History key terms

A group of people responsible for reaching a verdict of guilty or not guilty in a trial.

A group of local people sworn to report suspected offences and offenders to royal justices, rather than deliver the final trial verdict.

The application of laws, including settling disputes and dealing with offences.

A local official responsible for administering justice and carrying out government policies, including measures concerning poverty.

A local magistrate responsible for administering justice, including judging offences and issuing arrest warrants.

Local officials responsible for duties including maintaining order and administering poor relief.

A senior royal official who supervised government and could exercise the king’s authority during his absence.

Martin Luther’s teaching that a person is made right with God through faith, rather than earning this through good works.

The German emperor; Wilhelm II became Kaiser in 1888.

A farmer belonging to the free population in Viking society.

Strength Through Joy, a Nazi programme within the Labour Front that offered leisure activities and holidays to encourage workers’ loyalty.

A fortified tower within a castle, providing a defensible stronghold.

The 1928 international agreement rejecting war as an instrument of national policy and committing its signatories to settle disputes peacefully.

The 1968 report of a commission established by President Johnson to investigate urban riots. It linked unrest to racial inequality, poor living conditions and failures of policing.

Surgery performed through small cuts using a camera and specialised instruments.

The state ruled by Rus princes from Kiev, also called Kyiv, which developed through the expansion and consolidation of their power.

A facility established primarily for mass murder, including through poison gas.

The Nazi slogan meaning children, kitchen and church, expressing their ideal of women concentrating on motherhood, domestic work and traditional family life.

The organised evacuation of around 10,000 mainly Jewish children to Britain in 1938–39, without their parents.

A territory governed by a monarch. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Latin Christian state established following the crusaders’ capture of Jerusalem in 1099; its first ruler, Godfrey, is distinguished from its later crowned kings.

The North American part of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought between Britain and France and their allies in 1744–48.

A claim to supreme rule over Asia, demanded by Alexander following his victory over Darius III at Issus in 333 BC.

The position and authority of a king, including his duties, rights and the ceremonies associated with his rule.

The idea that the king was responsible for maintaining peace and that criminal offences broke that peace.

Family relationships, which could encourage people to join relatives on crusade and provide mutual support.

An armoured warrior associated with mounted warfare in medieval western Europe, although knights could also fight on foot.

Military service owed to a lord in return for holding land, involving the provision of knights.

A collective farm on which peasants pooled land, livestock and equipment and worked under state supervision.

The German Communist Party, which sought to replace capitalism with a communist system through revolution.

The Nazi-organised violence against Jews in November 1938, during which synagogues and businesses were attacked and about 30,000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps.