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The Middle Ages
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The CLASSICAL Period ends with the fall of the Roman Empire in the West!
476 A.D. - Roman empire in Western Europe collapses.
Roman emperor Romulus Augustulus surrenders to the German general Odovacar.
The MEDIEVAL Period in Western European history now begins!
Medium aevum -- Medieval or The Middle Ages
The period from 500 – 1500 A.D. in Europe is known as
the Middle Ages or Medieval period.
Effects of Germanic Invasions on Western Europe
• Disruption of Trade – businesses failed, money worthless, no available goods.
• Cities abandoned – no government officials or security; frightened people fled.
• Population shifts – move to rural areas to grow food / become self-sufficient.
• Decline of Learning – few are literate and classical Greek knowledge fades.
• Loss of Common language – different dialects and Romance languages develop
Loyalty to government and written laws that once unified Roman society
now disappeared.
Family ties and personal loyalties, rather than citizenship in a State,
now bound Germanic peoples together in small communities.
The Germanic stress on personal ties to local leaders made it impossible for one single ruler to
establish orderly government for large territories.
The Middle Ages: The Myth


We think of knights in
shining armor, lavish
banquets, wandering
minstrels, kings, queens,
bishops, monks, pilgrims,
and glorious pageantry.
In film and in literature,
medieval life seems
heroic, entertaining, and
romantic.
The Middle Ages: The Reality

In reality, life in the
Middle Ages, a period
that extended from
approximately the 5th
century to the 15th
century in Western
Europe, could also be
harsh, uncertain, and
dangerous.
The Lord of the Manor

For safety and
defense, people in the
Middle Ages formed
small communities
around a central lord
or master.
The Manor

Most people lived
on a manor, which
consisted of the
castle (or manor
house), the church,
the village, and the
surrounding farm
land.
Self-Sufficiency


Each manor was largely selfsufficient, 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
The blacksmith shop for creating
metal goods.
Isolation

These manors were
isolated, with
occasional visits
from peddlers,
pilgrims on their way
to the Crusades, or
soldiers from other
fiefdoms.
The Feudal System

Under the feudal
system, 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 and Vassals


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.
The Peasants


At the lowest level of
society were the
peasants, also called
serfs.
The lord offered his
peasants protection in
exchange for living and
working on his land.
Hard Work & High Taxes


Peasants worked hard to
cultivate the land and
produce the goods that
the lord and his manor
needed.
They were heavily taxed
and were required to
relinquish much of what
they harvested.
Bound by law and custom…

It is the custom in England, as with other countries, for the
nobility to have great power over the common people, who
are serfs. This means that they are bound by law and custom
to plough the field of their masters, harvest the corn, gather
it into barns, and thresh and winnow the grain; they must
also mow and carry home the hay, cut and collect wood, and
perform all manner of tasks of this kind.
-- Jean Froissart,
1395
MEDIEVAL LIFE
Cooperation and Mutual
Obligations
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
FEUDALISM:
POLITICAL SYSTEM
Decentralized, local government
Dependent upon the relationship
between members of the nobility
Lord and his vassals set the law and were
the highest authority in their land
MANORIALISM:
ECONOMIC SYSTEM
Agriculture the basis for wealth
Lands divided up into self-sufficient
manors
Peasants (serfs) worked the land and
paid rent in exchange for protection
Barter the usual form of exchange
Bellringer Questions
1.Explain the manorial system. Why did this
economic system develop after the fall of the Roman
Empire? PAGE 197
2. What were the mutual obligations between the King,
Lords and Vassals, Knights, and Peasants in the system
of Feudalism? PAGE 193
•Explain the manorial system. Why did this economic
system develop after the fall of the Roman Empire?
•A system developed after the fall of Rome (in Medieval
Europe) that consists of a agricultural estate run by a lord
and worked by the peasants.
•This system is based off the idea of mutual obligation,
where everyone in society had a role that each group was
dependent on.
•What were the mutual obligations between the King,
Lords and Vassals, Knights, and Serfs in the system of
Feudalism?
•The King provided stability, and gave land (fief) and
peasants to the lords. They also provided military service
to their Lords and Vassals.
•Lords and Vassals gave loyalty to the king and took
care of the local manor and all of the demands that go
along with it. They also provided food and land to their
Knights.
•Knights provided military aid in return for food and
land
•Peasants worked the lands and provided food for those
in their manor system. They also paid rent/tax.
What is a Knight?
•A Knight was man who had great combat skills and who
followed the Code of Chivalry.
•During the Middle Ages, it was technically possible for
any free man to become a knight.
•However, training and equipping a knight with a horse
and weapons was very expensive.
•Knights usually came from a wealthy family, had to
have the right connections.
Knight Training
Bellringer


1. What position did knights occupy during the
middle ages?
2. What is chivalry?
Chivalry
knighthood & its code of honor
Invincible strength
Valor
Justice
Modesty
Loyalty to superiors
Courtesy to equals
Compassion to weakness
Devotedness to the church
AGE 7  Become a page

Taken from home to the court or castle

Taught first articles of religion, respect, and reverence for
their lords

Initiated in ceremonies of the court

Carve, wait at table, and perform small tasks

Taught falconry, dancing, harp playing, hunting, fishing,
wrestling, tilting with spears, & performing military
exercises on horseback
AGE 14  Become a squire

Taught to vault on a horse, to run, to scale walls,
to spring over ditches – all in heavy armor

Taught to wrestle, to wield the battle-axe without
raising the visor or taking a breath

Taught to perform gracefully on horseback

Taught courtesy

Encouraged to give his attentions on a young lady
of the court
AGE 21  Initiation to the Knighthood
Preparation for the Ceremony:
 Fast and spend whole night in prayer
 Confession and communion
 Clothed in snow-white garment
 Go to church or hall where the ceremony is to be
held
 Wear a knightly sword suspended from neck