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The Middle Ages, CID-FRA

The Middle Ages comprise the period in European history that began with the collapse of Roman civilization in the 5th century CE and lasted until the dawn of the Renaissance in the 13th, 14th, or 15th century. This interval of time saw the development of the Gothic style of art and architecture, flying buttresses and all. It was also the era of the Crusades and of papal monarchy, and it was during this period that the idea of Europe as a distinct cultural unit emerged.
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The Middle Ages Encyclopedia Articles By Title

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Cid, El
El Cid was a Castilian military leader and national hero. His popular name, El Cid (from Spanish Arabic al-sīd,......
Cinnamus, John
John Cinnamus was a Byzantine historian, secretary (grammatikos) to the emperor Manuel I Comnenus, whom he accompanied......
city-state
city-state, a political system consisting of an independent city having sovereignty over contiguous territory and......
Civilis, Gaius Julius
Gaius Julius Civilis was a Batavi chieftain and a Roman army officer who led a rebellion on the Rhine frontier......
Cizin
Cizin, (Mayan: “Stinking One”), Mayan earthquake god and god of death, ruler of the subterranean land of the dead.......
Clarence, Thomas Plantagenet, duke of
Thomas Plantagenet, duke of Clarence was the Duke of Clarence and the second son of Henry IV of England and aide......
Clermont, Council of
Council of Clermont, an assembly for church reform called by Pope Urban II on November 18, 1095, which became the......
Clisson, Olivier de
Olivier de Clisson was a military commander who served England, France, and Brittany during the Hundred Years’......
Clontarf, Battle of
Battle of Clontarf, (April 23, 1014), large military encounter fought near the modern Dublin suburb of Clontarf,......
CobĂĄ
CobĂĄ, ancient Mayan city on the YucatĂĄn Peninsula, now in northeastern Quintana Roo, Mexico. The site is the nexus......
Coloman
Coloman was the king of Hungary from 1095 who pursued expansionist policies and stabilized and improved the internal......
commune
commune, a town in medieval western Europe that acquired self-governing municipal institutions. During the central......
Comnenus family
Comnenus family, Byzantine family from Paphlagonia, members of which occupied the throne of Constantinople for......
Conrad II
Conrad II was a German king (1024–39) and Holy Roman emperor (1027–39), founder of the Salian dynasty. During his......
Conrad III
Conrad III was the German king from 1138 to 1152, the first king of the Hohenstaufen family. The son of Frederick......
Constans II Pogonatus
Constans II Pogonatus was a Byzantine (Eastern Roman) emperor whose reign saw the loss of Byzantium’s southern......
Constantine I
Constantine I was the first Roman emperor to profess Christianity. He not only initiated the evolution of the empire......
Constantine III
Constantine III was a Byzantine emperor from January to April or May 641. He was coemperor with his father, Heraclius,......
Constantine IV
Constantine IV was a Byzantine emperor from 668 to 685. He was the eldest son of Constans II and became coemperor......
Constantine IX Monomachus
Constantine IX Monomachus was the Byzantine emperor from 1042 to 1055. Constantine owed his elevation to Zoe, the......
Constantine V Copronymus
Constantine V Copronymus was the Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775, son of Leo III the Isaurian. Constantine was......
Constantine VI
Constantine VI was the Byzantine emperor from 780 to 797, and the grandson of Constantine V. At 10 years of age......
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus was the Byzantine emperor from 913 to 959. His writings are one of the best sources......
Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII was a Byzantine emperor, coemperor with his brother Basil II from c. 962 to 1025 and sole ruler......
Constantine X Ducas
Constantine X Ducas was the Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067, successor to Isaac I Comnenus. Constantine’s accession......
Constantine XI Palaeologus
Constantine XI Palaeologus was the last Byzantine emperor (1449–53), killed in the final defense of Constantinople......
Constantinople Agreement
Constantinople Agreement, (March 18, 1915), secret World War I agreement between Russia, Britain, and France for......
Constantinople, Fall of
Fall of Constantinople, (May 29, 1453), conquest of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire. The......
Constantinople, Sack of
The diversion of the Fourth Crusade from the Holy Land to attack, capture, and pillage the Byzantine city of Constantinople......
Corfu, Siege of
Siege of Corfu, a key encounter, from July 19 to August 20, 1716, during the Ottoman-Venetian War (1714–18), which......
courtly love
courtly love, in the later Middle Ages, a highly conventionalized code that prescribed the behaviour of ladies......
