The Middle Ages seem quite primitive to many people today, but many of the words, terms, and techniques used in medieval times are still in use today. Some of these customs or objects have changed considerably over the centuries since, but others have remained relatively unchanged. From the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the emergence of the Reformation and Renaissance, remnants of medieval language, custom, and the arts are still evident in the world today. There are many medieval enthusiast groups dedicated to exploring the culture and lifestyle of that time. These groups often hold annual events during which people dress up in period attire and immerse themselves in medieval culture. Include some of these medieval terms into your festival experience.
Abbey: A self-contained community of monks or nuns, ruled by an abbot or abbess, who owe allegiance to a lord, lady, or higher social organization.
Acre: The area of ground that could be plowed in one day; it took about 120 acres to support the average medieval family.
Attorney: Someone standing in place of another during proceedings of the court of the manor.
Bailey: The courtyard area of a castle defended by walls or other structures.
Bard: A poet or minstrel who extolled the virtues of the people, especially the nobility.
Belfry: A portable wooden tower that could be strategically maneuvered during times of battle.
Catapult: A mechanical weapon that used the power of torsion to throw stones into the midst of an invading force.
Catholic Church: From the Greek word for universal, the Church was a tremendous influence on daily living during the Medieval period, with influences in government, education, and science as well as religion.
Crusades: Military expeditions to the Holy Land under the mission of saving from or winning back the land from the Muslims; the word comes from crux, meaning cross, which all Crusaders wore on their clothing and on their flags and banners.
Dispensation: Approval from the Pope to do something that conflicts with Biblical law (such as breaking the Ten Commandments), without fear of repercussion in this life or the next.
Dower: Lands that pass on to a woman’s control at the time she becomes a widow; arrangements were usually made at the time of betrothal.
Dungeon: A jail usually contained within the tower of a castle.
Earl: The highest-ranking title that could be bestowed on an English nobleman who was not of royal lineage.
Equity: A body of rules sanctioned by the court or chancery that supplemented common law.
Estate: The full extent of an individual’s interest, or ownership, of land.
Fair: A regularly scheduled market event, usually held once or twice a year, that featured a larger array of goods than was found at smaller markets.
Friar: A member of a begging (mendicant) religious order, such as the Carmelites, Dominicans, and Franciscans; from the Latin word for brother.
Furlong: A unit of measure that represented the length of a furrow in a plowed field.
Gael: The Celtic peoples of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Mann.
Grange: Farm buildings situated at a distance from the manor house and the centralized buildings that supported the manor.
Guild: Trade associations that provided some structural hierarchy within the trade; guild members were trained according to guild standards, were not allowed to complete with each other, and were required to sell their products or services at fair market value.
Half-Timber: A building constructed of wood-framed walls filled in with wattle and daub between the wood supports.
Hermit: An individual who shuns society for religious reasons but who chooses to do so in solitude versus a monastery; from the Greed word for desert, a favored place for hermits of the eastern Mediterranean area.
Hue and Cry: A system of criminal apprehension under which every resident of a village was to shout out the call to neighbors to join forces immediately to capture a criminal.
Indenture: A legally binding contract written on one sheet of parchment that was ripped apart (indented) so each party to the contract would have a copy to keep until contractual obligations had been met.
Infidel: Anyone who was strongly opposed to the concept of Christianity.
Inquest: A legal or judicial investigation that relied on the revelations of sworn testimony.
Journeyman: A wage-earning worker who has completed the apprenticeship stage of training.
Jury: A body of men who were presumed to know the details of a legal hearing and were thus called upon to render a verdict in the case.
Jus Primae Noctis: A right granted to the lord of a manor that allowed him to spend the first night of his serf’s marriage with the serf’s new bride.
Keep: The main, centrally located tower of a castle, often free standing, and usually the last location to be defended when the rest of the castle has fallen to enemy forces.
Knight Service: Forty days of unpaid military service served to a lord or king who has granted tenure of land to the knight.
Knight Templar: A military religious order founded in 1118 to protect the Holy Sepulchre and people on pilgrimage to the Holy Land; the Knights Templar became wealthy and powerful during the Middle Ages after resorting to torture techniques with Papal approval.
Lancet: Long narrow windows that were pointed at the top and popular during the 13th century.
Liege Lord: The lord or tenant-in-chief to whom a knight swore allegiance in exchange for use of the lord’s land.
Love-Day: A day when litigants were given the opportunity to reconcile differences outside the jurisdiction of the court system.
Man-at-Arms: Often called a yeoman, this person served military duty in exchange for land that generally measured between 60 and 120 acres.
Moat: A deep, wide trench dug around a castle as a means of preventing access; some moats were filled with water but others remained dry.
Monk: A male member of a religious order housed in a monastery where vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty were observed.
Naifty: To be born in bondage or a serf.
Newell: A central pillar from which the steps of a circular staircase were projected.
