Commercial Revolution
A period of economic expansion, beginning in the 11th century, characterized by the growth of trade, banking, and commercial practices in Europe.
Guild
An association of people in the same trade or craft, formed to control the quality and quantity of production, provide mutual aid, and regulate training (e.g., baker's guild, tailor's guild).
Apprentices
A person who works for another in order to learn a trade. This was the first stage of training within a guild.
Journeymen/journeywomen
A person who has completed an apprenticeship and is qualified to work for wages for other masters. They often traveled to gain experience.
Masters
A craftsman who has attained the highest skill level, typically by submitting a "masterpiece" to the guild, and who is permitted to run their own shop and train apprentices.
Capitalism
An economic system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.
Commune
A town or city in the Middle Ages, especially in Italy, that gained self-governance from the local lord or bishop.
Simony
The buying or selling of church offices or spiritual things (like pardons or relics), a practice heavily criticized by reformers.
Lay Investiture
The appointment of church officials (like bishops) by secular, non-clergy rulers (like kings or emperors), rather than by the Church itself.
Reconquista
The centuries-long series of military campaigns by which Christian kingdoms re-took control of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) from the Muslim Moors.
Gregorian Reform
A series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the papacy that focused on the independence of the Church from secular control, especially targeting simony and lay investiture.
Henry IV
Holy Roman Emperor who clashed with Pope Gregory VII over the issue of lay investiture, leading to the Investiture Conflict.
Investiture Conflict
A major political and religious struggle between the medieval Church (Popes) and the Holy Roman Empire (Emperors) over the right to appoint church officials.
Concordat of Worms
A 1122 agreement that officially ended the first phase of the Investiture Conflict. It separated the spiritual appointment of bishops (by the Pope) from the secular appointment of their land/fiefs (by the Emperor).
Sacraments
Christian rites, such as baptism, communion (Eucharist), and marriage, that are considered outward, visible signs of God's grace and are essential for salvation.
St. Bernard
Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153), a powerful and influential French abbot who was a key leader in the Cistercian monastic order and a major force behind the Second Crusade.
Alexius I
Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) who appealed to Western Europe for military aid against the Seljuk Turks, which contributed to Pope Urban II launching the First Crusade.
Urban II
Pope Urban II (r. 1088–1099) who famously called for the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in 1095.
First Crusade
The first of the Crusades, launched in 1095, which resulted in the capture of Jerusalem by European Christians in 1099 and the establishment of the Crusader States.
Battle of Hastings
A decisive battle in 1066 where the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror defeated the English army, leading to the Norman Conquest of England and a profound change in English history and culture.