Glossary

A.D.	Anno Domini: after the birth of Christ
Archaeology	the study of the past through material remains
Artefact	object made by people, e.g. sword, axe
Autobiography	story of a person's life written by that person
B.C.	before the birth of Christ
Biography	the story of a person's life written by somebody else
Carbon dating	technique used date ancient objects by measuring the amount of carbon-14 in them
Chronology	the study of time and dates; putting events in order of time
Dig (excavation)	digging up the earth in order to look for historical objects (artefacts)
Dendrochronolgy	(tree-ring dating) finding out the age of timber by studying the pattern of rings
Excavation (dig)	digging up the earth in order to look for historical objects (artefacts)
History	the story of the past, using evidence
Oral sources	interviews or tape recordings of people's memories of events
Pollen	produced by plants; analysis of pollen found in ancient sites helps archaeologists to find out what plants were growing at the time, when forests were cleared and when farming spread
Primary sources	sources which come directly from the time that is being studied (e.g. weapons, tools, paintings, letters)
Propaganda	use of information to influence opinions of people to ensure power
Secondary Sources	sources which come from after the time which is being studied (e.g. a history book)
Stratigraphy	a method of dating objects where the oldest layers are at the bottom and they youngest layers are at the top
Visual Sources	photographs, paintings
Amphitheatre	a round arena such as the Colosseum used for gladitor contests in ancient Rome
Aqueduct	bridge for carrying water in ancient Rome
Atrium	central courtyard in a Roman house
Catacombs	underground tombs used by Christians in ancient Rome for burials and to hold masses
Colosseum	arena in ancient Rome used for gladiator fighting
Forum	the marketplace in the city centre in ancient Rome
Gladiator	a slave who is a specially trained figher in ancient Rome
Insula	apartment block in ancient Rome
Legion	a division of the army in ancient Rome, usually 5000 soldiers
Legionary	a soldier in a legion in ancient Rome
Stola	long dress worn by women in ancient Rome
Toga	a long robe for men in ancient Rome
Tunic	short garment worn by men and women in ancient Rome
Villa	a country house or estate in ancient Rome
Aos Dána	people with special skills in Celtic times, e.g. druids
Brehon	a judge in Celtic Ireland
Bronze	metal made from a mixture of tin and copper
Cist burial/grave	burial in a small rectangular grave
Corbelling	a method of building a roof where flat stones were put on top of one another
Court Cairn	tombs in the Neolithic period with an open entrance, an inner burial chamber & covered by a mound of stones
Crannóg	artificial island dwelling using during the Iron Age
Derbhfine	royal family in Celtic society
Druid	priest in Celtic society
File	poet in Celtic Society
Hill Fort	large circular forts on high ground with ditches all around, e.g. Hill of Tare in Co Meath
Lunala	Neck ornament of the Bronze Age
Megalith	large stone
Mesolithic	the Middle Stone Age
Neolithic	New Stone Age
Ogham	standing stone with ogham script on it
Passage tomb/grave	a tomb with a passage that leads to one or more burial chambers, covered by a mound of stones or earth (e.g. Newgrange)
Portal tomb/dolmen	tombs made of huge upright stones with a giant capstone on top
Promontory fort	fort built on a headland
Rí	king in Celtic society
Ring fort	a farmstead surrounded by one or more banks of earth and ditches
Souterrain	underground passage or storage area in a fort ring
Stone Circle	standing stones arranged in a circle
Tánaiste	next in line to be Taoiseach in a Gaelic clan
Torc	a circular neck ring used by the Celts
Tuath	kingdom in Celtic society
Wattle and daub	interwoven sticks covered by mud and used to make walls
Wedge tomb	tomb with large flat stones, some at the side acting as walls and large capstones on top; wedge-shaped in design
Microlith	Small stone usually made of flinth
Bracae	Long trousers
Fosses	Ditch or moat
Fosses	Ditch or moat
Book of Kells	a manuscript copy of the Four Gospels created in early Christian Ireland
Cathach	example of a manuscript in early Christian Ireland
Abbot	head of a monastery
High Cross	tall stone cross in monasteries in early Christian Ireland
Manuscript	a hand-written book
Motte and bailey	castle built of timber in the Middle Ages, with a mound and a courtyard
Moat	trench filled with water around a medieval castle
Oratory	a church