Nun: A woman dedicated to a lifestyle of religious servitude, especially female members of a religious order.
Oblate: A child raised in a monastery after being abandoned there by its parents; opposite of a conversus, who is a person who chooses as an adult to join the monastery.
Ordeal: An often painful or dangerous physical test required of a person under trial, successful completion of which proved innocence.
Oyer and Terminer: A panel of judges commissioned to “hear and determine” the merits of complaints raised in court.
Pike: A long spear topped with a small metal head.
Pilgrimage: A journey to a holy shrine, site, or other location taken for penance, thanksgiving, or worship; during the Middle Ages, pilgrimages to the Holy Land were highly regarded.
Pommel: A knob affixed to the top of a sword’s hilt so it counterbalances the weight of the sword’s blade.
Quadrivium: Four of the seven scientific studies comprising the liberal arts - arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, and music; the remaining three studies are literary.
Quarter: A unit of measure equal to eight bushels.
Quillons: The iron crossbar on a sword or dagger.
Rebeck: An early fiddle-like musical instrument that had three strings and was played with a bow.
Ricasso: The blunt part of a sword’s blade that lies immediately beyond the crossguard.
Rod: A measure of length that varied between 15 and 16.5 feet.
(Right of) Sanctuary: A period of forty days in which a fugitive could hide out in peace and safety at a church or on church grounds without worry of capture; after 40 days of sanctuary, the fugitive became an outlaw at the mercy of the king.
Serf: A relatively free peasant who was allowed to pay dues to his lord in exchange for use of land; such dues usually consisted of working for the lord three days of every week and possession of the land could be passed from one generation of serfs to the next but the serfs could never own the land.
Sheriff: The chief administrative and judicial official of a shire, or English county; sheriffs collected taxes for the king’s exchequer and made sure the king’s table was well stocked when he and his court were present.
Shilling: A measure of money equal to 12 pennies.
Tonsure: The religious ceremony during which the crown of a man’s head is shaved bare as the first step to becoming a member of the clergy; the resulting hairstyle is also called tonsure.
Truce of God: An unofficial tendency to forbid fighting on Sundays and during the most important religious seasons and feast days.
Turret: A small tower situated atop a castle’s main tower that is used as a look-out point.
Undercroft: A basement or cellar.
Uses: An agreement in trust of land or income that allowed all trustees to enjoy use of the collective property.
Usury: Interest charged on a loan; although forbidden by biblical law, Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar regularly collected it.
Vassal: A free tenant granted the right to use the land of his lord in return for loyalty, honor, and military service; the vassal enjoyed his lord’s protection from outside forces but was expected to pay ransom should the lord be held captive and was to help finance the knighthood of the lord’s eldest son and marriage of the lord’s eldest daughter.
Vice: A spiral staircase.
Villein: The highest level of serfdom; the villein was allowed to cultivate as much as 40 acres of land although it was often in small, isolated strips.
Wager of Law: The right to defend one’s innocence under oath in a court of law and with oaths of supporters to strengthen the defendant’s claims.
Weatherboarding: An architectural technique created by overlapping horizontal boards atop a window sill to keep out the rain.
Week-Work: The number of days a week or weeks a year a tenant works for his lord in payment of dues or debts.
Yale: A composite or stylized animal that is part of a coat of arms.
Year Book: A report of court cases heard over a year’s time.
Yoke: A measure of land, particularly in Kent.
Zaduzbina: An obligation of the soul; for example, Serbian rulers built monasteries as zaduzbina.
Zupa: A unit of territory in Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia; a zupa was similar to a county elsewhere.
Zupan: The lord, or count, of the zupa.
Medieval Links
The Middle Ages: Students and teachers alike will find plenty of useful information at this site devoted to the Middle Ages.
Medieval Period: From clothing to castles, torture to castles, this site offers information every scholar of the Middle Ages can use.
De Re Militari: The Society for Medieval Military History: Historians of the Middle Ages and of military history unite here.
Medievalists: This online hub features videos, articles, news, and resources for learning more about the Middle Ages.
Medieval Map: Make sure your Flash plug-in is working for this multimedia website that shows boundary maps, videos, and more to guide you through the ever-changing world of the Middle Ages.
Medieval Medical Illustrations: Look at the Middle Ages through the eyes of a doctor.
Learning Medieval Realms: Explore this British Library collection of data about the Middle Ages.
The Soldier in Later Medieval England: Professional soldiery got started in the Middle Ages and this searchable database of real-life medieval soldiers might lead gallant ancestors.
Medieval History: Find links to articles describing life, love, and heroes of the Middle Ages.
Dietary Requirements of a Medieval Peasant: Life without today’s modern conveniences meant life was full of hard work for medieval peasants. Find out what was eaten and how much of it was needed to meet the body’s daily energy needs.
Written by Michael S. Atwood