The Early Middle Ages Section 3

Preview

• Main Idea / Reading Focus

• The Feudal System

• Quick Facts: Feudal Obligations

• The Manorial System

• Daily Life in the Middle Ages

The Feudal and Manorial Systems

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Reading Focus• What duties and obligations were central to the feudal system?

• How did the manorial system govern the medieval economy?

• What was daily life like for people on a manor?

Main Idea In Europe during the Middle Ages, the feudal and manorial systems governed life and required people to perform certain duties and obligations.

The Feudal and Manorial Systems

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Knights like William Marshal did not exist at the beginning of the Middle Ages but began to emerge as the period progressed.

• Feudalism originated partly as result of Viking, Magyar, Muslim invasions

• Kings unable to defend their lands, lands of their nobles

• Nobles had to find way to defend own lands

• Built castles, often on hills• Not elaborate structures; built

of wood, used as place of shelter in case of attack

Origins of Feudalism• Nobles needed trained

soldiers to defend castles• Knights most important,

highly skilled soldiers • Mounted knights in heavy

armor best defenders• Being a knight expensive; had

to maintain weapons, armor, horses

• Knights demanded payment for services

Knights and Lords

The Feudal System

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Fiefs and Vassals

Knights were usually paid for their services with land

• Land given to knight for service was called a fief

– Anyone accepting fief was called a vassal

– Person from whom he accepted fief was his lord

• Historians call system of exchanging land for service the feudal system, or feudalism

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Oath of Fealty• Lords, vassals in feudal system had duties to fulfill to one another• Knight’s chief duty as vassal to provide military service to his lord• Had to promise to remain loyal; promise called oath of fealty

Lord’s Obligations• Lord had to treat knights fairly, not demanding too much time, money• Had to protect knight if attacked by enemies• