European History Vocabulary

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peninsula

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a body of land surrounded on three sides by water

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city-state

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an independent state made up of a city and the territories dependent on it

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democracy

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a form of government by the people, in which citizens elect representatives to govern them

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serf

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From the 1500s to the 1800s, a poor Russian or European peasant farmer who rented land from a landlord and had few rights.

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feudal system

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a social structure during the Middle Ages consisting of a king, lords, vassals, and serfs

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Middle Ages

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a period in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, from about 500 to 1500

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Crusades

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Military expeditions of the Roman Catholic Church to take back holy lands in the Middle East from Muslim control, 1096–1291.

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Renaissance

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Meaning 'rebirth,' a period from the 1300s to the 1500s in which culture and the arts flourished.

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nationalism

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a strong sense of loyalty to one's country

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Reformation

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the movement in the 1500s to reform Christianity