Feudalism and The Manor System

Daily Life in Medieval Europe

After Charlemagne

• Europe was invaded repeatedly by 3 groups: the Vikings from the north, the Magyars from the east, and the Muslims from the south

• Kings across Europe could not defend all of their lands, so they granted land to nobles

• The nobles had to find a way to defend their territory

Feudalism

• Feudalism: the system of exchanging land for service

• Over time the system became complicated as lords granted land to multiple knights and knights granted land to lesser knights, called villeins

Defense Systems

• Many nobles built castles that could withstand an attack• The nobles then trained soldiers to defend their castles and

territory

Knights

• Most well-trained soldiers for defending a castle

• Becoming a knight was expensive; knights needed to but their own armor, weapons, and horses

• Knights often agreed to defend a castle in exchange for a piece of land

• Nobles would grant knights a fief – anyone who accepted a fief was called a vassal

Feudal Obligations

• A knight’s duties to his lord:– Provide military

service– Remain loyal and

faithful• Took an oath of

fealty, or loyalty

– Give money on special occasions

• A lord’s duties to his knights:– Give land– Protect knights from

attack– Resolve disputes

between knights

Feudalism bound people together through professional duties

The Medieval Manor

• Usually owned by lords or knights• Since lords were too busy with feudal duties to

work the land, they granted land to peasants• In exchange, the peasants provided the lord with

labor and other services

What Did a Manor Include?• Most of the land consisted of pastures and fields for crops• Usually there were 3 fields – a spring field, a fall field, and a

field left fallow (empty) to improve the soil• The peasants would rotate the fields each year this system is

called crop rotation

What Did a Manor Include? (cont.)

• Lords lived in a fortified manor house• Peasants lived in a village on the manor grounds• The village usually had a church, mill, and a

blacksmith• There was often a bakehouse, pond, and

orchard• The manor was built to be self-sufficient, people

on the manor did not have to leave for anything