Chapter 4, Lesson 1

EQ: How do social hierarchies develop?

Home Learning: Define Vocabulary, Chapter 4, Lesson 1

• Feudalism• vassal• Fief• Knight • feudal contract• chivalry

The End of the Carolingian Empire

• Carolingian Empire slowly falls after the death of Charlemagne • His empire is divided into three part (West, Middle, and Eastern

Kingdom)—his grandsons fight for control of the regions. • West is invaded by the Vikings from Norway, Denmark, and

Sweden (Scandinavia).

THE VIKINGS ARE COMING!

WHO ARE THE VIKINGS?

http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/vikings-history/videos/bet-you-didnt-know-vikings

• Scandinavian adventurers and “barbarians”

• They searched for spoils of war and adventure invaded many areas of Europe.

• Sacked villages and towns, destroyed churches, and defeated small armies

Activity: The Vikings

• Read The End of the Carolingian Empire (pg.64)

• Answer the following Progress Check Question• What factors helped the Vikings invade Europe

successfully?

Feudalism Begins

• Decline of Carolingian Empire led to breakdown central government.

• People lose trust in their rulers turn to local landed aristocrats (lords or nobles) for protection because the rulers could no longer protect them.

• Feudalism: A new political and social system that exchanged work for land and protection.

•

Inside medieval life video

Feudal Society • Nobles (lords) gained power by providing protection

and land in return for service.

• New social and political order of feudalism arose.

o Lords exerted control over large territories.

o Land was offered in exchange for sworn allegiance and other obligations (fighting)

o Vassals and knights provided military service to their lords

• The lords (nobles) would then take care of their knights/vassals by paying them with land.

KNIGHTS IN ARMOR

fief

• Knights: A type of Vassal they would fight on horseback in the cavalry. • They were awarded lands (fief) for their fighting.• The relationships between lord and vassal were brought together by a feudal contract

Structure of Feudal Society

• Local lords were the political, social, and economic authorities—not a king.

• Multiple landholders maintained order instead of a single government

• As a result who ever owned more land and had more wealth ruled over more people

Activity: Graphic Organizer • Read page 65-66: “The Development of Feudalism.”1. Graphic Organizer: Complete the following organizer:

Identify four characteristics of Feudalism

2. Answer Question: What held European society together after the fall of the Carolingian Empire?

Feudalism

1. Draw a feudal pyramid like the one you see above. 2. In white the spaces explain what each group provided to the next group with (e.g., what did the higher group give the lower group?)3. In the yellow spaces explain the service that each group provided(e.g., what service did the lower group give the higher group?) 4. Use the vocabulary words in he explanations: feudalism, fief, vassal, knight, feudal contract, chivalry

3. Pyramid Diagram (Groups)

Knights: The Code of Chivalry • In the 11th and 12th centuries, the

idea of chivalry developed. • It began in literature as poets/writers

spread romantic tales of noble, usually fictitious, knights.

• These stories developed into a set of rules and behaviors that knights were called on to follow.– The ideal heroic knight was influenced

by courtesy, fairness, piety, and devotion to an honorable idea.

•Normans took over England in 1066 took the power away from the Anglo-Saxon tribe. •William of Normandy became the king of England after the Battle of Hastings. •They mixed Norman and Anglo-Saxon cultures.

THE NORMANS COME TO ENGLAND

•Magna Carta, “the Great Charter” document saying people have rights•It said the relationship between the king and his vassals is one of mutual rights and obligations. •A king could not have absolute power

no imprisonment without charges

A Change to the Law

•The Black Death was the most devastating natural disaster in European history. •The people saw the plague as an evil force they could not understand.

THE PLAGUE ARRIVES

•The most common form of the Black Death was the Bubonic plague, which was spread by rats and fleas on ships. •The path of the Black Death usually followed trade routes.

SPREAD OF THE PLAGUE

•Out of a total population of 75 million, 38 million died of the plague. (Half the European population)•The economy declined trade declined, shortage of workers, falling prices of food.

THE BLACK DEATH DESTROYS

JEWS ARE TO BLAME•Anti-Semitism grew, as people blamed Jews for the plague. •Jews were accused of poisoning the wells in towns, and causing the plague to spread.•The people thought the plague was a punishment from God, or the devil.

3 Effects of the Black Death on Europe