Download FEUDALISM IN EUROPE The Vikings Invade from the North Vikings

FEUDALISM IN EUROPE
The Vikings Invade from the North
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Vikings invaded from the North
Vikings sailed from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden)
They worshipped warlike gods
Vikings were not just warriors. They were also farmers, traders and explorers
Leif Ericson reached North America before Columbus
Vikings began to accept Christianity as the blended into the roman culture
The Magyar & Muslim Invaders
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Muslims invaded from the south
Magyars invaders struck from the East
They were a group of nomads (wanderers)
Muslims were expert sea farers
A New Social Order
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A system of governing and landholding called feudalism
The feudal system was based on rights and obligations
In exchange for military protections and other services a lord or landowner granted land called a
fief
The person receiving a fief was called a vassal
The Feudal Pyramid
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At the peak reigned the king
Next came the vassals – wealthy landowners such as nobles and bishops
The knights who pledged (promised) to defend their lord’s land in exchange for their fiefs
The base of the pyramid were landless peasants who worked the fields
Social Classes
Social Classes are well-defined in the feudal system
1. Those who fought
2. Those who prayed
3. Those who worked
Manors: The Economic Side of Feudalism
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The manor was the economic arrangement
Lord provided the serfs with housing, farmland, and protection. In return the serfs tended the
lord’s land
The manor was a self-sufficient community (Self-sufficient means to be independent, you don’t
have to rely on someone to do the things we need)
The Harshness of Manor Live
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The serfs paid a tax on all grain
The serfs paid a tax to get married (after they had the permission of their lord to marry)
The serfs paid a tithe or church tax
They lived in crowded cottages
They warmed their dirt-floor houses by bringing pigs in
They slept on straw that often crawled with insects
Their life expectancy was about 35 years
They believed that God determined a person’s place in society
Serfs accepted their lot in life as part of Church’s teaching