Download Ch 7 Notes on Feudalism

Feudalism and the Manorial System
Feudalism
• Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire
turned to a system of small estates or manors.
• Feudalism -a political system in which kings
and nobles granted land to other nobles in
exchange for service, loyalty, or military
assistance.
• By the mid 1000s it had become the way of
life in Europe.
• There was no real strong central government ,
kings were dependent on the nobles.
Feudalism and Feudal relationships
• The person who granted land was called a
lord.
• The person that received the land was a
vassal.
• The grant of land was a fief.
• The fief could not be broken up, and became
hereditary. It was given to the first born male
heir. Primogeniture.
• Women could influence but had little real
power. The church was also part of the system.
Feudal relationships
• Feudalism was a noble relationship between
equals. Only nobles could be lords or vassals.
• The same man could be both vassal and lord.
• It was a personal relationship, with rights to
the person above and below.
• Obligations of the vassal, to pay ransom, to
house and feed the lord, attend weddings.
• Feudal justice- Trial by battle, oath taking,
Trial by ordeal.
• Warfare - frequent and deadly for peasants.
Medieval Warfare
• Frequent wars plagued the Middle Ages.
Kingdom vs. Kingdom or sometimes Vassal
vs. Lord.
• The Knight or Medieval fighting man wore
chain mail, an iron helmet, carried a sword and
lance. Later Knights wore heavy armor
plating.
• The Church tried to control warfare by issuing
the Peace of God and the Truce of God. War
was restricted to only certain days. This really
The Manorial System
• The manorial system was the economic
equivalent of feudalism. Everything was done
on the manor. Only iron, salt, and tar imported.
• The lord of the manor shared the land with
several peasants. His land or 1/3 was called
the domain.
• The cultivating process used three large fields.
Only two were planted so that one could lie
fallow. The three field system of cultivation.
Peasant Life/Noble Life
• Most peasants on the manor were serfs, bound
to the land. There were a few skilled artisans
who were free.
• Life was hard, the work was back breaking,
and most peasants only lived to the age of 40.
• The diet consisted of black bread, eggs,
cabbage, and some cheese. Very little meat
was eaten.
• Nobles lived in castles. The source of
protection. Early middle ages very simple
earth and wood structures.
Noble Life and Chivalry
• The main part of the castle was the keep. This was a
thick tower which often contained the great hall.
• For entertainment the nobility would often stage
tournaments. People often killed or wounded in
these games.
• During the 1100s chivalry or a code of conduct
developed. To became a knight a boy served as a
page, ( 7 – 13) and then a squire (14-17).
• Families often inherited family crests or symbols.
Richard II’s White heart, the Fleur de-lis of the
French Bourbons.