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Feudalism in Europe
The Social Order
Table of Contents
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Introduction
The Franks
Charlemagne
Invasion Threats
Introduction of Feudalism
Manors
Middle Ages Social Order
• Monarchs
• Lords & Ladies
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Medieval Homes
Homes of the Rich
Knights (2)
Peasants (2)
End of Presentation
Introduction
• The Early Middle Ages began with the fall of Rome.
• After 500 years of living in a unified Europe, the Roman
Empire collapsed leaving the people to fend for themselves.
Exposed to the elements and virtually starving, they worked
hard simply to survive and needed protection.
• These challenges gave rise to the economic and political system
historian called feudalism. In this system, people pledged
loyalty to a powerful landowner (lord) in return for protection.
Armed warriors (knights) fought on behalf of the lords.
• Peasants worked the land and some peasants who could not
leave the land were called serfs.
The Franks
• Once Rome fell, Europe was left with no central government or
system of defense. Many invading groups set up their own
kingdoms and went to war with each other. The most powerful
were those with the most land and best warriors.
• One powerful group was the Franks. They developed a new style
of fighting on horseback and conquered a great deal of territory.
• Clovis, became their king at the age of 15 and defeated the last
Roman army at Gaul. During the next 30 years he widened the
Frankish boundaries.
• Clovis wife, Clotilda led him to be baptized as a Christian. Many
of his followers became Christians as well.
Charlemagne
• The most important leader of the Franks was
Charlemagne.
• He lead the Franks for 40 years. He could not
read or write, but loved to have scholarly works
read to him. He encouraged education and
scholarship making his court one of culture.
• With the help of Pope Leo III, he united all of
Europe into a single Christian empire. The pope
crowned him “Emperor of Rome”.
• Charlemagne helped prepare the way for
feudalism by rewarding knights with land and
privileges for military service.
Invasion Threats
• In the 9th and 10th centuries were threatened of invasion by 3
main groups.
• The Muslims (Islam), from the Near East and northern
Africa.
• The Magyars, from Asia and the East.
• The Vikings from Norway and Denmark
• The Vikings were the most fearsome. They were best know for
their terrifying raids on towns and villages.
• Clearly needing a way to defend themselves, they developed a
system of defense called feudalism.
Introduction of Feudalism
• By the High Middle Ages, feudalism provided the protection
needed by establishing a stable social order. Under this system the
people were bound to one another by a system of loyalty.
• The land was owned by the monarchy and the church. The king
awarded land grants or fiefs to his most important nobles, barons,
and bishops, in return for their contribution of soldiers for the
king's armies.
• Nobles divided their land among the lesser nobility, who became
their vassals. Many of these vassals became so powerful that the
kings had difficulty controlling them.
Manors
• Most people lived on a manor, which consisted of the manor
house, the church, the village, and the surrounding farm land.
• Each manor was largely self-sufficient, growing or producing
all of the basic items needed for food, clothing, and shelter.
• To meet these needs, the manor had buildings devoted to
special purposes, such as: the mill for grinding grain, the bake
house for making bread, and the blacksmith shop for creating
metal goods.
• These manors were isolated, with occasional visits from
peddlers, pilgrims on their way to the Crusades, or soldiers
from other fiefdoms.
Middle Ages Social Order
During the Middle
Ages, people were
born into a social
class and had to
remain there for
life.
KING
Fief and Peasants
Military Aid
Loyalty
LORDS (VASSALS TO KING)
Food
Protection
Shelter
Military Service
Homage
KNIGHTS (VASSALS TO LORDS)
Food
Protection
Farm the
Land
PEASANTS (SERFS)
Shelter
Pay
Rent
Monarchs
• At the top of the feudal society were the Monarchs. As feudal
lords, they were expected to provide protection and keep order.
• Most kings believed that God had given them the right to rule, but
in reality their power varied greatly.
• Many could not afford an army so they had to depend on their
vassals and nobles to help. Some these grew powerful and usurped
the power of the king.
• One such nobleman was William, Duke of Normandy, who
became William the Conqueror. Through the Norman Invasion
He brought feudalism and stability by the start of the High Middle
Ages, around 1000 CE.
Lords & Ladies
• Like the Monarchs, Lords and Ladies were at the top of the feudal
society. Most lived on the main house of the manor. Their homes
were protected by high walls and sometimes a moat.
• The most wealthy lived in castles. Castles served as protection and
were reminders of the wealth of the inhabitants.
• Women were often lords of the manor and had to perform all the
duties required to run the manor, often managing a number of staff.
• They were responsible for raising children, often overseeing the
large households. They also enjoyed hunting, feasting, dancing,
board games, and reading. Many were adept at decorative sewing
and fine embroidery.
Medieval Peasant Homes
• Medieval life was hard regardless of class, especially living
conditions.
• Lit only by candles and warmed by a fireplace, the homes could
be gloomy and cold. There was little to no privacy. Homes were
infected by flees and lice.
• People only bathed occasionally, clothes were seldom washed,
disease affected both the rich and poor and life expectancy was
short, even with infants and children.
• War was an ever present danger.
Medieval Homes of the Rich
• The homes of the rich were
more elaborate than the
peasants' homes. Their floors
were paved, as opposed to
being strewn with rushes and
herbs, and sometimes
decorated with tiles.
• Tapestries were hung on the
walls, providing not only
decoration but also an extra
layer of warmth.
Knights
• Knights had to have some wealth. A full suit of armor and a
horse were expensive.
• To become a knight a boy started as a page, at the age of 7 he
went to live at the castle of a lord where he received training
and full religious instruction.
• He was expected to assist the ladies of the castle in every way
possible, while learning to sing, to dance, and compose music;
skills highly valued in knights.
• After 7 years the page became a squire where he spent time
with the knight who was his lord. He assisted the knight in
every way and most importantly trained to become a warrior.
• In his early 20’s, if deserving, he became a knight.
Knights
• The ceremony to become a knight involved the squire spending
the night in prayer. The next morning he bathed and put on a
white tunic, to show his purity.
• During the ceremony he knelt before his lord and said his vows.
The lord drew his sword and with it touched the knight-to-be on
each shoulder with the flat side of his blade and knighted him.
• The knights lived by a code of chivalry. They were expected to be
loyal to their church and their lord, to be just and fair, and to
protect the helpless. They performed acts of gallantry or paid
respect to women.
• With the introduction of gunpowder and cannons in the 17th
century, wars were fought differently and knights were no longer
needed.
TGIF! 
•We’ll finish the notes,
then watch current
events, then finish the
Deadliest Warrior
episode.
Peasants
• Most of the people in the Middle Ages were peasants. Their
labor supported the entire feudal structure.
• Peasants were classified as “free” or “unfree” (serfs),
depending upon the amount of service still owed to the lord.
Serfs could not leave the lord’s estate.
• Peasants lives revolved around farm animals and raising of
crops, but some were skilled carpenters, stone masons and metal
workers. Peasant women worked the fields with the men.
• Serfs owed the lord taxes that were called “head money”
which was a fixed amount per person. The lord could also
charge “tallage” whenever he needed money. When a woman
married her father paid a fee called a “merchet.”
Peasants
• Serfs were required to grind their own grain, from the lord’s
mill and had to pay a portion to the lord.
• Peasant homes were usually 2 rooms, made of strips of wood
and mud. There was a hearth fire in the middle of the main
room, but usually no chimney. The homes were then dark and
smoky.
• They had little furniture. The entire family and often farm
animals slept in the same room.
• Their diet consisted of what they grew, dark bread, and stale
meat from the lords farm animals.
End of Presentation