10 The Rise of the Middle Ages

Question 1

Middle Ages

Answer 1

period in western European history between the collapse of the Roman Empire in the west and the Renaissance

Question 2

medieval

Answer 2

term that describes the period called the Middle Ages

Question 3

Clovis

Answer 3

founder of the Merovingian dynasty

Question 4

Merovingians

Answer 4

dynasty of Frankish kings

Question 5

Charles Martel

Answer 5

defeated the Moors at Tours

Question 6

Pepin the Short

Answer 6

became the first Carolingian king of the Franks

Question 7

Charlemagne

Answer 7

Frankish king who was declared “Emperor of the Romans”

Question 8

Louis the Pious

Answer 8

Charlemagne’s son

Question 9

Magyars

Answer 9

nomadic Asiatic people who established a kingdom in Hungary

Question 10

Vikings

Answer 10

Scandinavians who were the most feared invaders in Europe

Question 11

Aix-la-Chapelle

Answer 11

capital of Charlemagne’s empire; today the German city of Aachen

Question 12

feudalism

Answer 12

political system of local government based on granting of land in return for loyalty, military assistance, and other services

Question 13

vassal

Answer 13

person granted land from a lord in return for services

Question 14

fief

Answer 14

grant of land given by a feudal lord to a vassal

Question 15

primogeniture

Answer 15

system under which only the eldest son could inherit his father’s property

Question 16

manor

Answer 16

economic unit of the early Middle Ages; a large estate that included a manor house, pastures, fields, and a village

Question 17

serfs

Answer 17

persons bound to the land, who could not leave without permission

Question 18

chivalry

Answer 18

code of conduct for knights

Question 19

sacraments

Answer 19

special ceremonies at which participants receive the direct favor, or grace, of God to help them ward off the consequences of sin

Question 20

monasticism

Answer 20

way of life in monasteries and convents in which Christians withdraw from the world to lead a life prayer, fasting, and self-denial

Question 21

abbot

Answer 21

elected head of a monastery

Question 22

canon law

Answer 22

church code of law

Question 23

interdict

Answer 23

church’s punishment of an entire region, involving closing churches and withholding sacraments

Question 24

tithe

Answer 24

church tax collected from Christians in early times that represented one-tenth of their income; later became a gift to a church representing one-tenth of a person’s income

Question 25

simony

Answer 25

purchase of a church position, common during early medieval times

Question 26

Inquisition

Answer 26

institution of the Roman Catholic Church that sought to eliminate heresy by seeking out and punishing heretics

Question 27

curia

Answer 27

advisers to the pope

Question 28

cardinals

Answer 28

most important members of the curia who elected popes beginning in 1059

Question 29

Saint Benedict

Answer 29

founder of the Benedictine order of monks and author of the Benedictine Rule

Question 30

Saint Patrick

Answer 30

an Irish missionary monk