Charlemagne
Ruler of the Western European empire. Received an albino elephant from Harun al-Rashid. Grandson of Charles Martel, he fought Muslims in a fruitless campaign to restore Christian rule in Northern Spain. He temporarily reestablished centralized imperial rule in a society disrupted by invasion and power ploys from local rulers. Carolingian empire was built largely on his personal accomplishment. Barely literate, he spoke latin, understood greek, and would speak with learned men. Inherited the Frankish throne. His empire spanned from Belgium to Rome. He campaigned for 32 years to impose his rule on the Saxons. His court and capital were at Aachen, but he spent much time on horseback traveling to maintain his authority. He did not have the financial resources to maintain an elaborate bureaucracy or an administration that could enforce his policies. He relied on aristocratic deputies (counts.) Created a group known as the missi dominici who reviewed local authorities. The pope crowned him emperor.
Vikings
Coming from the north to invade the Carolingian empire, this group began their raids in Northern France even when Charlemagne was alive. They were the most feared invaders, and their invasions were a part of a larger process of expansion by the Nomadic peoples of Scandinavia. (Brought on by population growth and a quest for wealth.) Used rugged ships with sails and oars. These are the Scandinavians who chose to use their sea-fairing skills to plunder or raid. (This term originally referred to a group that raided the British Isles. They plundered from Rome and Eastern Europe to Mediterranean lands. They used the tides to enhance their attacks. The first of these groups began to attack unprovoked monasteries in the 790's. Attacked places like southern France, Hamburg in northern Germany, Paris, London, even the Balearic Islands, Sicily, and southern Italy
Holy Roman Empire
Created when the Pope named Charlemagne "the Holy Roman Emperor" in 800 for protection against the Byzantine Emperor. This would be the beginning of the attempts to recreate the "dream" that was the Ancient Roman empire.
Vassals
A person in subordinate to another (also the person in charge of the worker), in the Byzantine empire this method of agricultural production was used when wealthy soldiers gained much land and paid peasants to work it for them, placing them as a "lord" or "master" over their workers.
Horse Collars
This piece of equipment would be used to hitch a horse to a plow, and allowed the peasants of this time to not rely as much on the slow-moving oxen, and more on the horse (a faster animal) to pull their plows. This is one of the inventions that aided in agricultural prosperity.
Water Mills
Cultivators constructed these to aide in agricultural production. These were used to take advantage of the a ready and renewable source of inanimate energy (freeing human and animal energies for other work.) This could also be known as a mill that was powered by a wheel that turned in a water's current.
Pope Gregory I
This is the individual most responsible for charting an independent course for the Roman church. He faced a great deal of challenges as pope. He mobilized local resources and organized the defense of Rome against the Germanic Lombards. By doing this he saved both the city and the church. He reasserted claims to papal primacy (the notion that the bishop of Rome was the ultimate authority for all the Christian church ) to regain the initiative of the church from the various bishops. He made a contribution as a theologian. He emphasized the sacrament of penance.
Hanseatic League
The trade network developed in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. (Also known as the Hansa,) this was an association of trading cities that stretched from Novgorod to London and embraced all significant commercial centers in Poland, northern Germany, and Scandinavia. This league dominated trade in grain, fish, furs, timber, and pitch from Northern Europe. This league was linked to the Mediterranean by major rivers like the Champagne, the Rhine, and the Danube.
Chivalry
Along with courtly behavior, this code was considered important by the noble class. These two ideas gradually introduced expectations of high ethical standards and refined manners that encouraged warriors to become cultivated leaders of society. This is an informal but widely recognized code of ethics and behavior considered appropriate for nobles. This code was originally promoted by the code in an effort to curb violence.
Thomas Aquinas
The most famous of the scholastic theologians, he spent most of his career teaching at the University of Paris. He believed that Aristotle had understood and explained the workings of the world better than any thinker of any era. He saw no contradiction between Aristotle and Christian revelation, but he instead viewed them as complementary authorities. In his view belief in the existence of God did not depend exclusively on an individual's faith. It was possible to rationally prove that God existed (by drawing on Aristotle.)
Clovis
The king of the Franks who unified Gaul as one kingdom, and established his capital at France. Was elected by a family council, then murdered that council to retain his kingship.
