wergild
money for a man. the value of a person in money depending on their social status
ordeal
a primitive method of determining a person's guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control
bishopric
a group of Christian communities, or parishes, under the authority of a bishop
pope
the head of the Roman Catholic Church
monk
a man who separates himself from ordinary human society in order to pursue a life of total dedication to God
monasticism
The practice of living the life of a monk
missionary
a person sent out to carry a religious message
nun
a female who dedicates her life to God; avoids the things of the world
abbesses
head of a convent
vassal
a man who serve a lord in a military capacity
knight
a member of a heavily armored cavalry
fief
a piece of land held under the feudal system
feudal contract
unwritten rules b/w lard and vassal
tournament
a series of jousts between knights contesting for a prize
chivalry
the medieval principles of knighthood
common law
a unified body of law formed from rulings
magna carta
Great Charter
estate
One of three distinct social classes in France during the 1700s; clergy, nobility, and commoners (the third estate)
patriarch
the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, originally appointed by the Byzantine emperor
schism
a separation between the two branches of Christianity
crusade
any of the more or less continuous military expeditions in the 11-13th centuries when Christian powers of Europe tried to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims
