medieval history final: short answer – Flashcards

Meaning: Clarified basic matters of Christian doctrine. Date/Context: Convened by the Emperor Constantine in 325. Historical Significance: -first effort by the Church to gain a consensus on beliefs → Nicene Creed -rejected Arian beliefs→ Jesus was "begotten" from God -set a uniform date for Easter and enacted other canon laws -not as smooth of a transition to new beliefs as some writings make it seem.

Meaning: The biography of a saint. Historical Significance: Since the process of recognizing saints was informal in the Early Middle Ages, [] helped spread information about people whom the authors considered to be saints. One of the earliest [] was that of Perpetua. Preserved the memory of saints and inspired others to aspire to their level of sanctity. Some of the saints' actions, like St. Martin giving away his coat, can be replicated by anyone who wants to dedicate himself to a pious life.

Meaning: Social structure with three main groups: nobles, clergy, peasants. Date/Context: 9th-15th centuries, Europe. Historical Significance: Historians still debate as to whether or not this system is a useful lens through which to understand medieval society, since people living in the Middle Ages did not use the term to describe their society; however, many analyses of the medieval world rely on this construct, so it has become quite significant in the present day.

Meaning: The set of Roman values (devotion to the state, martial valor, external honor, etc) Date/Context: Term coined in the 3rd century by Tertullian. Used more in modern sources than in ancient or medieval writings. Historical Significance: The idea of [] was often applied to people who were not Roman, demonstrating the great influence of the empire outside its own borders. As future rulers of other empires wanted to emulate the Roman Empire, they looked to the values of [], whether or not this was the term they used to describe those values.

Meaning: Those who hold unorthodox beliefs that are contrary to the teachings of the Church. Date/Context: 12th and 13th century (Inquisition) Historical Significance: In identifying [], the Catholic Church established itself as "correct," legitimate and empowered.

Meaning: Leaving inheritances to the first-born son. Date/Context: Began as a result of the rise of castles, fiefdoms, and other titles. Historical Significance: Changed meaning of family → became more focused on male lineage rather than kinship in general as titles and land were passed down from one first-born male to another.

Meaning: A general term for a ruler in the Muslim community. Initially referred to the sole successors of Muhammad, but generally came to name any Islamic political and religious leader. Historical Significance: important leaders of the Muslim world

Meaning: Sale/purchase of Church offices. Date/Context: Protests against [] began in the 11th century (Gregorian Reform). Historical Significance: When [] was legal, lay influence in the church increased, since aristocrats could sell high-ranking positions to anyone they wanted. These people often ended up being corrupt, since they had to make back the money they paid for their positions and they were not necessarily pious people in the first place. Even the papacy was bought and sold in the 1030s-40s.

Meaning: The idea of lands united under Christianity, specifically Catholic Christianity. Originated with the lands ruled by Charlemagne, but came to extend to the idea of Europe as a Christian kingdom. Historical Significance: Inspired a sense of unity and loyalty to the European Christian way of life; united disparate territories under a shared religion; and in part responsible for the Crusades.

Meaning: Movement that sought to reform monastic life, which had become increasingly secular. In response, the [] reformers began a monastery that adhered strictly to the Rule of St. Benedict. Also formed a monastic order, in which other monasteries submitted to the authority of a single abbot at []. Date/Context: Founded in 910, William I, Duke of Aquitaine Historical Significance: The [] movement shows a general dissatisfaction with the contemporary monks and their secular involvement, as well as the reform-minded impulse that inspired later Cistercians and others. It also was itself a powerful, centralized abbey that exerted great authority in the ecclesiastical world.

