Feudalism Project

Feudalism: describes the type of government institutions, as well as the general social and political relationships, that existed among the warrior-landholders in much of Europe during the Middle Agesfeudal compact: An arrangement between a lord and his vassal involving the exchange of property for personal servicefief: a grant of land and accompanying government responsibilities and power vassal: servantknight: warriorhomage: a vassal's act of promising loyalty and obedience to the lordserf: laborersbaron: a great lord who exercised government authority over vast family territorypeasantry: lower end of the common people in the Middle Agesestates: in the Middle Ages, the groups that made up society: often defined as those who pray (clergy), those who fight (nobility), and those who work (peasantry)manor: the principal farming property and social unit of a medieval community, usually belonging to a member of the feudal nobility or to a Church institutionthree-field-system: a method of crop rotation designed to maintain the fertility of the soil and to provide or a regular supply of fall and spring cropsinternal colonization: the process of cultivating and settling in formerly wild landsuburb: outside of the city wallsguild: an organization of craftsman who regulated the activities of their members and set standard pricesmaster: a craftsman who had the right to operate workshops, train others, and vote on guild businessjourneyman: a licensed artisan who had served an apprenticeship and who was employed by a master and paid at a fixed rate per dayapprentice: a learner in the shop of a master, does the jobs nobody wants to domasterpiece: created by a journeymen to become a masterwater mill: iron plow: As the plow moves, the cotter (the vertical blade) slices through the earth; the plowshare then rips the earth up from underneath; and the moldboard (beneath the handles) shoves against the earth, turning it over so that it settles as loose and fertile soil.