Crimean War
Crimean War, (October 1853–February 1856), war fought mainly on the Crimean Peninsula between the Russians and......
Critobulus, Michael
Michael Critobulus was a historian whose account of the Turkish destruction of the Byzantine Empire remains as......
Crusades
Crusades, military expeditions, beginning in the late 11th century, that were organized by western European Christians......
Crécy, Battle of
Battle of Crécy, battle on August 26, 1346, that resulted in victory for the English in the first decade of the......
Cuzco, Battle of
Manco Inca, son of Atahuallpa, brought a force of 400,000 warriors with him when he launched his assault on Cuzco......
Cydones, Demetrius
Demetrius Cydones was a Byzantine humanist scholar, statesman, and theologian who introduced the study of the Greek......
Cyprus
Cyprus, island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea renowned since ancient times for its mineral wealth, superb wines......
daimyo
daimyo, any of the largest and most powerful landholding magnates in Japan from about the 10th century until the......
Dalberg, Karl Theodor von
Karl Theodor von Dalberg archbishop of Mainz and arch-chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, primate of Germany,......
Damascus, Siege of
The defeat of the Second Crusade at Damascus on July 23–28, 1148, ensured that the Christian crusader states in......
Datini, Francesco
Francesco Datini was an Italian international merchant and banker whose business and private papers, preserved......
Declaration of Pillnitz
Declaration of Pillnitz, joint declaration issued on August 27, 1791, by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II and King......
decline of the Ottoman Empire
decline of the Ottoman Empire, period of Ottoman history that followed the empire’s zenith in the 16th century......
Defense of Rights, Associations for the
Associations for the Defense of Rights, patriotic league formed in Anatolia and in Thrace in 1918, after the defeat......
Dessau, Battle of
By April 1626, the Thirty Years’ War had been raging across the German states and Central Europe for eight years,......
Did the Vikings Discover America?
Did the Vikings discover America? It’s a question that requires some unpacking. To begin with, there’s the problem......
Diet
Diet, legislature of the German empire, or Holy Roman Empire, from the 12th century to 1806. In the Carolingian......
Diet of Worms
Diet of Worms, meeting of the Diet (assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire held at Worms, Germany, in 1521, made famous......
Diocletian
Diocletian was a Roman emperor (284–305 ce) who restored efficient government to the empire after the near anarchy......
Djerba, Battle of
The Battle of Djerba was fought in May 1560 off the coast of Tunisia between the fleets of the Ottoman Empire and......
Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock, shrine in Jerusalem built by the Umayyad caliph ÊżAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān in the late 7th century......
Doria, Andrea
Andrea Doria was a Genoese statesman, condottiere (mercenary commander), and admiral who was the foremost naval......
Dos Pilas
Dos Pilas, ancient capital of the PetexbatĂșn kingdom of the Maya, situated near the Salinas River in what is now......
Douglas, Archibald Douglas, 4th earl of, Duc De Touraine
Archibald Douglas, 4th earl of Douglas was a Scottish commander in the Scottish and French wars with the English......
Dresden Codex
Dresden Codex, one of the few collections of pre-Columbian Maya hieroglyphic texts known to have survived the book......
DrăgăƟani, Battle of
Battle of DrăgăƟani, (June 19, 1821), military engagement in which the Ottoman Turks defeated the forces of the......
Duby, Georges
Georges Duby was a member of the French Academy, holder of the chair in medieval history at the CollĂšge de France......
Ducas family
Ducas family, Byzantine family that supplied several rulers to the empire. First prominent in the 10th century,......
Dunois, Jean d’OrlĂ©ans, comte de
Jean d’OrlĂ©ans, comte de Dunois was a French military commander and diplomat, important in France’s final victory......
Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy, one of the three major doctrinal and jurisdictional groups of Christianity. It is characterized......
Eastern Question
Eastern Question, diplomatic problem posed in the 19th and early 20th centuries by the disintegration of the Ottoman......
EbroĂŻn
EbroĂŻn was the mayor of the palace in the Frankish kingdom of Neustria for some 20-odd years, from 656. After his......
Edessa, Siege of
The fall of the crusader city of Edessa to Seljuq Muslim troops after a siege carried out from November 28 to December......
Edington, Battle of
Vikings from all over Scandinavia had been raiding the British Isles for more than half a century before the birth......
Edirne, Treaty of
Treaty of Edirne, (Sept. 14, 1829), pact concluding the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–29, signed at Edirne (ancient......
