Feudalism= A term coined by historians to describe 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 Ages.

feudal compact= An arrangement  between a lord and his vassal involving the exchange of property for personal service

fief= A grant of land that a lord gave to a knight after he pledged loyalty 

Vassal= a knight under the oath of loyalty to a lord 

knight= warrior who has to go through training

homage= A vassal’s act of promising loyalty and obedience to his lord

serf= bound to the land and to the lord for a lifetime and you can't go anywhere 

baron= A great lord who exercised government  authority over fast family territory.

peasantry= 

estates= In the middle ages, the groups that made up society: often defined as those who pray, those who fight, and those who work

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 institution

three-field-system= A method of crop rotation designed to maintain the fertility of the soil and to provide for a regular supply of fall and spring crops

internal colonization= The process of cultivation and settling in formerly wild land in medieval Europe

suburb=the towns that formed outside of the protective walls 

guild= An organization of merchants or craftspeople who regulated the activities of their members and set standards and prices

master= A craftsman who had the right to operate workshops, train others, and vote on guild business

journeyman= A licensed artisan who had served an apprenticeship and who was employed by a master and paid at a fixed rate per day.

Apprentice= A “learner” in the shop of a master

masterpiece

water mill

iron plow-