Download Unit 8: The Feudal System

The Artios Home Companion Series
Unit 8: The Feudal System
Teacher Overview
L e a di ng I de a s
Roland pledging his
fealty to Charlemagne
After the Fall of Rome and the
conquests and raids of the
Northmen, the people of
Europe needed protection and
security. It was out of this
need that the Feudal system
arose. Lesser lords and
knights would pay tribute to
more powerful nobles in
exchange for their protection.
While this sounds good in
theory, the resulting system
had its disadvantages, such as
abuse of the poor. In this unit
we will study the effects of
Feudalism.
K e y Pe o pl e





William the Conqueror
Vassal
Chaos
Fealty
Vassal
 An individual’s character will be reflected in his
leadership. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he
 There is power in the spoken word to do evil or to
do good. Out of the abundance of the heart, the
mouth speaketh
 The rise and fall of nations and leaders is
determined by God.
 God’s word is the supreme source of God’s
revelation to man. II Timothy 3:16-17
V o c a bu l a r y
Lesson One:
homage
vassal
fief
chaos
fealty
R e a d i n g a n d A s s i g nm e nt s
Based on your student’s age and ability, the reading in
this unit may be read aloud to the student and
journaling and notebook pages may be completed
orally. Likewise, other assignments can be done with an
appropriate combination of independent and guided
study.
In this unit, students will:
 Complete one lesson in which they will learn about
The Feudal System.
 Define vocabulary words.
 Read selected chapters from Stories of Beowulf:
Told to Children.
 Learn about Direct Quotations and complete
corresponding grammar exercises.
.
Middle Ages: Elementary
Unit 8: The Feudal System - Page 1
Literature, Composition, and Grammar
Stories of Beowulf: Told to Children
Literature for Units 7-10
by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall from The Medieval Literary Period
“Peacefully they slept with arms and armour thrown aside, having
no fear of any foe.” – From Chapter 1
U ni t 8 A s s i g nm e nt s
Literature and Composition
 Read chapters 4-6 in Stories of Beowulf.
 Continue the outline you began last week, and outline chapters 4-6.
Grammar
 Read the notes on Direct Quotations beginning on page 3.
 Complete the corresponding exercises on the Artios Home Companion website.
 Continue adding buzzwords to your grammar rule cheat sheet.
C o nt e x t R e s o ur c e s
There have been many adaptations of Beowulf over the years, and many students find his
adventures to be fascinating. You will find a collection of websites with extra activities, as well
as links to other versions of this story, within the resources section of the Artios Home
Companion website.
Middle Ages: Elementary
Unit 8: The Feudal System - Page 2
Grammar Notes for Unit 8
U sed
by
pe r mi ssi o n:
w ww . an al y ti c al gr a m m ar. co m
Direct Quotations
Buzzword: Direct Quote
When you’re reading something, how do you know who is saying what?
“Bill, I want to go home,” said John.
In the sentence above, who is speaking? John! Right! In English we use punctuation called
quotation marks to show when words are being spoken by someone in particular.
What about in this sentence?
“John, I was hoping to stay a little longer,” I said.
Assuming these two sentences form a little story, who is speaking now? That’s right ... Bill!
Buzzword: Quotation Marks
“”
These,
are QUOTATION MARKS. You always put them around the words people speak.
Whatever is inside the quotation marks (words and punctuation) is called DIALOGUE. The rest of the
sentence (said John or I said) is called the NARRATIVE. The narrative tells us who is speaking and
sometimes gives us more information about what is happening.
EXAMPLE:
As I walked in the room, I yelled, “Is anyone here?”
There are a few specific things to know when using quotation marks. Pay attention to these examples
and look back at them during your exercises if you need help.
A. Always begin your dialogue with a capital letter if the quote is a sentence.
EXAMPLE:
James said, “Tell me more about your trip.”
B. The BROKEN QUOTE: When a quoted sentence of dialogue is divided into two parts with
narrative in between, the second part of the dialogue begins with a lower case letter.
EXAMPLE:
“I really was hoping,” said Pam, “that you would come.”
C. Sometimes the speaker has more than one sentence to say.
EXAMPLE:
“The state fair is great!” cried Janie. “Don’t you want to go? I do!”