Refectory	dining room in a monastery in early Christian Ireland or in a medieval monastery
Round Tower	tall tower built in monasteries in early Christian Ireland for safety
Sanctuary	protection given by monasteries to people who were threatened with arrest or violence
Scriptorium	the manuscript room in a monastery in early Christian Ireland or in a medieval monaster
Quill	Writing device made from feather wing
Bailey	courtyard or open space in a motte and bailey or medieval stone castle
Black Death	plague caused by fleas on rats which spread in the Middle Ages
Charter	permission granted by kings or lords to towns to trade
Craftsmen	skilled perosn trained as an apprentice during the Middle Ages, e.g. a carpenter
Drawbridge	bridge over a moat in a medieval castle
Feudalism	system of land ownership and government during the Middle Ages
Guild	a trade association in the Middle Ages for craftsmen and merchants
Hawking	hunting with hawks in the Middle Ages
Jousting	fighting between knights in the Middle Ages
Keep	tower in a medieval castle where the lord of king lived
Knight	specially trained warrior in the Middle Ages
Manor	a village and the land around it in the Middle Ages
Medieval society	life and how it was lived in the Middle Ages
Pillory	a timber frame where people punished in the Middle Ages had to place their hands and head
Portcullis	iron-and-timber grill at the entrance to a castle, for defence
Page	first stage in the training of a knight in the Middle Ages
Serf	a peasant who worked the land for a lord in the Middle Ages
Vassal	person who has been granted land by a lord in the Middle Ages
Fresco	paining style in ancient Rome and in the Renaissance where painting is done on damp plaster
Gothic	style of architecture in the Middle Ages which featured pointed arches and windows
Patron	supporter of the artists during the Renaissance
Perspective	technique used by artists in the Renaissance to create the illusion of depth (3D effect)
Renaissance	time of revival of interest in learning of ancient Greece and Rome, begun in Italy
Romanesque	type of architecture in the Middle Ages which followed the style of Ancient Rome
Sfumato	painting technique associated with Leonardo da Vinci which used blended colours
Clinker-built	overlapping planks of wood used in building caravels in the Age of Exploration
Conquistadores	Spainish conquerors who defeated native empires in Central and South America
Log and Line	used in ships of the Age of Exploration to work out the speed of the ship
Logbook	used in ships of the Age of Exploration to record events during the voyage
Portolan charts	earliest maps used during the Age of Exploration which showed places along the coast joined by straight lines
Quadrant	navigation instrument used in the Age of Exploration to find latitude
Church Abuses	practices such as nepotism,simony, pluralism and absenteeism which were common in the Catholic Church before the Reformation
Council of Trent	meeting of cardinals, bishops and the Pope held in northern Italy aimed at reforming the Catholic Church after the Reformation
Counter Reformation	efforts by the Catholic Church to reform itself and stop the spread of Protestantism
Jesuits	religious order founded by Ignatius Loyola to spread the teachings of the Catholic church
Justification by Faith	Luther's belief that only faith in God would allow a person to go to heaven
Reformation	a movement that protested against abuses in the Catholic Church and led to the establishment of the Protestant churches
Vernacular	the language of the people
Bawn	walled enclosure built for defence in the Plantation of Ulster
Plantation	policy of the English government to bring in English and Scottish planters to Ireland
Servitors	English soldiers and officials who were granted land in the Plantation of Ulster
Undertakers	English planters who received land during the Plantation of Munster, or English and Scottish planters who received land during the Plantation of Ulster
Conacre	land rented out in Ireland for 11 months for growing potatoes of corn
Domestic System	the making of goods (such as thread and cloth) in people's houses before the Industrial Revolution
Enclosure	the division of the three open fields and the common into individual farms during the Agricultural Revolution in England
Subsistence agriculture	is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed themselves and their families
Conacre	letting land in small patches and strips
Maize	type of cereal grain (corn)
Loom	A loom is a device used to weave cloth.
