FEUDALISM

WHAT IS FEUDALISM?

The political, economic and social system that predominated in Western Europe between the 9th and 14th centuries.

FEUDALISM: ORIGINS AND CAUSES

The fall of the Roman Empire because of the Germanic invasions

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The lack of security in the borders

Many asked for protection to powerful people

The Germanic kingdoms in the 6th

century

FEUDALISM: ORIGINS AND CAUSES

Charlemagne encouraged FEALTY (=vasallaje) between his nobles. That implied two things:

1. The vassal offered services to the lord.

2. In exchange, the lord must maintain economically to the vassal.

ACTIVITY

Translate into Spanish the following text:

Feudalism was the medieval model of government. Feudal society is a military hierarchy in which a ruler or lord offers mounted fighters a fief (beneficium), a unit of land to control in exchange for a military service.

FEUDALISM: ORIGINS AND CAUSES

• To maintain economically a vassal, the lord gave him a piece of land.

• This piece of land is called FIEF.

• The fief consisted of a rural estate composed of extensive areas of arable land, pastures and forests where people hunted and obtained firewood and other products (fruit, timber, medicinal plants, honey, etc.)

The fief

• The fief was divided into two parts:

– Demesne: land exploited directly by the lord. It consisted of farmland, pastures and wood. It was farmed by serfs.

– Tenements: plots of land the lord gave to free peasants in exchange for rent, services or a part of the harvest.

THE SECOND ASSAULT TO CHRISTIAN EUROPE

• During the 9th-11th centuries there was a second wave of invasions to Europe. The invaders were…

THE VIKINGS

THE MAGYARS • Also known as HUNGARIANS…

THE SARACENS

Also known as MUSLIMS…

• Do you remember this from the ISLAM UNIT?

THE SECOND INVASIONS

THE SECOND INVASIONS…

• …helped to spread the political, social and economical system of feudalism throughout Western Europe.

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

• Eventually, the fief became hereditary…

• … and a ceremony was established:

The commitment between the vassal and the lord was sealed with an act of homage.

The act of homage consisted in four

parts:

1. inmixtio manum

2. The oath of fealty.

3. The osculum

4. Sign the documents

ACTIVITY Do a commentary on the next image:

ACTIVITY

• Investigate about some authentic, historical act of homage.

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

• The vassal swore fealty (=loyalty) to his lord, and swore to provide him with military help (troops) and advice.

• The lord swore to protect his vassal and provide him with resources he needed to make a living: a fief.

• It is very important not to forget that this agreement was between FREE MEN.

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

• Gradually, a pyramidal system was created. For example, a noble could be a vassal of a king and, at the same time, he could be the lord of another noble.

• That made the kings weak. Can you see why?

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

THE FEUDAL SOCIETY

• At the same time, the feudal lords exercised their authority over the peasants who worked on the fief.

THE FEUDAL SOCIETY

• The feudal society sets up in close groups. You belong to a group by birth.

• Those groups are the ESTATES OF THE REALM. There were two kinds of estates:

– PRIVILEGED ESTATE: nobility and clergy.

– NON-PRIVILEGED ESTATE: all the people who were not members of the clergy or nobility belonged to this group. They were peasants, crafstmen, traders…

THE FEUDAL SOCIETY

THE FEUDAL SOCIETY

• The PRIVILEGED ESTATE justifies this organization thanks to the THEORY OF THE THREE ORDERS:

PRIVILEGED ESTATE: NOBILITY

Nobles dedicated their time to fighting wars, hunting and leisure. There were two different groups within this estate:

1. Higher nobility – dukes, marquises, counts, etc. They were vassals of the king and lords of other vassals. They lived in castles, collected taxes and administered justice in their fiefs.

PRIVILEGED ESTATE: NOBILITY 2. Lower nobility: knights, who possessed

nothing except their weapons and their horse. They were vassals of the feudal lord. .

ACTIVITY • Use the following link to tag the parts of an armour

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Components_of_medieval_armour

PRIVILEGED ESTATE: CLERGY

• Clergy: a group of persons dedicated to a religion.

• There were two kinds of clergy:

1. Secular clergy: priests who depended on a bishop.

2. Regular clergy: members of a religious order who lived in a monastery.

PRIVILEGED ESTATE: CLERGY

• Within the clergy, there were two different groups:

Higher clergy: bishops and abbots, who generally belonged to noble families. They were feudal lords.

Lower clergy: the rest of the clergy: priests, monks, nuns…

PRIVILEGED ESTATE: CLERGY

NON-PRIVILEGED ESTATE: PEASANTRY

• They represented about 90% of the population.

• All peasants had to pay a TITHE to the Church.

• Peasants could be free or serfs.

• Free peasants cultivated the tenements.

• Serfs could not leave the fief. Most of them worked on the demesne lands.

THE FEUDAL ECONOMY

• The economy was mainly based on agriculture and livestock.

• Trade almost disappeared. Communications were cut off because of the frequent wars.

• Agriculture was based on the two-year crop rotation.

• At the end of the 10th century, they began to use watermills and windmills.

THE FEUDAL ECONOMY

• The lords exploited the peasants thanks to the control of the MANOR. In Spanish, manor means señorío.

• This is the key of the feudal system!

ACTIVITY

• According to the explanation of manor, try to give an explanation of the following term:

MANORIALISM

THE FEUDAL ECONOMY

• The lord exercised his authority in two ways:

–Territorial (Señorío territorial): Peasants worked the land. They also paid taxes (in kind, money or labor).

–Jurisdictional (Señorío jurisdiccional): The lord has judicial power, political power and economic power (collecting taxes).

PORTAZGOS (GATE TOLL)

PONTAZGOS (BRIDGE TOLL)

Señorío jurisdiccional

The castle, residence of the lord…

ACTIVITY

• Draw a plan of your own manor. Do not forget to include all its elements.

• Draw your own castle, tagging its main parts.

SUMMING

UP

THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION

• Religion during Middle Ages played a very important role, affecting directly to:

– DAILY LIFE

– SOCIETY ORGANIZATION

– POLITICS

– CULTURE

– ART

THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION

• The leaders of the Catholic Church (popes, bishops) supported kings and emperors.

• THINK ABOUT THAT: Do that sound logic to you?

The monastery: The first monasteries were founded during the 5th century. A monastery is under the authority of an abbot/abbess

ACTIVITY

Go to the next link and locate the main parts in a monastery:

http://www.berkshirehistory.com/kids/abbey_plan.html

LA IMPORTANCIA DE LA RELIGIÓN

THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION

The life of monks/nuns are determined by three rules:

1. Poverty.

2. Obedience.

3. Chastity.

ACTIVITY

• Do a research about the main religious orders during the feudal age.

THE CRUSADES

CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS IN NEAR EAST AFTER THE FIRST CRUSADE

ACTIVITY

• Investigate about the first three crusades:

– Why did they happen?

– Which were the consequences of the Crusades?

– Why do these attacks receive the name of “crusade”?

THE END By Daniel Quijano Ramos

Geography & History teacher

IES Puerta de la Axarquía