WC midterm vocab
Terms
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- ethics
- Study of what is good and bad, and of moral duty.
- tyrants
- In ancient Greece, rulers who seized power by force but who ruled with the people's support; later came to refer to rulers who exercise brutal and oppressive power.
- export
- Good or service sold to another country or region.
- representative democracy
- Form of government in which citizens elect representatives to run the government for them, rather than each citizen serving directly in the government.
- phalanx
- Military formation composed of rows of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder, carrying pikes or heavy spears.
- middle class
- Class of skilled workers between the upper class and the poor and unskilled workers.
- aristocracy
- Government ruled by an upper class.
- consuls
- Chief executives elected to run the government in ancient Rome.
- import
- Good or service bought from another country or region.
- metics
- People living in Athens who were not Athenian citizens, who could work and who paid taxes but were not allowed to own land or take part in government.
- tribunes
- Officials elected by Rome's popular assemblies.
- shires
- Governmental districts in early England; governed by a shire-reeve (sheriff).
- vassal
- Person granted land from a lord in return for services.
- merchant guild
- Association of merchants and workers created to protect their rights to trade and to help out members and their families.
- popular government
- Idea that people can and should rule themselves.
- ephors
- Five officials in ancient Sparta who were elected for one-year terms to make sure the king stayed within the law.
- abbess
- Head of a convent who served a role similar to an abbot.
- apprentice
- One who learns a skill under a master.
- checks and balances
- System of government that prevents any one part of the government from becoming too powerful.
- golden age
- Era of cultural progress in Greece in the 400s B.C.
- agora
- Marketplace in a city-state in Greece.
- domestic system
- Method of production that takes place in the worker's home rather than in a shop or factory.
- democracy
- Government in which citizens take part.
- scholasticism
- Medieval philosophy attempting to bring together faith and reason.
- dowry
- Money or goods a wife brings to a marriage.
- monasticism
- Way of life in convents and monasteries where nuns and monks withdraw from the world and its temptations.
- republic
- Form of government in which voters elect officials to run the state.
- chivalry
- Code of conduct that dictated knights' behavior toward others.
- veto
- Refuse to approve, as in a bill or law.
- acropolis
- Hill or mountain in Greece that included a fort as well as temples and other public buildings.
- cardinals
- Catholic officials ranking next below the pope.
- dramas
- Plays containing action or dialogue and usually involving conflict and emotion.
- myths
- Traditional stories about gods, goddesses, and heroes.
- pedagogue
- In ancient Greece, a male slave who taught a young boy manners.
- market economy
- Economy in which land, labor, and capital are controlled by individual persons.
- gladiators
- Trained fighters, usually slaves, who fought in arenas as entertainment.
- interdict
- The Catholic Church's punishment of a region, involving closing churches and withholding sacraments.
- serfs
- Peasants who were bound to the land where they worked for a lord.
- dictator
- Absolute ruler.
- censors
- Roman officials who registered citizens according to their wealth.
- equites
- Class of business people and landowners in ancient Rome who had wealth and power.
- aristocracies
- Greek city-states controlled by nobles.
- triumvirate
- Political alliance of three rulers.
- heresy
- Opinion that conflicts with official church beliefs.
- direct democracy
- Form of democracy in which all citizens participate directly in making decisions.
- vernacular languages
- Everyday speech that varies from place to place.
- helots
- Conquered people of the Peloponnesus, who became the lowest class in Spartan society.
- frescoes
- Paintings done on wet plaster walls.
- primogeniture
- System of inheritance from father to eldest son for ownership or possession of land.
- curia
- Group of advisers to the pope drawn from the highest ranks of clergy.
- polis
- Greek word for city-state, which developed around a central fort.
- common law
- Law based upon customs and judges' decisions rather than upon written codes.
- manorialism
- Economic system during the Middle Ages that revolved around self-sufficient farming estates where lords and peasants shared the land.
- terracing
- Carving small, flat plots of land from hillsides to use for farming.
- abbot
- Head of a monastery who controlled and distributed all property.
- craft guilds
- Associations of skilled workers that set standards for working conditions.
- tragedies
- Forms of Greek drama in which the main character struggles against fate or events.
- canon law
- The code of law in the Catholic Church.
- capital
- Wealth that is earned, saved, and invested to make profits.
- orators
- Public speakers.
- feudalism
- Political system of local government based on the granting of land in return for loyalty, military assistance, and other services.
- aqueducts
- Bridgelike structures that carry water.
- heretics
- People who denied the truth of the official church's principles or who preached beliefs not approved by the church.
- archons
- Rulers in ancient Athens who served one-year terms.
- icon
- Holy picture of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, or a saint.
- pope
- Title assumed by the patriarch of Rome and head of the Catholic Church; from the Latin word meaning "father."
- excommunication
- Official edict that bars a person from church membership.
- troubadours
- Traveling singers who entertained people during the Middle Ages.
- rhetoric
- Study of public speaking and debating.
- fief
- Grant of land given to a vassal from a lord.
- tithe
- Church tax collected from Christians in early times that represented one tenth of their income; later became a gift to the church representing one tenth of a person's income.
- rabbis
- Religious scholars of Judaism.
- simony
- Practice of buying high positions in the Catholic Church, common during the Middle Ages.
- journeyman
- Skilled worker who was paid wages by a master.
- oracles
- Special places where the ancient Greeks believed gods spoke through priests and priestesses.
- usury
- Policy of charging high interest on loans.
- inflation
- Rise in prices caused by a decrease in the value of the medium of exchange.
- bishops
- Heads of the Catholic Church in major cities.
- medieval
- Term that describes the period of western European history known as the Middle Ages.
- philosophy
- Study of basic questions of reality and human existence.
- hoplites
- Heavily armed Greek infantry who carried long spears and fought in closely spaced rows.
- praetors
- Elected Roman officials who helped the consuls.
- mosaic
- Picture or design made from small pieces of enamel, glass, or stone.
- patriarchs
- Bishops of the administrative centers for the church in the last years of the Roman Empire.
- iconoclasts
- People who opposed the use of icons in worship.
- patricians
- Powerful landowners who controlled Roman government and society.
- plebeians
- Farmers and workers who made up most of the Roman population.
- sacraments
- Ceremonies at which participants receive God's direct favor, or grace, to ward off the consequences of sin.
- martyrs
- Persons put to death for their beliefs.
- barter economy
- Economy of exchanging goods and services for other goods and services without using money.