Each time you write dialogue, you must enclose the entire speech in quotation marks,
even if the dialogue consists of fourteen sentences! Please also note that when you have
a complete sentence in front of the narrative, you must have a period after the narrative.
So this is different from the broken quote we described in part B of these notes.
D. Suppose you are writing a sentence which begins with dialogue and ends with narrative. And
then suppose that your dialogue is a statement, which would ordinarily end with a period.
Here’s how you might think it should be done:
Middle Ages: Elementary
Unit 8: The Feudal System - Page 3
EXAMPLE:
“I wish I could go to the state fair.” said Bob.
Now, I think that sentence looks confusing. We know that a period is a signal
to the reader to come to a full stop, right? So, if the reader comes to a full stop
after fair, then is he supposed to come to another full stop after Bob? Here’s
how we solve this problem: we change the period after fair to a comma, so it
looks like this:
EXAMPLE:
“I wish I could go to the state fair,” said Bob.
Now it’s not confusing at all! We only do this if the punctuation
would have been a period. If it is an exclamation mark or question
mark, you leave it there.
Buzzword: Change Gear Comma
E. When you go from dialogue to narrative or narrative to dialogue - unless there is other
punctuation present - you need a comma to “change gears” from one to the other.
EXAMPLE:
I asked, “Who is your science teacher?”
(note the location of the comma after “asked”)
“He is my favorite science teacher!” yelled Roger.
(note there is no “change gear” comma because there is an
exclamation mark)
More Copy-editing Symbols:
Insert quotation marks and capitalize the word “this”:
I said, this is my quote.
The edited sentence would be (edits in yellow):
I said, “ This is my quote. ”
Middle Ages: Elementary
Unit 8: The Feudal System - Page 4
Lesson One
History Overview and Assignments
The Feudal System
R e a d i n g a n d A s s i g nm e nt s
 Read the article: The Feudal System,
pages 6-9.
 Define each vocabulary word in the context
of the reading and put the word and its
definition in the vocabulary section of your
notebook.
 After reading the article, summarize the
story you read by either:
▪ Retelling it out loud to your teacher or
parent.
OR
▪ Completing an appropriate notebook
page.
Either way, be sure to include an overview of
key people, dates, and events in your
summary.
 Explore the following websites:
Ploughing on a French ducal manor in March
Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, c.1410
In this unit we will discuss how the
Feudal system was organized and
how it worked. The Feudal system
arose out of the common man’s need
for protection, and the Lords and
Kings need for men to work their
land and serve in their military.
While this system of government
may have served a need in its day, it
came to the detriment of many. The
Common man did not own land in
the Feudal system. It also allowed
many conflicts and wars to breakout
between different nobles who sought
after power. In truth, the Feudal
system arose out of desperation and
it lasted for many years.
http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/interactive_learning/
NormanConquest/the_middle__ages.htm
http://www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk/
http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=111779
http://www.btinternet.com/~mrfield/Conquest/intro
.htm
 In order to understand the sequence of
events, examine the bayeux tapestry
website (in the assignment list for Lesson 1)
and examine the tapestry scene by scene.
Make your own”tapestry” by either drawing
or painting the events of 1066 scene by
scene.
 You can also make a timeline of the events of
1066.
V o c a bu l a r y
homage
vassal
fealty
fief
chaos
Middle Ages: Elementary
Unit 8: The Feudal System - Page 5
Adapted from the book:
The Story of Europe
H.E. Marshall
The Feudal System
In 911 King Rollo of the Vikings became
Robert, Duke of Normandy. He did
homage to Charles the Simple. Charles was
the king of the Franks. At the homage
service Rollo would not kiss the king’s feet.
He most likely got on his knees in front of
the king. He let the king hold his hands. He
promised to be the king’s man. The word
“homage” comes from the French word for
man. The French word for man is
“homme.” Doing homage meant to be loyal
and belong to someone more powerful.
There is nothing written about Rollo’s
ceremony. But we know it must have
happened. The feudal system was in use at
this time in France. Rollo became the Duke
of Normandy. He and his people lived in
the area of France called Normandy. This
land did not belong to him, though. It still
belonged to the king. The king gave it to
Rollo as a fief. A fief is a piece of land given
to someone to use. In return the person
would serve in the king’s military. Rollo
became a vassal of the king. A vassal is a
servant.
