FeudalismPyramid of Power

Manoralism

E. Napp

TheEarly

MiddleAgeswas a

dangerous

time.

Feudalism

• Roman Empire had a central government.• After Rome fell, Europe had dozens of little

kingdoms.• Lots of fighting between kingdoms.• Lots of attacks from Vikings, Magyars (from East

Asia) and Muslims.• A new way evolved ...

Government in the Middle Ages

• Feudalism was the political and military system of the Middle Ages.

• In a feudal society, land is exchanged for military service and loyalty.

• The ownership of land was the basis or power.

FeudalismNEW PAGE: Title: Feudalism in the Middle AgesCopy this definition:Feudalism is a political system where land – and therefore money and power – is exchanged for military service and loyalty.

Feudal Pyramid of Power

The King owned all of the land.

Depending on how much he liked them, he gave land to the Nobles.

At the top

William the Conqueror

Feudal Pyramid of Power

KING

NOBLES

LAND

• Lords and Ladies, Dukes, Earls.• Usually related to, or mates with, the King.

• They didn’t get the Land for free: they were required to give money and soldiers (knights) if the King needed them to fight a war.

Nobles

Feudal Pyramid of Power

KING

NOBLES

MONEY AND

KNIGHTS LAND

•Nobles needed trained soldiers to defend castles and to give the King when he asked for them.•Knights most important, highly

skilled soldiers •Mounted knights in heavy

armor best defenders

Knights

Feudal Pyramid of Power

KING

KNIGHTS

NOBLESPROTECTION

and MILIT

ARY

SERVICE

MONEY AND

KNIGHTS LAND

BUT• Being a knight is expensive; –weapons, armor, horses

• Nobles usually paid with land.• Land given to knight for service was called a fief

– Anyone accepting fief was called a vassal

– A vassal had to obey his Lord and fight for him when required.

Knights

Feudal Pyramid of Power

KING

KNIGHTSvassals

NOBLESPROTECTION

and MILIT

ARY

SERVICE

MONEY AND

KNIGHTS

LAND (fief)

LAND

• Person could be both lord, vassal

• Some knights with large fiefs gave small pieces of land to other knights

• One knight could serve many lords

• Everyone’s supposed to be loyal to the King. Didn’t always work out that way.

Many Lords

• Everyday people – peasants - were frightened.

• They turned to landowners for protection.

• Peasants offered their labor in exchange for protection.

• These peasants were called serfs.

Peasants

• A serf was “bound to the land.”• He could not leave his lord’s land.

Serfs

• He was not a slave because he could not be sold.

• But he was not free because he could not leave.

• He also needed permission to marry.

Feudal Pyramid of Power

KING

KNIGHTSvassals

PEASANTS

NOBLESPROTECTION

and MILIT

ARY

SERVICE

MONEY AND

KNIGHTS

LAND (fief)

LAND

LANDand protection

FOOD AND

SERVICES

In Modern times, when we say “Manor”, we mean this:

Manorialism

But in the Middle Ages, a Manor was more like a town or a large estate.

Remember: a fief was all of a Lord’s land.The Manor was the part of the fief

where the peasants farmed and lived.

Manorialism

• Copy this definition/notes into your packet of notes:– Manorialism was the economic system of the

Middle Ages.• These days our economic system is called ‘Capitalism’.

– Manorialism is a self-sufficient economy; this means that everything that is necessary for life was created on the manor.

Manorialism

•Manors had some free people who rented land from lord

•Each manor included fortified house for noble family, village for peasants, serfs

•Others included landowning peasants, skilled workers like blacksmiths, millers

•Also had a priest for spiritual needs

Manorialism

ORCHARD

Buildings

The Peasants

• At the lowest level of society were the peasants, also called serfs or villeins.

• The lord offered his peasants protection in exchange for living and working on his land.

Hard Work & High Taxes• Peasants worked hard to

cultivate the land and produce the goods that the lord and his manor needed.

• They were heavily taxed and were required to relinquish much of what they harvested.

Serfs• A serf was “bound to the land.”• He could not leave his lord’s land.• He was not a

slave because he could not be sold.

• But he was not free because he could not leave.

• He also needed permission to marry.

Repairing fixing sheds, houses, fences

Planting

Weaving

Ploughing

Fertilising

Sowing

Weeding

Pruning

Scaring BirdsShearing

Harvesting

Gathering

Tying

Winnowing

Milling

Butchering

Salting/Smoking

Collecting

Digging

Vocab Match Practice Quiz

serf A) a person who swears to be a fighter for a lord in exchange for land.

feudalism B) the part of the fief in which villagers and peasants live (kind of like a small town)

fief C) the system which involves residents of a manor growing and making everything for themselves (being self sufficient)

manor D) a peasant which is tied to the land (kind of like a slave)

vassal E) the political system which William the Conqueror set up which involves exchanging land for service.

manorialism

F) Land given to Knights and Lords in exchange for loyalty and a promise to fight.

COPY the word and it’s correct definition into your book.

Feudal Pyramid of Power

KING

KNIGHTSvassals

PEASANTS

NOBLES

FOOD AND

SERVICES

PROTECTION

and MILIT

ARY

SERVICE

MONEY AND

KNIGHTS

LAND (fief)

LAND

LANDand protection

Friday: Open Note Quiz

• Make sure to keep track of all of your notes and bring them back Friday!!! If not… you will regret it!!