A beginner's guide to the medieval period

Ms. Glass (Georgia)
12 words 82 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. wench
    a young woman
    When I polled a group of well-educated friends on Facebook, they told me that the word “medieval” called to mind Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Blackadder, The Sword in the Stone, lusty wenches, feasting, courtly love, the plague, jousting and chain mail.
  2. courtly
    refined or imposing in manner or appearance
    When I polled a group of well-educated friends on Facebook, they told me that the word “medieval” called to mind Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Blackadder, The Sword in the Stone, lusty wenches, feasting, courtly love, the plague, jousting and chain mail.
  3. joust
    fight someone in a tournament on horseback
    When I polled a group of well-educated friends on Facebook, they told me that the word “medieval” called to mind Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Blackadder, The Sword in the Stone, lusty wenches, feasting, courtly love, the plague, jousting and chain mail.
  4. friar
    male member of a religious order originally relying on alms
    Perhaps someone who had seen (or better yet read) The Name of the Rose or Pillars of the Earth would add cathedrals, manuscripts, monasteries, feudalism, monks and friars.
  5. entity
    that which is perceived to have its own distinct existence
    During this time, the Roman Empire slowly fragmented into many smaller political entities.
  6. formation
    the act of establishing or creating something
    This was a period that heralded the formation and rise of universities, the establishment of the rule of law, numerous periods of ecclesiastical reform and the birth of the tourism industry.
  7. ecclesiastical
    of or associated with a church
    This was a period that heralded the formation and rise of universities, the establishment of the rule of law, numerous periods of ecclesiastical reform and the birth of the tourism industry.
  8. prosper
    make steady progress
    The visual arts prospered during Middles Ages, which created its own aesthetic values.
  9. commission
    the act of granting authority to undertake certain functions
    The wealthiest and most influential members of society commissioned cathedrals, churches, sculpture, painting, textiles, manuscripts, jewelry and ritual items from artists.
  10. textile
    artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting fibers
    The wealthiest and most influential members of society commissioned cathedrals, churches, sculpture, painting, textiles, manuscripts, jewelry and ritual items from artists.
  11. crusade
    a series of actions tending toward a particular end
    Among the better ones were the song “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” sung by They Might Be Giants, crusades, things that are too complex (like the tax code or medical billing), Hagia Sophia, the poet Yeats, mosaics, monks, and icons.
  12. extant
    still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost
    Early Byzantine or Early Christian art begins with the earliest extant Christian works of art c.
Created on Fri Dec 27 04:29:00 EST 2013 (updated Fri Dec 27 04:29:35 EST 2013)

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