Byzantine Empire: The Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, was an empire that was

comprised of the remnants of the eastern half of the Roman Empire after Rome and the western
half of its empire fell in 473 AD. The Byzantine Empire was the dominant power in eastern
Europe during most of its existence, giving birth to Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Christianity and
Byzantine art forms and continuing what remained of classical culture; it gradually declined and
was destroyed when its capital, Constantinople (now Istanbul), fell to Ottoman invaders in 1453.

Charlemagne: Charlemagne was the founder and emperor of his namesake empire, the
Carolingian Empire, from 800 to 814; he was the founder of the first major unified empire in
western Europe after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. His
campaigns against neighboring pagan peoples in northern and central Europe helped to spread
Christianity through Europe.

Great Schism of East and West: The Great Schism was a division between the eastern (Eastern
Orthodox) and western (Roman Catholic) branches of Christianity that occurred in 1054. This
division was caused by disputes between the branches over key elements of Christianity such
as the authority of the Pope (supported by the West but refuted by the East), the main religious
center of Christianity (Rome in the West, Constantinople in the East), the source of the Holy
Spirit, and whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist; it led to
mutual excommunications, the closing of western churches in the East (and vice versa), and
mutual animosity between the Byzantine Empire and the rulers of western Europe.

Pope Gregory VII: Pope Gregory VII was the pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1073 to
1085; he was known for his reforms, such as enforcing the Roman Catholic Churchs policy of
celibacy in the clergy, and his conflicts over power with rulers such as Henry IV of the Holy
Roman Empire, who had control over local land-owning bishops. Gregory VII believed that the
clergy should be the most important officials and leaders in Europe and that the secular
interests of kings were inferior to the importance of the church.

Pope Innocent III: Pope Innocent III was the pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1198 up
to his death in 1216. He was one of the most powerful popes, claiming that his divine power was
superior to the power of kings, and organized the Fourth Crusade, a crusade meant to oust
Muslim rulers from Egypt and Jerusalem but ultimately resulted in the sacking of Constantinople
in 1204. (Innocent III saw the sack as an effort to bring the Roman Catholic and Eastern
Orthodox churches back together approved by God, but this greatly worsened relations between
the two sects.)

feudalism: Feudalism was a structural system where local lords leased peasants and land to
vassals in exchange for their loyalty and protection as soldiers against the lords enemies (the
kingdoms enemies, other lords, raiders, etc.). Almost ubiquitous throughout medieval Europe,
feudalism was so prevalent that its last remnants in Europe were only phased out around the
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

manorialism: Manorialism was the set of rules under which feudal serfs were bound. Under
manorialism, serfs could not leave their lords land; local lords would give land and their
protection to serfs in exchange for most of the crop generated from the land worked by the
serfs.

High Middle Ages: The High Middle Ages was a period of European history around the eleventh
century to the thirteenth century (1000-1300). The High Middle Ages were characterized by a
rapidly increasing European population, the growing power of the Catholic Church and the
papacy, and growing scientific and philosophical advances from the centuries before with the
founding of universities such as the University of Paris.

Magna Carta: The Magna Carta was an agreement made in 1215 between King John of
England and his subjects (feudal barons, the clergy, and representatives from London) that
limited the powers of the monarchy in order to prevent abuse of monarchical power, especially
in the area of taxation. This agreement gradually led to the establishment of the Parliament in
England and constitutional law in England and, gradually, the rest of Europe.

guild system: The guild system was an economic system in medieval Europe where groups of
artisans and merchants with similar professions came together to establish guilds, which were
associations that controlled the practice of their profession in local areas through apprenticeship
and setting standards, staying away from risk, speculation, and attempts solely for profit and
economic gain. The guild system eventually led to the establishment of universities from guilds
of students at cities such as Paris and Oxford.

Holy Roman Empire: The Holy Roman Empire was a group of states in central Europe led by an
emperor elected by some of its states princes that existed from 962 to 1806. In the High Middle
Ages, the Holy Roman Emperor had much more power than Holy Roman Emperors in later
centuries and would often clash with the Roman Catholic Church and the papacy over issues
relating to control and power.

scholasticism: Scholasticism is a method of thinking that was pioneered by St. Thomas Aquinas
in his work Summa Theologica. Based on Aquinass belief that faith and reason could never
truly conflict, scholasticism sought to resolve contradictions and harmonize classical philosophy
(especially that of Aristotle) with Christian theology; although this tended to weaken the spread
of natural science, scholasticism led to the development of disciplined thinking and allowed
reasoning to flourish (instead of outright rejection of reason that had occurred in the past).