European Feudalism Flashcards
Grade 6 · Social Studies · Flashcards
Key vocabulary for European Feudalism — the feudal system, social hierarchy, and medieval life.
Flashcards
- Feudalism
- A medieval European political and social system where lords granted land to vassals in exchange for loyalty and military service.
- Fief
- A piece of land granted by a lord to a vassal in return for an oath of loyalty and military service.
- Vassal
- A person who received a fief from a lord and swore an oath (homage) of loyalty and military service.
- Lord
- A noble in the feudal system who owned land, granted fiefs to vassals, and received loyalty and service in return.
- Serf
- A peasant farmer bound to the lord's land; could not leave without permission and owed labor and crops as taxes.
- Knight
- A mounted warrior in heavy armor who trained for combat and swore military loyalty to a feudal lord.
- Squire
- A knight-in-training, usually age 14–21, who served an existing knight before earning knighthood.
- Manor
- The basic economic unit of feudal society — a self-sufficient estate with farmland, a village, and the lord's residence.
- Chivalry
- The code of behavior for knights emphasizing loyalty, courage, honor, and protection of the weak.
- Black Death
- The bubonic plague of 1347–1351 that killed approximately one-third of Europe's population, weakening feudalism.
- Tithe
- A tax of 10% of income paid to the Catholic Church; the Church collected tithes across feudal Europe.
- Homage
- The ceremony in which a vassal knelt before a lord and pledged loyalty and service in exchange for a fief.
- Feudal pyramid
- The hierarchical structure of feudal society: king at top, then lords, then knights, then serfs at the bottom.
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