World History: Patterns of Interaction: Chapter 14

Bishops sold positions in the Church, a practice called simony.

Shortly after this appeal, he issued a call for what he termed a “holy war,” a Crusade, to gain control of the Holy Land. Over the next 300 years, a number of such Crusades were launched.

To unify their country under Christianity and to increase their power, Isabella and Ferdinand made use of the Inquisition. This was a court held by the Church to suppress heresy.

A guild was an organization of individuals in the same business or occupation working to improve the economic and social conditions of its members.

Just as agriculture was expanding and craftsmanship changing, so were trade and finance. Increased availability of trade goods and new ways of doing business changed life in Europe. Taken together, this expansion of trade and business is called the Commercial Revolution.

As trade expanded, the burghers, or merchant-class town dwellers, resented this interference in their trade and commerce.

At a time when serious scholars and writers were writing in Latin, a few remarkable poets began using a lively vernacular, or the everyday language of their homeland.

Aquinas and his fellow scholars who met at the great universities were known as schoolmen, or scholastics. The scholastics used their knowledge of Aristotle to debate many issues of their time.

Over the centuries, case by case, the rulings of England’s royal judges formed a unified body of law that became known as common law. Today the principles of English common law are the basis for law in many English-speaking countries, including the United States.

In 1295, Edward summoned two burgesses (citizens of wealth and property) from every borough and two knights from every county to serve as a parliament, or legislative group.

In France, the Church leaders were known as the First Estate, and the great lords as the Second Estate. The commoners, wealthy landholders or merchants, that Philip invited to participate in the council became known as the Third Estate. The whole meeting was called the Estates-General.

The French pope lived in Avignon, while the Italian pope lived
in Rome. This began the split in the Church known as the Great Schism, or division.

During the 1300s an epidemic struck parts of Asia, North Africa, and Europe. Approximately one-third of the population of Europe died of the deadly disease known as the bubonic plague.

During the 1300s an epidemic struck parts of Asia, North Africa, and Europe. Approximately one-third of the population of Europe died of the deadly disease known as the bubonic plague.