Meaning: 12th-century monastic reform movement that emerged in response to perceived moral decline in the Cluniac monastic order Date/Context: Motherhouse (Citeaux) established in 1075 by a group of Benedictines led by an abbot named Robert of Molesme; from 1115 to the end of the century, the number of monasteries attached attached to Citeaux increased from 4 to 500 Historical Significance: -committed to an austere lifestyle, as was made clear by their undecorated abbeys. Annual council meetings of abbots at Citeaux were meant to ensure that the ideals upon which the movement had been founded were upheld. -often included lay people, often of the peasant class, known as "conversi" to work the land. -A mystic named St. Bernard of Clairvaux founded an abbey at Clairvaux and became instrumental in the spread of this movement. This movement too became increasingly lax with regard to its austere way of living due to increasing prosperity and involvement in secular matters. Led to the development of other monastic orders that were more active in the world (the Augustinians) and eventually to the formation of military orders such as the Knights Templar

Meaning: Controversy over whether the king or the pope should be allowed to appoint powerful local church officials (bishops/abbots). Date/Context: Early 12th century, between Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV. Historical Significance: Ended up being a victory for the papacy when this controversy was ended by the Concordat of Worms (1122). Emperors were given a minor role in these decisions, but the Pope's claim to be God's chief representative was largely upheld.

Meaning: called by Pope Urban II in response to threats to the Byzantine Empire by the Seljuk Turks, who had seized Jerusalem. In response, and inspired by the rabble-rousing Peter the Hermit, the Pope called a Crusade, requesting a Christian invasion to protect sacred lands. Date/Context: 1095 Historical Significance: The [] established the pattern, goals, and enemies for future crusades. The Crusades were called by popes; they aimed at retaking lands for Christianity, usually the Holy Land (i.e. Jerusalem); and the enemies were almost always Muslims. The Crusades were also said to unite Christians toward a common goal. They promoted peace among Christian nations, because the 'real' threats were external. The [] set precedent for later Crusades and inspired Christians to admire and fight for the Holy Land.

Meaning: Centers of higher learning that evolved from cathedral and municipal schools Date/Context: The cathedral and municipal schools became increasingly important during the 11th and 12th centuries, and universities sprang up from these schools beginning in the later 12th century.

Meaning: A medieval medical theory that regarded disease as the result of an imbalance in one or more of a person's four []: black bile or melancholy, yellow or red bile, blood, and phlegm Date/Context: European writers began addressing this ancient Greek theory around the 11th century. Historical Significance: rudimentary understanding of medicine

Meaning: Pope Innocent declared a crusade against heretics of Languedoc. He deposes southern nobility and invites northern French crusaders. Date/Context: 1209-1229. In 1208, Innocent III send papal legate Pierre de Castelnou to excommunicate Count Raymond VI → Pierre dies. Historical Significance: Fighting over the area continued into the 1240s. This was a crusade that happened not in the Holy Land.

Meaning: Accusation of Jews kidnapping and murdering Christians (particularly children) for Jewish religious rituals and holidays. William of Norwich was a young Christian boy whose death was attributed to Jewish [] in his area; he became a martyr and was regarded as an unofficial saint; this fueled the Christian hate of the Jews and pulled Christians closer together. Date/Context: 12th century ish Historical Significance: Led to persecutions & killings of the Jews. Gives us a perspective on how "the Other" was treated in the Middle Ages and shows how the condemnation of "the Other" made faith in Christianity stronger.

Meaning: A mendicant order founded by St. [] whose followers lived simple, impoverished lives and preached to and served the lowliest in society (all in imitation of Christ) Date/Context: Founded in the early 1200s; mendicant orders were committed to actively serving in the world rather than living in a cloister Historical Significance: This new order attracted many followers and grew incredibly rapidly in the years after it was established, and it also gave rise to tertiary orders of laypeople who followed [] example without formally joining the religious order. Some groups differed in their beliefs regarding how strictly they should follow [] example of extreme poverty, and many became focused on learning and played important roles in medieval universities.

Meaning: The Plague in Europe throughout the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. Arguably the Bubonic Plague, although according to at least one article this is disputed. Date/Context: 1346-1351 (first outbreak in Europe); roughly every decade after that for the next ~200 years Historical Significance: Wiped out a third of the European population, massive economic effects including the restructuring of the nobility and temporary gains for peasants, and also caused widespread fear and social breakdown.

