Feudal system- the name given to the system of land ownership in the middle ages
Fief- an area of land which the king granted a lord, in return the lord promised to fight for the king
motte- a man made hill on which a castle was built
bailey- the courtyard of a medival castle
moat- a deep ditch dug around the walls of a castle
keep- a large square tower
portcullis-an iron hate which could be lowered over the entrance of a castle during an attack
turret- a small tower built on a castle wall
barbican - a defensive gatehouse at the entrance of a castle
Fosterage- a common practice in the middle ages whereby the children of the lord and lady of the castle were sent to other noble families to supervise their upbringing
Hawking- a form of haunting whereby birds of prey are trained to hunt for small animals
Manor- the land owned by a lord
dmense- the land retained by the lord for his own worse
squire- the second stage of a knights training,squires accompanied fully trained kinight and learned to fight with real weapons
page- the first stage of a knights training. young boys were taught manners and basic fighting skills
Toournament- contest between knights
jousting- a contest in which two knights on horseback charge at eachother with a lance in an attempt to unseat their opponent
chivalry- a code of conduct for knights
open field system- a system i which the land in the village was divided into three large fields and then divided into different strips, which were farmed by the serfs
serf- a pesant who was not alloud to leave the village without the lords permission
Tithe- every year the serfs had to give one tenth of their crop to the parish preiest to pay for the upkeep of the church
potage- a vegetable stew
Charter- a list of rules for a medival town or city
toll- money that had to be paid in order to trade in a medival town
Curfew; once darkness came, townspeople had to extinguish all fires
Guild; an orginisation for craft workers which had strict rules for all its members
pillory- a medival form of punishment where an offendors hands and head were locked in a wooden frame
Sanctuary- a place of refuge from the law whithin curch grounds
cloister- a walled, enclosed area in a monastry where monks prayed
Abbot- the monk in charge of the monastery
Tonsure- the shaving of the crown of a monks head
Chapter house- where monks held daily meetings
Refectory- the dining room in a monastry
Infirmarian- a monk that looked after the sick
Almoner-a monk that looked after visitors and distributed food to the poor