Download Introduction to Medieval Europe

The Development of
Feudalism in Western Europe
Learning Objective
Day 1
• Students will be able
to describe changes
to Medieval Europe
after the Fall of
Rome.
River, hills, and farmland show the
lush topography of France.
When were the
Middle Ages
(Medieval
Times)?
• The Middle Ages in
Europe began with the
Fall of Rome and lasted
about 1000 years.
• 476 AD to 1450AD
• Sometimes called the
“Dark Ages”, because of
the loss of Roman
achievements and
education.
What was life
like in Europe
after the Fall of
Rome?
• After the empire
collapsed, life was
dangerous and difficult in
Western Europe.
• Trade declined and
people worked hard
simply to survive and to
have enough to eat.
• They also needed to
protect themselves from
conquest by invading
barbarians and
neighboring kingdoms.
THINK/ PAIR/ SHARE
 What
was life in Europe like after the Fall of
the Roman Empire?
 A’s tell B’s
 B’s tell A’s
 I will now pick someone to explain to the
class.
Here come the
Barbarians!
• Muslims (Followers of
Western
Islam from the Middle
Europe was
threatened on East and North Africa)
all sides by 3 • Magyars (Central Asian
People)
main groups:
• Vikings (From the icy
North)
Whiteboards
 What
Empire fell before the start of the
Middle Ages?
 Roman Empire
 Name one Change to Europe after the
Fall of Rome:
Summary
Guided Practice
 Complete
the map activity handout and
trace the routes of the barbarians.
Learning Objective
Day 2
• Students will be able
to define Feudalism
and describe how it
restored order to
Europe.
River, hills, and farmland show the
lush topography of France.
Why
Feudalism?
• The challenges after the
fall of Rome gave rise to
the system historians call
feudalism (FEWD-ahlism).
• Feudalism established
order and provided
protection and safety.
• Think/Pair/Share: Why did
Europe have a need for a system
that provided protection and
safety?
What is Feudalism?
Think/Pair/Share
 What
are the three main systems in
Feudalism?
 A’s tell B’s
 B’s tell A’s
I
will now choose someone to explain to
the class.
Fill in the box on your graphic organizer
Political System
“Political” has to do with who is in charge
of the government, how people in the
government get along with one another,
and how they get along with other
governments.
• Many Kings and large
landowners (lords) rule
countries or kingdoms.
• Monarch: another
word for king or queen.
•
•
Think/Pair/Share or
Whiteboards: What is another
name for a large landower?
Another name for a king?
What were Kings in charge of?
.
Fill in your graphic organizer.
Economic System
“Economic” has to do with how people earn a living and
exchange goods or services.
• Most people live and work
their entire lives on manors
(a farm and its people and
villages controlled by a lord,
sometimes protected by a
castle.)
• Few goods came from
outside the manor.
•
Think/Pair/Share: Tell your partner
what is included on a manor.
Social System
“Social” has to do with how different groups of people in a society get along with
one another and who is considered more important.
• Society becomes highly structured, with kings at
the top, followed by lords (or nobles), knights,
and peasants.
• Knights become highly valued and respected for
their loyalty and military skills.
• Think/Pair/Share: Who is most important in the medieval
social system? Why are knights important?
Learning Objective
Day 3
• Students will be able
to describe the social
system in Medieval
Europe.
• Terms: hierarchy,
vassal
River, hills, and farmland show the
lush topography of France.
Feudal Hierarchy
• This is the feudal
hierarchy of
medieval Europe.
A Hierarchy is
any system of
people or things
ranked above
one another
• Fill in your
graphic organizer
.
Monarchs
• In theory, all the land in
the kingdom belonged to
the monarch (usually a
king, but sometimes a
queen).
• A great deal of land was
also owned by the
Church.
• Think/Pair/Share: What
did monarchs control that
made them powerful in
the middle ages?
Noble Lords
& Vassals
• In the feudal system,
people pledged loyalty to
a monarch or a noble
lord—a ruler or powerful
landholder.
• In return, they became
vassals of the lord. They
received protection from
that lord and served in the
lord’s army in exchange.
• Think/pair/share: Describe the
relationship between lords and
vassals.
Noble Lords and Vassals
continued….
• The king kept some land for himself and gave
fiefs : land granted by a lord to a vassal in
exchange for loyalty and service (FEEFS), or
land grants, to his most important lords, who
became his vassals.
