10-9-02
Period 3
Chapter 8 Study Guide
1. Most peasants were serfs on manors. Peasants worked hard for very little pay. Peasants had very little to eat but made due with what they had.
2. Usury is lending money at interest. The clergy believed that usury was an immoral way of making money.
3. A capital is money for investment. The use of capital contributed to the growth of banking houses.
4. A tithe is a tax equal to one tenth of someone�s income. The Church required Christians to pay a tithe to help support the church. Previous religions used the tithe system before Christianity used it. Tithes were used to help the poor to.
5. A fief is an estate. A fief was given to vassals by lords. The estates ranged in size from a hundred miles to a few acres.
6. Chivalry was a code of conduct that was adopted by night. The requirements that knights needed to follow were to be brave, loyal, and true to their word.
7. A charter is a written document that set out the rights and privileges of the town. Towns people asked the king or local lords to sign a charter to protect their rights.
8. Troubadours were wondering poets.
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10. Monks and nuns lived a life of religious fulfillment. They had to make vows of purity and take oaths of poverty. Nuns and monks were also teachers and doctors and helped provide social services to the local people.
11. Church reform was desired because the church started to lack discipline. The church began to become corrupt due to its growth in power and strength.
12. New agricultural technologies allowed peasants to make their farms for productive. New iron plows allowed farmers to cultivate their land better.
13. Castles were often surrounded by fences which were surrounded by moats with wooden towers around the perimeter of the castle.
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15. Vassals are lesser lords. Vassals were hired by lords or nobles to help them keep a better eye on their land. Vassals were in charge of the land that they were given and had to make sure that nothing bad happens to the land.
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17. Knights were mounted warriors. Knights were probably some of the most respected people in the army of the medieval ages. Young boys would train for years just to become a knight.
18. Lords were the rulers of the manor. Lords had total control over what happens in their land and they had control over the people in their land.
19. The church had great power over the people because during this time the people were a god fearing people. The people where worried about punishment from god if they don�t do as the bible says. And I think that the Church had such great power because they had control over the nobles to and could control their armies.
20. The Cluniac reform was started to stop the abuse. The Cluniac reform stated that no noble could interfere with the reform.
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22. Merchant guilds were associations. These guilds were basically like today�s workers association. The guilds were set up to help the peasants in the worker place. The guilds protected the merchants from mistreatment and abuse.
23. The clergy was basically the churches council. The clergy made some if not most of the decisions for the church.
24. Nobles were the highest on the Society chart. Nobles basically controlled everyone by using their wealth and militaristic strength.
25. Charlemagne became king of western Europe in 800. Charlemagne made great strides to improve learning and his country. To improve learning Charlemagne made schools and appointed a respected scholar named Alcuin. And to improve his country he tried to unit them into one United Christian Europe.
26. Leif Erikson set up a colony in North America but it wasn�t used for very long.
27. Serf-in medieval Europe, peasants bound to the lord�s land. Even though serfs weren�t slaves which mean they couldn�t be bought or sold they still weren�t free.
28. Excommunication meant that the person was banned from the church. This mean that the person could not receive redemption from the church.
29. The steel plow was used in replacement of the wooden plow used by farmers. It was a technological advancement due to its capability of improving they way farmers worked.
30. The feudal system or feudalism was a loosely organized system of government in which local lords governed their own land but owed military service and other support to a greater lord.
31. The Black Death devastated many countries at the time. The black plague devastated Asia, Europe, an North Africa. The plague killed 7000 people a day.
32. The Magna Carta was created to stop the Kings from abusing their power. The Magna Carta stated that the king could not raise taxes without consulting their council. They couldn�t abuse their people. And they couldn�t rule their people unfairly.
33. The Concordat of Worms stated that the Church has the sole rights to elect and invest bishops with spiritual power.
34. The Crusades were a HOLY WAR. The main conquest of the Crusades was to regain the holy land.
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36. The early Jury system was setup under Henry II.
37. The conflict between emperors and popes were for power. Both Emperors and Popes were struggling with each other to achieve more power.