KEY TERMS Feudalism Peasants Bailiff Open fi eld system Fallow
The commons Tithe
Knights
Oath of chivalry Charter
Curfew Guild
Masterpiece Christendom
Rule of St Benedict Friars
the system of land ownership where rulers (kings, lords) divided land among their followers in return for loyalty and taxes
the people who worked on a lord’s land. Serfs were the property of the lord and had very few rights. Freemen had more freedom, but still had to pay rent, taxes and tithes
the offi cial on the manor who was in charge of collecting taxes and maintaining order when the lord was away
the system of farming where peasants were each given strips of land to farm in large fi elds
the one fi eld left empty every year to let it regain its nutrients a large fi eld on the manor where the peasants’ animals grazed
the payment of one-tenth of a peasant’s annual income to the Church
warriors of noble birth who fought on horseback and swore an oath of chivalry
sworn by a knight to be loyal to a lord and protect the weak
a contract whereby a town was granted freedom to run its own affairs but paid taxes to the king
a rule that required people in towns to put out their fi res at night an organisation of people who worked in the same trade
a piece of work presented to the guild to judge if someone was good enough to become a master craftsman
the ‘kingdom of Christ’, referring to Europe the strict set of rules that monks lived by
monks who travelled around the country tending to the poor and the sick
Go to page 32 of your Sources and Skills Book for more exercises.
Go to page 10 of your Research Portfolio for a task based on this chapter.