Feudalism is a type of government.
Feudalism began after the end of the
Carolingian Empire. All of the countries in
western Europe were in chaos. Feudalism
came from both Roman and barbarian
customs. In a feudal system, a person could
live on a piece of land if he promised to
serve in the military.
All of the land in a country belonged to
the king. But even the king could not farm
all the land in the country. He gave it to
other people to live on and farm. But he did
not give it completely. He let people use his
land if they promised to be loyal to him.
They promised to help the king in his wars.
This promise was made during a special
ceremony. The person knelt before the
king. He put his hands in the king’s hands.
He vowed to be the king’s man. Then the
king kissed the man and raised him to his
feet. The act of homage was done. The
person was now the king’s vassal.
Next, the vassal would put his hand on
a holy item. He may have put it on a book
of the Gospels. He took an oath of fealty.
This meant he would always be true to the
king. The king then gave his vassal a chunk
of sod. He also gave him a tree branch.
They showed that the man was now in
charge of his part of land.
Only great vassals or vassals-in-chief
got their land straight from the king. These
men then divided the land. They gave the
land in fiefs to other men. A fief is a section
of land. These men were called lesser lords.
The lesser lords did not do homage to the
king. They did homage to the vassal-inchief. These lords divided the land again
among even lesser lords. This went on over
and over again. At the end of the chain was
a poor man. This man did homage to a
lesser lord for a few acres of land.
A vassal had many responsibilities to
his lord. He had to provide a certain
number of soldiers if there was a war. He
also had to give aids to his lord. Aids were
amounts of money. The overlord could ask
for aids in four situations. One was when
his eldest son was knighted. Another time
Middle Ages: Elementary
Unit 8: The Feudal System - Page 6
was when his eldest daughter got married.
He could ask for money if he set out on a
Crusade. Last, the lord asked for aids for
his own ransom. This was needed if he
became a prisoner during a war. The vassal
also had to give advice to his lord if he was
asked.
The fief was supposed to belong to a
vassal until he died. But fiefs were often
passed down from father to son. When a
vassal died his eldest son would do homage
for the fief. He would now have the same
overlord as his father. Sometime a vassal
died without anyone to inherit the fief.
Then the overlord would keep the land. An
overlord could also take the land away if a
vassal did not do his duties.
The vassals would give aids and military
help to the overlords. The overlords would
give protection to the vassals. Protection
was greatly needed at that time. Powerful
men took advantage of poorer men.
Sometimes weaker men would even be
killed for their land.
There were still some nobles who
owned their land. They were afraid of
getting killed by a robber. They often chose
to give their land over to an overlord. Then
the nobles would hold the land as a fief.
They would also have protection provided
by the overlord.
The feudal system seemed like a good
way to keep an army together. Kings often
went to war and needed an army to be
ready. With the feudal system there were
always soldiers ready to fight. From the
greatest vassals to the lowest, men would
come to fight.
In truth the feudal system was not a
good system. Only the vassals-in-chief paid
homage to the king. The other vassals just
paid homage to their overlord. To some
people the king did not seem as powerful as
the overlord. Sometimes the overlord
would be stronger than the king. At times
they rebelled against him. It was hard for
the king to fight them.
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR AND
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM
A strong government could not work in
a feudal system. The countries where it was
popular were not strong. They became just
a group of smaller states. Each state was
like a tiny kingdom.
England did not have this problem.
William the Conqueror made sure it would
not happen. As the Duke of Normandy he
was powerful. He might have been stronger
than the French king. He decided that no
English vassal would be as strong as him.
He gave Norman vassals land in England.
He did not give a large amount in one
place. He would give the vassals little
pieces of land all across the country. This
made it hard for a vassal to gather an army.
The vassals could not rebel as easily. Also,
William made all vassals swear fealty to
him. Even the lowest vassal swore to be
loyal to only William.
The overlord had complete power in his
fief. He was the ruler. He was the judge. He
could decide if one of his vassals lived or
died. He could make war if he wanted to.