Meaning: A conflict between England and France characterized by early English victories and the eventual English loss of all French lands except the port of Calais Date/Context: 1337-1453 Causes: English claims to French lands, particularly Gascony; competition for control/influence in Flanders; death of Charles IV without an heir - both Edward III of England and Philip of Valois had claims to the French throne Historical Significance: During this time, archers and infantrymen (commoners) rather than professional knights came to play an increasingly important role in warfare. Taxes increased in order to fund this new kind of war that devastated individual towns and villages; Joan of Arc's belief that a French king should rule France reveals that Europeans were becoming increasingly aware of a national identity

Meaning: Peasant rebellion in 1358 in northern France during the 100 years war. Violence went on for weeks but was eventually suppressed. Froissart chronicles this event and labels it the [] because of the peasants (all called []) who acted collectively to start the rebellion. Date/Context: 1358 -- Nobles making peasants pay huge taxes to compensate for war damages and to reinforce the social hierarchy. Peasants were also viewed as pawns in the nobles' and government's strategy against the English. Historical Significance: Shed light on the noble-peasant relationship and its tensions and the noble view of the peasants through actions and the writing on the event. Gives us a perspective on how we relate to that time period.

Meaning: Refers to the three different classes in medieval feudal society: those who fight (lord and knights), those who pray (clerics, bishops, monks, etc.) and those who work (peasants and all other non-nobles). Historical Significance: This represents the entrenched ideas of feudalism. This gives a notion of what each class was supposed to do, as well. It also shows how inflexible feudal ideas of class were, as very quickly these ideals break down in the face of new challenges (i.e. wealthy non-noble merchants)

Meaning: Encompasses certain ideals: prowess, mercy, loyalty, piety, honor, courtliness. Indicated by clothing.

Meaning: A general term for the resurgence of intellectualism in the 1100's, coinciding with the rise of universities. Heralded by thinkers like Peter Abelard, Bernard of Clairvaux, and others. Also pertains to a revival of Latin literature, a surge in Romanesque art and architecture, and of course a new fascination with ancient Greek philosophy/science. Date/Context: 1100's Historical Significance: Universities founded during this period still exist (University of Paris, Oxford). Intellectualism was useful for the masses. Forerunner of the real []

Meaning: Imitating Christ in behavior, ideas, and while practicing faith. **think about Margery Kempe and St. Louis Date/Context: before and during the Middle Ages Historical Significance: Considered essential to religious practice and Christian faith by many philosophers and theologians.

Meaning: A formal process in which heretics were sought out and punished, often employing torture as a method. Date/Context: 1231-- Historical Significance: prosecution of heretics; the Church exerting significant control; intolerance of Jews and other minorities.

Meaning: Name that Petrarch gave to the Avignon papacy, in which the papacy was seated not in Rome but in the French city of Avignon. Period before Great Schism. Date/Context: 1309-1376 (First Avignon pope in 1309; Gregory XI moves back to Rome in 1376; Great Schism begins in 1378) Historical Significance: Again, this is a precursor to the Great Schism. The shifting of the papacy to Avignon represents a greater subjugation of religious authority to secular authority. The French popes, being located in French territory, were more beholden to secular rulers. This is another low point in the history of the papacy.

Meaning: A system of field cultivation in which three fields are moved through a three year cycle: spring-planting, fall-planting, and fallow Date/Context: Agricultural Revolution that lasted between approximately 1000 and 1300 and began to slow around 1200; this was a time of increased land cultivation and improvements in agrarian technology Historical Significance: This system proved more effective than the previous system that left half of a field fallow at a given time, thereby increasing productivity. This contributed to significant population growth in Europe, the specialization of trade in different areas of Europe, and increased life expectancy (due in part to improved diets)

Meaning: A time of poor harvests that resulted in the death of about 10% of Europe's population, as well as many livestock Date/Context: 1315-1322; occurred during a time of growing population, greater rents and taxes, decreasing availability of good farmland (malnourishment), lower wages and smaller landholdings for peasants, and cold and rainy winters that lead to poor harvests Historical Significance: The worst famine in European history; although the poor and people living in towns were hit hardest, all were vulnerable. Diseases caused by weakened immune systems also killed many people, and the effects of malnourishment would later make people more susceptible to the plague

Meaning: The idea that the pope is the head of the Roman Catholic church and that his seat is rightfully Rome. Date/Context: All of church history-- however, the 'Rome' part is especially important during the Great Schism Historical Significance: Conflicts between the Pope and kings characterize practically the entire Middle Ages. Also becomes important during the Great Schism, when many asserted that the true pope must have his seat in Rome.