Tucker Muse
Period 2
World History
Chapter 8 and 9 study Guide
*peasant- Peasants are people that would harvest the land. They often times worked for lords to tend the estate.
*usury- usury is when you lend money at interest. The profits that merchants and bankers made were immoral.
*capital- Capital is money for investment, spurred the growth of banking houses.
*tithe- The tithe is a tax of tenth of your income. The church did this to support itself and the poor as well.
*fief- A fief is where a lord granted an estate to a vassal. Estates were usually hundreds of acres and included peasants.
*chivalry- A code of conduct used by the knights in the middle ages. This meant in warfare they had to be generous to there enemies and fight fairly.
*Charter- A charter is a written document that set out the
rights and privileges of the town.
*Troubador- A Troubador is a wandering poet. The code of chivalry was adopted
by trabadors.
*Manor economy- The heart of the manor economy is the manor, or lords estates.
Peasants made up most of the manor economy.
*How monks and nuns lived- Monks and Nuns tended the sick. They gave alms to
the poor and set up schools for children.
*Why was church reform desired?- The growing corruption and moral decay caused
by monks, priests, and nuns led to demands for reforms. It was the very success
of the medieval Church.
*New agricultural technologies- One agricultural technology was the new iron
plow. They also developed the windmill, which generated power.
*Defense of castles (moats, etc)- The defense of a castle was complex. It first
had a keep, then a fence, then a moat.
*
*Vassals- Vassals pledged their loyalty to the higher lords. They did this in
return for protection.
*Peasants- Peasants in the medieval ages held trade fairs. They traded farm
goods and animals.
*Knights- A knight is a mounted warrior. Knights were trained from seven to
become excellent warriors and riders.
*Lords- Lords were right under the monarchy. They owned fiefs and hired
peasants.
*Why did the church have great power over the people?- They ruled over many
places. They also were in charge of government.
*Cluniac reforms- The pious Abbot Berno at
*Three field system- They would plant one field with grain, a second with
legumes, and left the third fallow. The three field system left one field half
planted on.
*Merchant guilds- Merchant guilds are associations. They dominated life in medieval
towns.
*Clergy- A clergy is a religious person. They were one of the three social
classes.
*Nobles- A noble was another one of the three social classes. They were a
hierarchy in the medieval ages.
*Charlemagne- He was the leader of an empire that spread across
*Leif Erikson- He was the first person in the
*serf- Serf’s are Peasants of the manor that were bound to the land. Serfs aren’t slaves being allowed to leave the manor when given permission.
*Excommunication- People who were excommunicated couldn’t receive
sacraments. This was the most horrible punishment ever.
*Steel plow- The iron plow was developed by peasants. It carved deeper into the
dark soil that they farmed on.
*Feudal system- Kings and emperors were too weak to maintain order and peace.
In response for this basic need for protection, they developed the feudal
system.
*Black Death- Almost all of
*Magna Carta- They created a thing that would limit the king’s powers. They
forced the king to sign it and it gave people rights.
*Concordat of
*Chief goal of/ and result of the Crusades- The crusades were to conquer the
holy land. They failed in doing so.
*Reconquista- The Spanish’s drive to kick Muslims out of
*Early jury system- This was developed under Henery II. A jury is a group of
men sworn to speak the truth.
*Conflict between emperors and popes- Pope Gregory’s ban brought an angry
response from emperor Henery II. He thought that the bishops had their lands as
royal fiefs.
Short Answer
A. 5 reasons late Middle Ages was a time of decline.
1. There were Few technological developments.
2. Plague killed many people in the land
3. People became less educated
4. No clear ruler causing wars
5. A population decrease
B. 3 long term effects of the crusades
1. brought papel power to its greatest hight.
2. Increased trade especially for Europeans.
3. Increased power of feudal monarchs.