Feudalism in Europe: A Response to Violent Times after the Fall of Rome

European Middle Ages500-1200

Think About …• Which invaders attacked Europe from 800 to

1000? And how did the invasions effect the people of Europe?

• What is a “serf”?• What is a Lord? A Vassall? A Fief?• What was feudalism? What were the benefits?

What were the drawbacks?• Describe what life might be like living on a

“manor”?

Setting the Stage Pepin the Short

Carloman Charlemagne

Louis the Pious

Charles the Bald

Louis the German

Lothair

•Charlemagne’s grandsons broke up the kingdom (see video worksheets for info on Charlemagne and his kingdom)•Territory became battleground of new invaders – easy targets now they are divided and fighting each other•Led to the rise of feudalism

•Political and economic system based on land ownership and personal loyalty which promised protection in exchange for labour and loyalty

Invaders Attack Western Europe

•Muslim invaders seized Sicily, raided Italy, sacked Rome then retreated to Spain (ruled Spain for 700 years)•Magyars from the east (based in Hungary) maul Germany and Italy•Vikings from the north (Norsemen/Northmen) Norwegians/Danes go west, Swedes go east and south)

The Vikings - Northmen

• Germanic people that lived in Scandinavia

• Worships warlike gods• Seafarers that attacked

with terrifying speed• Known for warships– Weighed up to 20 tons– Could sail in 3 feet of

water

The Vikings• Vikings were also traders,

farmers, and explorers• Journeyed far and wide• Explorer Leif Ericson reached

N. America in 1000• Around 1000, Vikings

stopped their reign of terror• Later accepted Christianity• Warming trend in Europe

made farming easier = less seafaring needed

Yes I am a cat with an

axe. I wreak fear and

havoc into the lives of

mice. Dogs beware,

your doom is come

You got a problem

with that Eric?

One crack out of you

Drew and we invade Wales!!

Magyars From the East

• Horsemen from modern day Hungary

• Invaded W. Europe in late 800’s

• Attacked isolated villages, overran Italy, took captives to sell as slaves

Muslims from the South• Came from N. Africa through Spain and Italy• Goals: conquer, settle in and plunder Europe• Seafarers who attacked settlements on the

Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts

Results of Invasions

People now looked to local rulers for security (not a central ruler)

Widespread disorder

Kings unable to provide

protection

People in constant danger

A New Social Order: Feudalism

• Feudalism: a system of governing and landholding based on rights and obligations emerged in Europe

• In exchange for military service, a lord (landowner) would provide a fief (land) to a vassal (person receiving the land)

• Depended on control of land

The Manor System• Manor: the lord’s estate & the basic economic

arrangement during the Middle Ages• Depended on a set of rights and obligations

between a lord and his serfs

Provided housing, farmland, protection from bandits

Tended the lord’s lands, cared for the animals, maintained the estate

LORD

SERF

No Strong Central Govt.So how will we be protected?

• Lack of central government for protection leads to rise of Feudalism

What is Feudalism?

Feudalism: “loosely organized system of government in which local lords governed their own lands but owed military service and other support to a greater lord.”

Feudalism (political system)So who is in charge?

• The kings had plenty of land; but he could not control it all– So he gave land to lords in

exchange for protection, loyalty and $.

• Lords then gave their land to knights in exchange for protection, loyalty and $.

• Knights let serfs (peasants) work the land and he would protect them.

• Serfs got food and shelter.• Thus, each person had

rights and responsibilities

vassals(higher lords)

King

Nobles

Knights

Peasants

Grants land to

Grants land to

Grants land to

Provide labour,

food, tax, services

Provide protection, military service,

tax/money

Provide money and

knights

Note: it takes 40 serfs to support

one knight!!

responsibilities rights

The Life of a Serf• Women shared in the work• Kids ran free until big enough to

carry stuff, then worked like a mini adult from 8 or 9 yrs.

• Owed duties to the lord– At least a few days per week– A portion of their grain

• Rarely traveled more than 5 km. from the manor

• Produced nearly everything they and their lord needed for daily life eg. Cloth, food (bread, vegetables, meat, milk, eggs, fish), tools, furniture, etc.

The Life of a Serf• Taxed on all the grain

ground in the lord’s mill• Baking bread elsewhere

was a crime• Paid a tax on marriage• Weddings could only occur

with the lord’s permission• Owed the village priest a

tithe (church tax) = to 1/10 of their income

• Lived in crowded cottages with only 1 or 2 rooms

• Slept on dirt floors in beds made of straw

• Ate mostly vegetables, bread, grain, cheese and soup

• Life = work as soon as you were old enough

• Illness and malnutrition were common

Life on the Manor• Usually covered a few square miles

of land• Consisted of:

– Lord’s manor house– Church– Workshops

• 15 to 30 families lived in the village on a manor

• Surrounded by fields, pastures, woodlands

• Streams sometimes ran through the manor

• Produced crops, milk, cheese, fuel, cloth, leather goods, lumber

Life on the ManorA typical manor settlement shows peasants (serfs) growing specialty crops and sheep for wool, which would be sold by the Lord of the Manor. In exchange for their labour, the serfs were permitted to live on the land with the Lord’s protection. They could also keep a small percentage of what they grew. The Lord also provided a mill, a church and access to markets. Serfs could not leave nor marry without the Lord’s permission. The quality of a serf’s life depended largely on the character of the Lord of the Manor.