anointment an alliance between the papacy and the Frankish monarch that started with Pippin’s gift to the papacy, this brought a special spiritual and moral character to his kingship. (p. 240)






boyars descendants of the original Viking warriors, they held their lands as free and clear private property. (p. 259)






capitularies administrative and legislative orders divided into capitula, chapters or articles. (p. 237)

civitas the city and surrounding territory served as a basis of the administrative system in the Frankish kingdom. (p. 236)

comites senior official or royal companion later called a count that presided over the civitas. (p. 236)






double monastery a monastery that housed both men and women in two adjoining establishments and was governed by one superior, an abbess. (p. 244).






frank term that began to be associated with freedom from taxation. (p. 237)






mayor of the palace a position given to the head of the family, he served, as head of the Frankish bureaucracy, governed in the king’s absence and after the king, was the most important figure in the Frankish kingdom. (p. 238)

minuscule a handwriting/script that had booth upper- and lowercase letters, it helped to improve the legibility of texts. (p. 248)

missi dominici "agents of the lord king," they served as a link between local authorities and the central government. (p. 243)






political Augustinianism Saint Augustine’s theories of kingship that envisioned a unified Christian society presided over by a king who was responsible for maintaining peace, law and order and doing justice, without which neither the rule nor the kingdom had any justification. (p. 244)






serfs free farmers in the feudal relationship lost status therefore becoming servile and bound to the land. (p. 254)

slaves the most important article of tribute, Slav became the word for "slave" in several European languages. (p. 258)






vassals retainers, armed men who could fight effectively on horseback. (p. 253)