Download Chapter 10, Lesson 2 Feudalism and the Rise of Towns

Chapter 10, Lesson 2
Feudalism and the Rise of Towns
It Matters Because:
The organization of society in medieval Europe
affected nearly every aspect of people’s lives.
The Feudal Order
• Feudalism rose out of need for protection from invasion and raid
• Nobles collected taxes, governed and protected people living on their land
• People provided service in return, such as fighting in the army or farming
• By 1000, hundreds of feudal territories existed, but few nations
• Feudalism depended on loyalty and sense of duty
• Lords owned land and had political power
• Vassals were lower-ranking nobles who served a lord
• A vassal took an oath of loyalty to his lord
• In return for his service, a vassal received land from the lord
• A vassal’s land was known as a fief
• Knights were low-ranking vassals
• Warriors who fought on horseback
Nobles and Knights
• Before days of Kings, lords were most powerful men in
Europe
• Knights united with lords to defend society
• Knights followed code of chivalry – knights must be brave, obey
lord, respect noble women and defend the church
• Knights trained for war by competing in tournaments - tests of
strength and skill
• Castle was the center of the medieval manor
• Castle keep was the central building, home of the lord and his
family
The Medieval Manor
• Medieval manor was a community that produced everything it
needed
• Land worked by peasants
• Consisted of castle, farmland divided into fields, and a peasant village
• Two classes of peasants – freemen and serfs
• Freemen paid nobles to work land, had lawful rights
• Most peasants were serfs – tied to the manor, could not own property
• Lords were expected to protect peasants on the manor
• Serfs worked lord’s land and their own, gave portion of crops to the
lord, and paid lord for use of village mill, bread oven, winepress
Peasant Life
• Peasants lived in simple cottages in villages
• Peasants worked year round
• Planted, weeded, harvested fields
• Sheared sheep and slaughtered livestock
• Peasants stopped work to attend church on Sundays and
on feast days
• Peasant women worked in fields and kept home
Improvements in Farming
• Manors produced only enough food to support itself
• Eventually, new technology and farming techniques increased
the amount of crops a manor could produce
• Heavy wheeled iron plow allowed farming deep in clay soil
• Horse collar allowed horses to pull plow
• Water and wind mills provided power to grind grain into flour
• Three-field system and crop rotation allowed soil to restore
nutrients
• Fallow field went unplanted and restored nutrients to soil
Growth of Towns and Cities
• Europe changed quickly and drastically when Rome collapsed
• Trade declined
• Roman bridges and roads were neglected and fell to ruin
• Law and order disappeared in many places
• Most people spent their entire short lives in the village where they were born
• By 1100, feudalism made Europe safer
• Nobles repaired roads, arrested bandits, enforced law
• New technology made farming and manufacturing easier
• Population grew for first time since fall of Rome
• Nobles demanded luxuries from East Asia (sugar, spices, silks, dyes)
Wealthy Trading Centers
• By 1200, many Italian cities became trading centers
• Built fleets of trading ships & controlled trade with Byzantines
• Flanders (in present-day Belgium) became trading center on northern
coast
• Merchants came from all over Europe to trade for wool
• Trade fairs established in northern France
• Merchants came from all over Europe to barter goods
• Merchants soon began demanding gold and silver coins rather than trading for
goods
• Led to beginning of banking in Europe
Medieval Cities
• As cities grew, a new middle class grew
• Merchants, artisans, etc., gained wealth and became leaders in growing cities
• Men in cities elected city councils, lawmakers, and judges
• Nobles often owned surrounding territory, expected to control town
affairs
• Townspeople wanted freedom to make own laws & fought nobles for basic
rights
• Cities built inside stone walls, with buildings and people tightly packed
• Could be unsanitary, as smoke from fireplaces filled the air and sewers were
often open
Guilds
• Craftsmen of different products formed groups called guilds
• Group of similar craftsmen that controlled business in towns
• Set prices, for products and services & standards for quality
• Guilds decided who could enter a trade
• Young hopeful artisans called apprentices worked & trained under
a master craftsman