History glossary
affinity
a noble’s network of followers and dependants.
- Category
- Political relationship
- Region
- England
- Date range
- 1453–1487
What it means
An affinity linked a lord to people who served him through household membership, payment, office or mutual protection. These networks connected regional disputes to national politics and supplied military support.
Stories using this term
The Mali Empire
From Sundiata's victory at Kirina to Mansa Musa's pilgrimage and Timbuktu's rise, Mali turned gold, trade and political alliance into one of medieval Africa's great empires.
The Meiji Restoration
From Tokugawa order to imperial restoration, conscription, industrialisation and military victory, the Meiji era transformed Japan into a modern imperial power.
The Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were the peoples and kingdoms that shaped Anglo-Saxon England after the end of Roman rule in Britain. From migration and settlement in Anglo-Saxon Britain to Christian conversion, Viking attacks, Alfred the Great, and the road to 1066, Anglo-Saxon history explains how early medieval England took form. Their language, laws, kingdoms, monasteries, and political traditions left a lasting mark on English identity before the Norman Conquest transformed the realm.
The Elizabethan Age
Elizabeth I’s reign brought stability, cultural flourishing, exploration, and victory over the Spanish Armada.
Kievan Rus
The founding of the Rus’ state in the north.
The Norman Conquest of England
From Viking settlers to conquerors, the Normans reshaped England, Italy, and the medieval Mediterranean.
The Tudor Dynasty
The Tudors strengthened royal power, drove religious change, and shaped early modern England.
Mesopotamia
Ancient Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, was one of the birthplaces of urban civilisation. In this Tigris and Euphrates civilization, communities built some of the first cities, developed cuneiform writing, organised law codes, and created early empires. From Sumer and Akkad to Babylon and Assyria, this history of Mesopotamia shows how farming, irrigation, temples, kingship, trade, and record-keeping helped create the structures of complex society. It also works as a Mesopotamia timeline and Mesopotamia civilization overview, with clear Mesopotamia facts tracing how Mesopotamian civilization grew from villages into states and empires.
