Medieval Vocabulary

Pre test on May 20th
Main test on May 22nd


1. Medieval - A descriptive term for people, objects, events, and institutions of the Middle Ages.
2. Bubonic Plague - A highly contagious disease, usually fatal, caused by bacteria which are transmitted to humans by rat-borne fleas.
3. Fealty - Fidelity to one's lord; the feudal obligation by which the tenant or vassal was bound to be faithful to his lord.
4. Fief - A piece of land held under the feudal system.
5. Manor - The mansion of a lord with the land belonging to it.
6. Serf - A member of the lowest feudal class, attached to the land owned by a lord and required to perform labor in return for certain legal or customary rights.
7. Feudalism - A political and economic system of Europe from the 9th to about the 15th century, based on the holding of all land in fief or fee and the resulting relation of lord to vassal and characterized by homage, legal and military service of tenants.
8. Vassal - A person who held land from a feudal lord and received protection in return for homage and allegiance.