Words of Unit 2: meaning

Unit 2

1.Vikings- They came from Scandinavia. They conquered the British Isles, nothern France and southern Italy, and they founded kingdoms.

2.Magyards- They came from the steppes of Asia. They settled in Eastern Europe, and founded the kingdom of Hungary.

3.Saracens-They were Muslim pirates who attached the Mediterranean coasts of Europe.

4.Serfs- As peasants could not depend on the king's protection, they turned to the nobles for help.

Nobles had their own armies and castles. In exchange for protection, the peasants had to work for the nobles, and submit to their authority. They became the noble's serfs.

5.Nobles-is a state-privileged status which is generally hereditary, but which may also be personal only.They were the knights and their families. Their duty was to defend the population.

6.Fief or manor- Nobles received land in exchange for swearing allegiance to the king. This land is called a fief or manor. Each one has got a castle where the lord live. There were also villages where the peasants lived, and forests.

7.Vassals- the barons became the kings vassals by accepting the king's supremacy.

8.Paid homage- The vassals paid homage to the king and swore alliance to him in a ceremony.

9.Court- It was formed by a group of lawyers, clergy and soldiers. They helped to the king to gobern. Their decisions usually only affected to the king's lands.

10.Demesne- It is called to a part of the land on the manor, that it was used by the lord himself.

11.Clergy- They were the monks and priests. They had to pray for the spiritual salvation of the people.

12.Priviliged states- It was formed by the nobles and the clergy. They had advantages.

13.Pope- In Rome he was the head of the Church. He also ruled over the Papal State on the Italian Peninsula.

14.Order of Saint Benedict- It was the most important order in the early Middle Ages.

15.Regular clergy- They were member of religious orders. Each order was led by an abbot.

16.Knight- The squires that they proved their worth about five years later they were made knights in a special ceremony.

17.Tithe- It is a percentage of the harvest, to the Church.

18.Fallow-Every year the peasants left half of their land fallow so that it recover and became fertile again.

19.Self-sufficient- The peasants were that. They grew food, made clothes and furniture, and built their houses.