Middle Ages Vocab

Code of conduct for knights during the Middle Ages

Scandinavian peoples whose sailors raided Europe from the 700s through the 1100s

Warrior king of the Franks who conquered Gaul and earned the respect of the people of Gaul by converting to Christianity

Referring to the Middle Ages in Europe or the period of history between ancient and modern times

Conflict fought in 732 in which the Christian Franks led by Charles Martel defeated Muslim armies

The capital of the eastern Roman empire

A Germanic tribe that conquered present-day France and neighboring lands in the 400s

A mock battle in which knights would compete against one another to display their fighting skills

An exchange of pledges between lords and vassals

A medieval noblewoman who, through two marriages became the Queen of France and, later, the Queen of England

A ruler who has complete authority

In medieval Europe, a lord who is granted land in exchange for service and loyalty to a greater lord

Ruled the Franks from 768 to 814; anointed “Emperor of the Romans”; helped unify the people of Western Europe

In medieval Europe, an estate granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for service and loyalty

A system in which lords governed their own lands but owed military service and other support to a greater lord

Economic system during the Middle Ages that was built around large estates, including villages and surrounding lands

Collection of Roman laws organized by Justinian and later serving as a model for the Catholic Church and medieval kings

A European noble who served as a mounted warrior

Justinian’s wife and empress who served as an advisor to his rule; reinstituted the use of icons in the Byzantine Church

In medieval Europe, a peasant bound to the lord’s land