Men who were rich were usually
soldiers, or knights. Being a priest was
their other choice. Most decided to be
soldiers. Simple knights on up to the king
were soldiers. They were not supposed to
work with their hands. They did not have
much to do. They wanted adventure. They
would go off to war whenever they could.
Below the richer men were the workers.
There were many classes of workers. The
Middle Ages: Elementary
Unit 8: The Feudal System - Page 7
lowest were outlaws and slaves. The slaves
were considered to be part of the land.
When a fief was passed on the slaves were
passed with it. They were property like
cattle. They could not get married. They
could not move to another town. The slave
had no rights. Slaves could be sold by their
overlord. They could even be killed if their
overlord decided to do so.
The criminal was not a slave. But he
could not leave the land either. He stayed
there as long he paid his dues. He paid his
dues by working a certain number of days
for the overlord. He also had to give the
lord some of his harvest. He had to give
him some of his cattle.
TOURNAMENT AND FEUDAL
WARFARE
The feudal system split the world into
two groups. The upper class was made up
of knights. The lower class held all the
workers. There were levels of rank in each
class. It was almost impossible to move up
in the ranks during feudal times.
Working was for the lower classes. The
upper classes fought in wars. Sometimes
there was no real war going on. The upper
classes would make war games to keep
themselves busy. These pretend battles
were called tournaments.
Tournaments were usually fought in
front of the king or some great lord. The
soldiers put on their full armor. They
carried dull weapons. The knights would
ride on horses straight at each other. They
did not try to kill each other. They tried to
knock the other soldier off his horse. The
knight who knocked off the most
opponents was the winner. He got a prize.
Sometimes tournaments were less
formal. Young men pretended to fight in
tournaments for fun. They acted out a
pretend war. They fought with dull
weapons. They even used horses.
Sometimes a large crowd came to watch
these tournaments. The sons of noblemen
practiced their war skills.
Tournaments were meant to be a game.
They were meant to help knights work on
their skills. But sometimes tournaments
were more deadly than real battles. Many
soldiers died while competing in
tournaments.
In war the soldiers did not try to kill
their enemies. They tried to knock them off
their horses just like in the tournaments.
They did not do this because they wanted
to save lives. They did this because they
could make money. If they captured a
knight alive, his vassals would pay a lot of
money for his ransom. They would not pay
anything if he was dead.
The feudal wars were not honorable.
They were not about freedom or morals.
They were about greed and power. Men
gained land by fighting. If a man was not
strong enough to defend his land, someone
else took it from him. The weakest men
died. The strongest men got stronger and
richer.
Every neighbor was a possible enemy.
Castles were built with strong walls for
defending against attacks. The castles were
built on hills. This made it hard to attack
them and easy to defend. Thick stone walls
were built around the castles. Moats were
dug to surround them. The moat could be
crossed only by a drawbridge. The castles
were so strong that there was almost no
way to defeat them. The only way to do so
was to starve the people inside. As a result
sieges were common in feudal wars.
Middle Ages: Elementary
Unit 8: The Feudal System - Page 8
FEUDAL ESTATES OF THE CLERGY
Many abbeys and monasteries were
forts. They also had to defend against
enemies. There were many men who were
clergy as well as feudal lords. Some
clergymen tried to add to their monastery’s
land. They would fight wars to get more
land. They did this instead of ministering
to people.
THE TRUCE OF GOD
There were a few churchmen who
fought wars. Most of the churchmen were
upset by all the fighting. These clergymen
created the Truce of God. They worked
hard to put it into practice. The Truce of
God was a new rule. People could not fight
from Wednesday evening through Monday
morning. War was also banned on Lent
and Advent. Other holy days were also warfree. The Truce was broken many times.
The Church was powerful enough to
sometimes punish people who broke the
truce.
The Church became more powerful. The
fact it could enforce the Truce of God
shows its power. Kings were supposed to
keep their kingdoms peaceful. They could
not do it. The Church came in to keep the
peace instead. The Truce of God was
carried out until the thirteenth century.
Then the kings gained more power. The
“King’s Peace” took over for the Church.
Middle Ages: Elementary
Unit 8: The Feudal System - Page 9