Edward I
Edward I was the son of Henry III and king of England in 1272–1307, during a period of rising national consciousness.......
Edward III
Edward III was the king of England from 1327 to 1377, who led England into the Hundred Years’ War with France.......
Edward The Black Prince
Edward The Black Prince was the son and heir apparent of Edward III of England and one of the outstanding commanders......
Egypt
Egypt, country located in the northeastern corner of Africa. Egypt’s heartland, the Nile River valley and delta,......
Embriaci Family
Embriaci Family, a powerful Genoese family, whose members played notable roles in the Crusades in the Holy Land......
empire
empire, major political unit in which the metropolis, or single sovereign authority, exercises control over territory......
England
England, predominant constituent unit of the United Kingdom, occupying more than half of the island of Great Britain.......
Enver PaƟa
Enver PaƟa was an Ottoman general and commander in chief, a hero of the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, and a leading......
Erik the Red
Erik the Red was the founder of the first European settlement on Greenland (c. 985) and the father of Leif Erikson,......
Eudocia Macrembolitissa
Eudocia Macrembolitissa was a Byzantine empress and, in 1067 and 1071, regent, who has been called the wisest woman......
Eudoxia
Eudoxia was the wife of, and a powerful influence over, the Eastern Roman emperor Arcadius (reigned 383–408). Her......
Eugenius III, Blessed
Blessed Eugenius III ; beatified 1872) ; feast day July 8) was the pope from 1145 to 1153. Possibly a member of......
Europe
Europe, second smallest of the world’s continents, composed of the westward-projecting peninsulas of Eurasia (the......
Eutropius
Eutropius was a eunuch who became the most powerful figure in the Eastern Roman Empire under the emperor Arcadius......
Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi was one of the most celebrated Ottoman travelers, who journeyed for more than 40 years throughout......
Eymeric, Nicholas
Nicholas Eymeric was a Roman Catholic theologian, grand inquisitor at Aragon, and supporter of the Avignon papacy.......
Faisal I
Faisal I was an Arab statesman and king of Iraq (1921–33) who was a leader in advancing Arab nationalism during......
Farmer’s Law
Farmer’s Law, Byzantine legal code drawn up in the 8th century ad, probably during the reign of Emperor Leo III......
Fastolf, Sir John
Sir John Fastolf was an English career soldier who fought and made his fortune in the second phase of the Hundred......
Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I was the Holy Roman emperor (1558–64) and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526, who, with his Peace......
Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II was the king of Aragon and king of Castile (as Ferdinand V) from 1479, joint sovereign with Queen......
Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II was the Holy Roman emperor (1619–37), archduke of Austria, king of Bohemia (1617–19, 1620–27), and......
Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II was the king of Leon from 1157 to 1188, and the second son of Alfonso VII. Despite several internal......
Ferdinand III
Ferdinand III ; canonized February 4, 1671; feast day May 30) was the king of Castile from 1217 to 1252 and of......
Ferdinand III
Ferdinand III was the Holy Roman emperor who headed the so-called peace party at the Habsburg imperial court during......
Ferdinand IV
Ferdinand IV was the king of Bohemia (from 1646) and of Hungary (from 1647) and king of the Romans (from 1653).......
feudalism
feudalism, historiographic construct designating the social, economic, and political conditions in western Europe......
Finlay, George
George Finlay was a British historian and participant in the War of Greek Independence (1821–32) who is known principally......
FitzOsbern, William, 1st Earl Of Hereford, Seigneur De Bréteuil
William FitzOsbern, 1st earl of Hereford was a Norman soldier and lord, one of William the Conqueror’s closest......
Flambard, Ranulf
Ranulf Flambard was the chief minister of King William II Rufus of England (ruled 1087–1100). Of Norman origin,......
Flanders
Flanders, medieval principality in the southwest of the Low Countries, now included in the French département of......
Flor, Roger de
Roger de Flor was a Sicilian-born military adventurer and mercenary captain whose service to the Byzantine emperor......
Formigny, Battle of
Battle of Formigny, (April 15, 1450), a French victory in the last phase of the Hundred Years’ War against the......
France
France, country of northwestern Europe. Historically and culturally among the most important nations in the Western......

The Middle Ages Encyclopedia Articles By Title

5 F-BAL
BAL-CHā
CID-FRA
FRA-HUM
HUN-KöP
KöP-MEH
MEH-OTT
OTT-SAN
SAN-TOZ
TRA-áčŹÄR