Pike squareThe pike square (German: Gevierthaufen, lit. 'square crowd', or Gewalthaufen lit. 'crowd of force') was a military tactical formation in which 10 rows of men in 10 columns wielding pikes developed by the Swiss Confederacy during the 14th century for use by its infantry. The pike square was used to devastating effect at the Battle of Nancy against Charles the Bold of Burgundy in 1477, when the Swiss defeated a smaller but more powerful armored cavalry force.
ChristianizationChristianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. The term is applied to more than one type of conversion. For example, it can describe the changes that follow an individual's conversion, and it can also be used to designate the conversion of previously non-Christian practices, spaces and places to Christian uses and names.
CarrackA carrack (nau; nao; carraca; karaka) is a three- or four-masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal and Spain. Evolved from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for European trade from the Mediterranean to the Baltic and quickly found use with the newly found wealth of the trade between Europe and Africa and then the trans-Atlantic trade with the Americas.
First War of Scottish IndependenceThe First War of Scottish Independence was the first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in 1296 until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in 1328. De facto independence was established in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn. The wars were caused by the attempts of the English kings to establish their authority over Scotland while Scots fought to keep English rule and authority out of Scotland.
AdamitesThe Adamites, or Adamians, were adherents of an Early Christian group in North Africa in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries. They wore no clothing during their religious services. There were later reports of similar sects in Central Europe during the Late Middle Ages. The obscure sect, dating probably from the 2nd century, professed to have regained Adam and Eve's primeval innocence. Various accounts are given of their origin. Some have thought them to have been an offshoot of the Carpocratian Gnostics, who professed a sensual mysticism and a complete emancipation from the moral law.
Ars novaArs nova (Latin for new art) refers to a musical style which flourished in the Kingdom of France and its surroundings during the Late Middle Ages. More particularly, it refers to the period between the preparation of the Roman de Fauvel (1310s) and the death of composer Guillaume de Machaut in 1377. The term is sometimes used more generally to refer to all European polyphonic music of the fourteenth century.
Danse MacabreThe Danse Macabre (dɑːns_məˈkɑːb(rə); dɑ̃s ma.kabʁ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The Danse Macabre consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning representatives from all walks of life to dance along to the grave, typically with a pope, emperor, king, child, and labourer. The effect is both frivolous and terrifying, beseeching its audience to react emotionally.
ScriptoriumScriptorium (skrɪpˈtɔːriəm), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes. However, lay scribes and illuminators from outside the monastery also assisted the clerical scribes. When monastic institutions arose in the early 6th century (the first European monastic writing dates from 517), they defined European literary culture and selectively preserved the literary history of the West.
PeriodizationIn historiography, periodization is the process or study of categorizing the past into discrete, quantified, and named blocks of time for the purpose of study or analysis. This is usually done in order to understand current and historical processes, and the causality that might have linked those events. Periodizations can provide a convenient segmentation of time, wherein events within the period might consist of relatively similar characteristics.
County of BurgundyThe Free County of Burgundy (Franche Comté de Bourgogne; Freigrafschaft Burgund) was a medieval feudal state ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It was also known as Franche-Comté, from franc comte meaning 'free count', and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It bordered the Duchy of Burgundy to the west, which was part of France from 843. The territory had previously been part of the kingdom of Upper Burgundy (888-933). The county was formed in 982 by Otto-William for the lands he held in the Kingdom of Arles (outside the duchy's borders).