• In return, each lord promised to supply the
king with knights in times of war. A lord then
enlisted lesser lords and knights as his vassals.
Often, these arrangements were written down.
Many of these contracts to this day are in
museums.
Knights
• Warriors, or knights,
fought on behalf of
their lords.
(Suits of armor were
made of steel which
protected knights in
battle, but weighed
around 65 pounds.)
At the bottom were the serfs.
• Peasants worked the land. At the
bottom of the system were serfs,
peasants who were not free to
leave the lord’s land without
permission, and they had to farm
his fields in exchange for a small
plot of their own.
• During the Middle Ages, people
were born into a social class for
life. They had the same social
position, and often the same job,
as their parents.
Think/Pair/Share
People in the Middle Ages were born into a
social class for life.
 How would you feel if you were born as
the son of a knight?
 How would you feel if you were born as a
serf? What did you gain/lose?
 Do you think the social system of
feudalism was fair?
Whiteboard
 What is a serf?
 A peasant who
is not allowed to leave his
lord’s land without permission.
 What is another word for king or queen?
 Monarch
 What is the term for the land a lord gives
in return for loyalty?
 Fief
 What group of people are between a king
and a knight on the feudal hierarchy?
 Nobles, lords (also church officials)
Learning Objective
Day 4
• Students will be able
to describe the
political system in
Medieval Europe.
• Terms: Divine right of
kings, noble, duke
River, hills, and farmland show the
lush topography of France.
Cornell Note Taking Activity
 Guided
 Read
Practice Instructions:
p 23 from the textbook. (Teachers
make photocopies.)
 Circle the main idea of each paragraph
in yellow.
 Underline one to two important details in
each paragraph in red.
Teachers click on
www.teachtci.com
Instructions, continued
 Set
up your notes in Cornell Style
 Write
the yellow key ideas on the left.
 Write the corresponding red details on the
right.
 HW:
Leave space at the end of your notes
for a summary paragraph. Write this using
the key ideas.
Learning Objective
Day 5
• Students will be able
to describe the
economic system in
Medieval Europe.
• Terms: manor, fief
River, hills, and farmland show the
lush topography of France.
The Manor
• Most lords and wealthier knights
lived on manors, or large estates.
A manor included a castle or
manor house, one or more
villages, the people, and the
surrounding farmland.
• Manors were in the country, far
from towns. That meant the
peasants had to produce
everything the people on the
manor needed. Only a few goods
came from outside the manor,
such as salt for preserving meat
and iron for making tools.
• Think/Pair/Share: Why would it be
important to control land in the Middle
Ages?
The castle
• Served as a home
• Protected people
during times of
conflict
• Was a status symbol.
It reminded people of
the power of the
ruling classes
This fortified castle protected the noble landowner and his peasants against
attack in the hostile middle ages. Note how the manor house is protected by
hills, moat, draw bridge, and location by a major water source.
Think/Pair/Share
 A’s
tell B’s one function (purpose) of a
castle.
 B’s tell A’s another function of a castle.
Whiteboard
 What
 A.
 B.
 C.
 D.
was considered part of the manor?
Castle
Manor House
Villages and Farmland
All of the Above
Whiteboard
 What
 D.
was considered part of the manor?
All of the Above
Whiteboard Review





What was the purpose of feudalism?
A. It spread democracy by giving the people
a voice in their own government.
B. It provided people with protection and
safety by establishing a stable social order.
C. It created a fair society by balancing the
powers of the monarch and the people.
D. It looked after the welfare of all people by
making sure they had all the necessities of
life.
Whiteboard Review
 What
 B.
was the purpose of feudalism?
It provided people with protection and
safety by establishing a stable social
order.
When a king granted a fief to a vassal
(lord), what did the vassal owe the king in
return?
 A. He worked the king’s land himself
 B. He owed the king nothing but his
gratitude
 C. He gave the king a supply of knights in
a time of war.
When a king granted a fief to a vassal
(lord), what did the vassal owe the king in
return?
 C.
He gave the king a supply of knights in
a time of war.
What was the function of a castle?
 A. To serve as a home
 B. To protect people during times of
military conflict
 C. To remind people of the power of the
ruling classes
 D. All of the above
What was the function of a castle?
 D.
All of the above