Download Feudalism and Chivalry

Invaders Attack Western Europe
 Vikings attack from the North
 Came down from Scandinavia
 Responsible for a new Europe in 900
A.D.
 Magyars attack from the East
 Excellent horsemen
 Came from Hungary
 Took slaves, did not settle
 Muslims attack from the South
 Came from North Africa
Vikings
A New Social Order: Feudalism
 Came as a result of invasion
 Many people turned to local rulers to
protect them
 Feudalism: A political system that stressed
alliances of mutual protection
 Vassalage: heart of feudalism, vassals
swore an oath of loyalty & paid homage
 Feudal Contract: unwritten rules that
made relationships official
 Each lord was a vassal, a noble who
served another noble of higher rank
Feudalism (Continued)
 Feudalism: A
political system
that stressed
alliances of
mutual protection
 Knights:
heavily armored
cavalry
 Fief: gift of
land, serfs,
and castle
(fortified
manor house)
Feudalism (Continued)
 Feudalism: A political system that
stressed alliances of mutual protection
 Lord: governed manor & castle – near
total authority within fief
 Lady of the castle: managed estate
while lord was away
Manor System
Manor System
 Manor System: Basic economic arrangement
 Lord gives land/protection to peasant
 peasant works the land
 Life on the Manor
 15-30 families
 Self-sufficient community
 Peasant/Serfs paid a tax on everything. A tithe was
church tax amounting to 1/10 of their income
 Peasant families slept on dirt floors – Hungary
 Average age was 35 – never traveled more than 25
miles outside of manor in their lifetime
 had to get permission from lord to marry
The Medieval Manor
Life on the Medieval Manor
Serfs at work
Chivalry
 Chivalry
 A knights code of honor
 Fought for God, Lord, and
Lady
 Training
 Began at age 7 as a page
 Age 14, he became a
squire
 Age 21, he became a
knight
Chivalry: A Code of Honor and Behavior
Chivalry (Cont)
 Tournaments
 A mixture of recreation and combat
training
 Winners got large ransoms from
defeated knights
 The Literature of Chivalry
 Epic Poetry
 Entertainment for Feudal lords and
ladies
 Epic stories like King Arthur and
Charlemagne
 The Song of Roland: French knights
against Muslims in Spain
Chivalry – Bors chose to save a maiden rather than his
brother Lionel
Main Parts
of a Medieval Castle
Parts of a Medieval Castle
Carcassonne: A Medieval Castle
Chauvigny Castle, France, 11c
Spanish Castle, 14c
Methods in Attacking a Castle
1. Deception: Spies were used to infiltrate the castle. They could, at
night, open the castle gates or wreak havoc on the interior defenses of
the castle. The most famous case of this tactic is the Trojan Horse.
2. Treachery: Someone trusted within the power structure of the castle
could give misleading information that would bring down the castle. He
could for example report that there were many more troops sieging the
castle than there actually were. This would induce the castle residents to
either revolt or surrender out of fear.
3. Starvation: This was a method used but it often meant many months,
sometimes even a year or more. The sieging army would station itself
around the castle and not allow any form of commerce. Eventually the
inhabitants would surrender due to imminent starvation.
4. Biological warfare: Yep that's right. A sieging force could launch the
remains of rotting corpses into the castle causing outbreaks of lifethreatening illness.
5. Simple storm: The sieging force could carry on an all out attack at
various points of the castle. This overwhelming would hopefully break
through in some places causing a collapse in defenses.
6. Mining: The sieging army would actually dig tunnels under the castle.
The hope was not so much for an entry into the castle but for a way to
collapse the castle defenses.
Methods in Attacking a Castle
Catapults - A catapult was a large machine used to
throw objects, often rocks, arrows, pots of fire, or even
spears, at a castle. This would destroy the castle walls
and buildings
Methods in Attacking a Castle
Trebuchet - Similar to the catapult in that it was
designed to throw large objects but it was more
efficient than a catapult because it could be built faster
and at less cost. Yet it could throw heavier objects
even further.
Methods in Attacking a Castle
Battering Rams: They
were large mechanical
objects, often on
wheels that were used
to ram the walls and
doors of a castle in an
attempt to break them
down. Often times
battering rams were
part of a siege tower.
Methods in Attacking a Castle
Siege Towers: Were wooden towers often built at the
site of the siege. They were built to the height of the
castle walls and were on wheels so they could be
rolled up to the wall. Then the attackers could cross
right over into the castle.