meaning "bench". A place for exchanging money and issuing letters of credit

merchant carried this document on a trip so that he could exchange it for money at another bank

the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula

rules and expectations for knights

church decree created sanctuary and placed church property out of bounds for fighting

restricted fighting to certain days of the week

centers for learning, developed in 12th century

large and impressive churches

Middle Ages architectural style called this because it used many elements of Roman style: rounded, vaulted roofs and thick, stone walls with small windows

new style of construction developed during the 13th century that contained flying buttresses, high ceilings, warmth, and brightness.

external supports in Gothic style that allowed cathedrals to have higher ceilings and thinner walls

commonly spoken language; writers of Middle Ages began to write in these languages, rather than Latin

Italian writer from the Middle Ages that wrote "Divine Comedy", a poem about an imaginary journey through hell, purgatory, and paradise

English poet who wrote The Canterbury Tales, about a group of pilgrims traveling to visit the tomb of a famous religious leader in England.

first calamity to strike large area of Europe during this period. Began with the heavy and frequent rain over much of Europe starting in 1315

a series of battles between England and France from 1337 and 1453. These battles were fought to settle the issue of English control of land in France

English king, related to the French royal line through his mother and claimed the right to the French throne

French peasant girl who lead the French to victory.

plague that killed millions of people throughout the world; people lost faith in Roman Church when church couldn't stop it; Jews were blamed for plague and persecuted

Climate got warmer between 900 and 1300 which allowed crops to grow and surpluses for trade

famous city in Italy, famous for its large navy