Magyars
Coming from the east to invade the Carolingian empire, this group were descendants of of nomadic peoples who had settled in Hungary. They were expert horsemen and raided settlements in Germany, Italy, and Southern France.
Serfs
Peasants, who, though not chattel slaves, were tied to the land and who owed obligation to the lords on whose land they worked.
Manors
Large estates of the nobles during the European Middle Ages, home for the majority of peasants.
Heavy Plows
One of the main innovations to agricultural production. This new plow gradually replaced the lighter Mediterranean plow that had made it's way up north. This plow was necessary due to the heavier, wetter soil in Europe. This plow has iron tips and a mould-board that would turn the soil so as to aerate it and break up weed roots. It was a more expensive piece of equipment, and once it was hitched to an ox or horse it contributed to greater agricultural production.
William Duke of Normandy
He invaded England, and then ruled by descendants of the Angles, the Saxons, and the other Germanic peoples who had migrated to England. Following a quick military victory, he introduced Norman principles of government and land tenure to England.
Three estates
Medieval social commentators held European society to this idea of there being three classes. "Those who pray, those who fight, and those who work." These classes were he clergy of the Roman Catholic Church, the nobles, and the majority of the population (the laborers.) This idea reflected that European society had a society marked by political, social, and economic inequality. (Those who prayed and those who fought enjoyed better rights than those who worked.)
Guilds
Organized by merchants and artisans, these were groups of people who all practiced the same craft and would then form a community of workers. These groups would regulate production and sales price within their jurisdiction. They came to control most of the european economy by the thirteenth century. They also had social significance, as they provided a focus for friendship and mutual support in addition to work.
Pilgrimage
A journey taken on by a pilgrim (in this case due to religious purposes.) Christians embarked on these early on to see where Jesus lived (Holy Land.) European pilgrims often came to Rome.
Gothic Cathedrals
Their identifying characteristics include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress. The kind of architecture used on these churches is most familiar as the architecture of many of the great cathedrals, abbeys and churches of Europe
Reconquista
A crusade that ended in 1492, with the purpose of driving Islamic forces out of Spain
Bubonic Plague
As the "little ice age" dropped global temperatures, this devastating epidemic swept through the eastern hemisphere. It spread from the Yunnan region of China, infecting rodents and fleas to spread the disease from rodent to rodent and on to ships. Travelers took it through out China, growing in trade towns, and soon over taking Western Europe. Victims of this disease developed inflamed lymph nodes, and often died within days of contracting the disease.
Theme System
This system divided the Byzantine Empire into different districts that were each led by a general, they were created so that the military could respond quickly to attacks, also peasants who joined the army were given plots of land, thereby increasing the free peasant class.
Fourth Crusade
"Warriors taking up a blade," as prompted by the pope, as Christians went off to fight on behalf of Christianity. This crusade began in Venice (Italy) and wound it's way around the Byzantine empire and found it's way in to Constantinople (the seat of eastern-orthodox Christianity.)
Schism
The formal separation of a church into two churches or the secession of a group owing to doctrinal and other differences. In this case, this occurred when patriarchs and the pope excommunicated each other. This ____ between the eastern and western church still exists today.
Leif Erikson
A Norse explorer, he was the first european to land in North America. He did this nearly 500 years before Columbus.
Leo III
The pope who named Charlemagne emperor, and instigated a policy of Iconoclasm (in an effort to remove worshipping idols from the Christian church.)
Iconoclasm
This was the most diverse ecclesiastical policy implemented by Byzantine emperors. Inaugurated by Leo III, Byzantium had a long tradition of producing icons (paintings of Jesus, saints, and religious figures) which would be taken as works of art. However, Leo III became convinced that the creations of these images were sinful (and worshipping idols.) So, he embarked on this policy ("breaking of icons") destroying religious images and prohibiting their use in churches. This policy started protests and even riots.
Greek Fire
Byzantine weapon consisting of mixture of chemicals (petroleum, quicklime, sulfur) that ignited when exposed to water; utilized to drive back Arab fleets that attacked Constantinople.
Hagia Sophia
A massive Christian church constructed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian that was later converted into a mosque.