Download Feudal Hierarchy - 8th Grade Social Studies Page

Life in
Medieval
Europe: A look
at Life and the
Feudal
Hierarchy
8th Grade Social Studies
WHY WAS
FEUDALISM
NECESSARY?
A New Order
• Feudalism
Overview
•
A political and economic system
– large landholders gave protection
to people for their service (mostly
farm labor)
•
Filled two needs
– Peoples need for protection
– Landowners need for defense
•
Lasted in some areas of Europe until
around 1450
•
Hierarchies - orders of authority
– developed between different
classes
The Feudal Hierarchy
• Monarch
• Lords
• Vassal
• Knight
• Guildsmen/Craftsmen
• Peasants/Serfs
• either a king or a queen which
was typically in power based
on lineage
• powerful noblemen and
women who owned large tracts
of land
• a person who is given a manor
from a lord or king
• a specially trained soldier who
fights for a lord and vassal
• men who learned from a
relative how to produce a
particular good for the manor
• poor farmers who work the
manor’s farmland in exchange
for protection
The Feudal Hierarchy
Freeman (Guildsman/Craftsman)
Serfs/Peasants
The Feudal Hierarchy
Vassals
Knights
LABOR
PROTECTION
Freeman (Guildsman/Craftsman)
Serfs/Peasants
The Feudal Hierarchy
Lords
LAND AND
PROTECTION
LOYALTY AND
MILITARY SERVICE
Vassals
Knights
LABOR
PROTECTION
Freeman (Guildsman/Craftsman)
Serfs/Peasants
The Feudal Hierarchy
Monarch
LOYALTY AND
SERVICE
LAND
Lords
LAND AND
PROTECTION
LOYALTY AND
MILITARY SERVICE
Vassals
Knights
LABOR
PROTECTION
Freeman (Guildsman/Craftsman)
Serfs/Peasants
The Monarch
• Monarch
• at their most powerful
during the late middleages (about 800ad1700ad)
• was a king or queen who
ruled over a strong
central government
• considered god-like in
their kingdom
Lords
• Lords
•
were most powerful during the
early middle ages (500 ad-800 ad)
•
owned hundreds to thousands of
acres know as fiefs
Fiefs:
– large tracts of land
– granted by the monarch or
stronger lord
•
•
gained wealth through rent, taxes,
services and food from craftsmen
and serfs
•
lived lavishly in his castle
•
met regularly with his court to
discuss issues around the fief
Lady
Lady
• dealt with the
management of crops,
animals and property
• ruled over hundreds of
employees and
servants
• served the manor as a
nurse since doctors
and surgeons were
few and far between
Vassals
• Vassals
• “Lord’s subjects “
• former knights who
were rewarded for their
service and given
manors
• each manor contained
a smaller castle and the
ability to thwart enemy
attacks with certain
defenses
Homage and the Oath of Fealty
• Homage
a vassal's public honor of
allegiance to a lord
• Oath of Fealty
promise to remain loyal to a
lord
• Vassal’s were expected to
pay homage through the
Oath of Fealty to the lord
and lady
• Vassals also promised to
raise an army to protect the
lord or lady in times of
trouble
Feudal Contract
LORDS
GIVE
SERVICE
TO
GIVE
PROTECTION
TO
VASSALS
Knights
• Knights
• specially trained
armed mounted
soldiers who give
military service to
both their lords and
vassals
• were given all the
same rights and
privileges as lords
Craftsmen
• Craftsmen
• people that worked in
each manor producing
goods for the manor’s
self-sufficiency
• had special skills so their
work was in high demand
• many lived in wooden
homes and had enough
income to support their
family
Serfs
• Serfs
• owned no land to pass on
to future generations
• lived in mud and stone
huts, (sometimes wood
and stone homes)
• gave most of their
harvests to their vassal or
Church
• Men:
typically worked the
land or were called to
fight
• Women:
produced food and
clothing for their own
household
Comparing Serfs to Lords
Serfs
• Ate eggs, bread,
poultry, some meat,
and vegetables
• Wore wool and
animal skin clothes
• Benefited from their
beasts of burden,
selling some crops,
and bartering what
little they had
Lords
• Ate meat, game,
fish, pastries,
spices, and
vegetables
• Wore wool, silk,
and linen clothes
• Acquired wealth
from rent, taxes,
services and
products from
their fief, and the
prizes of
conquest.
Quick Write #6
How did the Feudal Hierarchy and it’s protection
work?
After taking notes, describe in order of rank the
people and their jobs, and explain why paying
homage and taking the Oath of Fealty were
important parts of the manor's protection?