Middle Ages
Knights and castles
The Middle Ages is the period of European history between antiquity and the Renaissance, roughly from the 5th to the 15th century—from the fall of Rome to the age of exploration.
The term suggests a middle position between classical civilization and its modern revival.
Medieval art, medieval times, and medieval period are synonymous references.
Calling something medieval often implies backwardness or brutality: The prison conditions were positively medieval.
Tall wooden archery weapon
- siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
- castleFortified medieval residence
- chainmailArmor of linked rings
- battering ramHeavy beam for breaching
trebuchet · crossbow · moat · battlements · portcullis · drawbridge · catapult · pike
Landed aristocratic residence
- serfdomFeudal bound labor
- vassalLand-holding sworn subordinate
- fiefGranted feudal estate
- lordNobleman or ruler
peasant · knight · liege · suzerain · homage · fealty · bailiff · tithe
Honored mounted soldier
- gallantryCourage, especially in combat
- valorCourage in danger
- courtesyRespectful, considerate behavior
- honorHigh regard, moral dignity
jousting · tournaments · squire · lady · virtue · code · armor · heraldry
Religious seclusion dwelling
- abbeyMonastic house of worship
- monkCloistered religious devotee
- nunHebrew alphabet's fourteenth
- conventReligious sisters' dwelling
scriptorium · illuminated manuscripts · Benedictine · Franciscan · Dominican · cloister · vespers · matins
Rigorous dialectical learning method
- alchemyMystical metal transformation
- astrologyDivination by celestial positions
- LatinAncient Roman language
- parchmentTreated hide for manuscripts
university · trivium · Thomas Aquinas · theology · philosophy · Oxford · Bologna · Paris
Medieval bubonic plague pandemic
- bubonicOf groin-node swellings
- pestilenceFatal epidemic disease
- Yersinia pestisBacterium causing plague
- fleasBiting insect parasites
rats · quarantine · epidemic · mortality · pustules · flagellants · mass graves · isolation
Triply sacred ancient capital
- Holy LandSacred ground, three faiths
- pilgrimageReligious journey to shrine
- SaladinTwelfth-century sultan, Jerusalem's captor
- Richard the LionheartPlantagenet crusader king
Templars · siege · Byzantium · Acre · relics · Outremer · Saracens · Antioch
Philosophy prioritizing earthly reason
- PetrarchMedieval Italian lyric poet
- FlorenceTuscan capital city
- classicismAdherence to ancient artistic principles
- printing pressMechanical text reproduction device
Gutenberg · Medici · vernacular · patronage · perspective · rebirth · individualism · antiquity
Bishop's principal church
- vaultSecure storage chamber
- flying buttressExternal arch transferring thrust
- stained glassColored window art
- pointed archArch with angled apex
gargoyle · rose window · tracery · spire · clerestory · apse · nave · choir
longbow
Tall wooden archery weapon
battering ram · trebuchet · crossbow · moat · battlements · portcullis · drawbridge · catapult · pike · halberd
manor
Landed aristocratic residence
lord · peasant · knight · liege · suzerain · homage · fealty · bailiff · tithe · demesne
knight
Honored mounted soldier
- gallantryCourage, especially in combat
- valorCourage in danger
- courtesyRespectful, considerate behavior
honor · jousting · tournaments · squire · lady · virtue · code · armor · heraldry · duel
monastery
Religious seclusion dwelling
convent · scriptorium · illuminated manuscripts · Benedictine · Franciscan · Dominican · cloister · vespers · matins · Gregorian chant
scholasticism
Rigorous dialectical learning method
- alchemyMystical metal transformation
- astrologyDivination by celestial positions
- LatinAncient Roman language
parchment · university · trivium · Thomas Aquinas · theology · philosophy · Oxford · Bologna · Paris · Aristotle
Black Death
Medieval bubonic plague pandemic
- bubonicOf groin-node swellings
- pestilenceFatal epidemic disease
- Yersinia pestisBacterium causing plague
fleas · rats · quarantine · epidemic · mortality · pustules · flagellants · mass graves · isolation · miasma
Jerusalem
Triply sacred ancient capital
- Holy LandSacred ground, three faiths
- pilgrimageReligious journey to shrine
- SaladinTwelfth-century sultan, Jerusalem's captor
Richard the Lionheart · Templars · siege · Byzantium · Acre · relics · Outremer · Saracens · Antioch · holy war
humanism
Philosophy prioritizing earthly reason
- PetrarchMedieval Italian lyric poet
- FlorenceTuscan capital city
- classicismAdherence to ancient artistic principles
printing press · Gutenberg · Medici · vernacular · patronage · perspective · rebirth · individualism · antiquity · Boccaccio
cathedral
Bishop's principal church
- vaultSecure storage chamber
- flying buttressExternal arch transferring thrust
- stained glassColored window art
pointed arch · gargoyle · rose window · tracery · spire · clerestory · apse · nave · choir · ambulatory
- European HistoryFrench Revolution, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Industrial Revolution
- Middle Agescastles, knights, feudal system, feudalism, serfs
- Historical AgesNeolithic, Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Chalcolithic, Hellenistic
- historical erasRenaissance, Victorian era, Tudor era, Georgian era, Elizabethan era
- literary periodsRenaissance, Victorian, modern, contemporary, ancient
- historyancient civilizations, past events, historian, epochs, era
Middle AgesRenaissance
European cultural reawakening
Age of Enlightenment · Industrial Age · modern times · prehistory · modernity
Middle Agesmodernity
Being of present times
Age of Reason · Enlightenment · Age of Enlightenment · Renaissance · Digital Age
age, middle, medieval, middle-aged, midlife, medievalism, medievalist, mediaeval, medievalists