Mill	Manufacturing facility
Coke	Baked Coal
Yarn	long continous length of interlocking fibres
Eviction	when tenant farmers were thrown off the land in 19th century Ireland for failure to pay rent
Coffin Ships	name given to badly maintained ships used to transport emigrants to America during the Great Famine
Appeasement	policy of British government in 1930s which held that if governments in to Hitler's small demands then a world war could be prevented
Astrolabe	navigation instrument used in the Age of Exploration to find latitude
Auxiliaries	ex-British army officers who were enlisted in the Royal Irish Constabulary during the War of Independence
Battle of Britain	air battle between the Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe during World War 1
Black and Tans	ex-British army officers who were enlisted in the Royal Irish Constabulary during the War of Independence
Blackshirts	name given to Mussolini's Fascist followers or to Hitler's SS
Blitzkrieg	lighting war tactics used by Germany in World War II, using planes, tanks and infantry
Blitz	German bombing of British cities after the Battle of Britain during World War II
Bloody Sunday, 1920	a day during the War of Independence in which Michael Collin's Squad killed British spies and, in revenge, the Auxiliaries killed 12 people in Croke Park
Blueshirts	orginally called the Army Comrades Association, which protected Cumann na Ngaedheal meetings from attack by IRA members in the 1930s
Brownshirts	name given to Hitler's Stormtroopers of SA
B-Specials	part-time police in Northern Ireland
Caravel	ship used by Portuguese and Spainish sailors to explore the coasts of Africa and the Americas
Coalition government	government formed by a number of political parties, usualyy applied to Fine Gael-Labour Party government of the 1970s
Cold War	period of hostility between the USA and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies which lasted from after World War II to the collapse of communism in the early 1990s
Collective security	policy of the League of Nations that each member state was responsible for the security and safety of all other members
Communism	political belief associated with Soviet Russia and holding that the state (or government) should control industry and agriculture
Democracy	political system which holds that political power comes from the people who vote for leaders in a general election
Economic War	conflict in 1930s bewteen Ireland & Britain over land annuities where Britain imposed taxes on Irish imports and Ireland responded with taxes on British imports
Emergency	name given to the period in Ireland during World War II
Enabling Act	law passed by Hitler which gave him power to rule by decree
Fasces	symbol of axe and rods of Mussolini's Fascist Party
Fascism	political belief of Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany which was anti-democratic and anti-communist
Final Solution	policy of Hitler and the Nazis of killing all Jews during World War II
Flying Columns	small units of the IRA which ambushed British forces during the War of Independence
Führer (Leader)	title of Hitler after he combined the office of president and chancellor
Fulacht Fiadh	method of cooking in the Bronze Age using a hole filled with water and lined with flat stones
Gerrymander	system of rigging the boundaries of constituencies in Northern Ireland to ensure Unionist control
Home Rule	Irish nationalist policy which wanted self-government in Ireland with a parliament in Dublin dealing with internal Irish affairs
Humanism	the study of the writings of ancient Greece and Rome
Il Duce (Leader)	title used by Mussolini
Inquisition	Catholic Church court in Italy and Spain used to try Protestants and Jews
Internment	the arrest and imprisonment without trial of people suspected of being involved in violence in Northern Ireland during the Troubles
Lazybeds	long ridges of land ready for growing potatoes
Lebensraum (living space)	Nazi policy to use Eastern Europe and Russia to provide raw materials and workers for the Nazis
Luftwaffe	German air force during World War II
March on Rome	Mussolini's plan to march Fascist groups on Rome to demand members in government , led to him becoming prime minister
Middlemen	a person in the 19th century Ireland who rented land from a landlord and then rented out that land to farmers
Mother and Child Scheme	public health of First Inter-Party government which planned to give free medical aid to mothers and to children under age 16
Neutrality	policy of Irish government during World War II not to take part in the war
Night of the Broken Glass (Kristallnacht)	night when Hitler's SA attacked Jews, their shops and synagogues after a Polish Jew killed a German diplomat in Paris
Night  of the Long Knives	night when Hitler used the SS to arrest and kill leaders of the SA, including Rohm, because they threatened his leadership
Nuremberg Laws	Nazi laws against the Jews, which deprived them of German citizenship, banned marriages with non-Jews and forced them to wear the Star of David
Operation Barbarossa	German battle plan for the invasion of Soviet Russia during World War II
Operation Overlord	code name for Allied plan to invade France during the World War II
Panzer	German tank during World War II
Penal Laws	laws passed in the 17th and 18th century Ireland to control and discriminate against Catholics and Presbyterians
RAF	Royal Air Force (British Air Force)
Rationing	use of coupons and ration books to control the amount of food, clothes, footwear and petrol given to each person during the Emergency (World War II) in Ireland (also in Britain and Germany)
Republicanism	political belief in Ireland which wanted complete independence from Britain and to establish a republic (a government without a monarch), by physical force (rebellion)
Rule by decree	situation in which rulers such as Mussolini and Hitler make laws without the need to ask for them in parliament
Scorched-earth policy	war tactic used by the Soviet soldiers during World War II of buring crops and destroying bridges and towns as they retreated before the Germans
Shannon Scheme	Cumann na nGaedheal government plan in the 1920's to build hydroelectric scheme on the Shannon
Socialism	poltical belief which favours state (government) control od industry and agriculture
Spices	used to give flavour to food, brought from the Spice Islands
Squad	group of IRA volunteers formed by Michael Collins to kill British spies and others during the War of Independence
Statue of Westminster	law passed by Briish government which gave power to Commonwealth countries, including Ireland, to change any laws passed by the British government for the country
Swastika	Nazi symbol taking the form of a crooked cross
U-Boat	German submarine
Ulster Solemn League & Covenant	declaration of Ulster unionists to resist Home Rule by all means,signed by over 200,000 people
Unionism	political belief which held that Ireland's union with Britain must be retained and the Parliament in Westminster should continue to make laws for Ireland
Workhouse	a place where poor people can live if they have no recources; used in the 19th century Ireland (and England)
Collier	Ship designed to carry coal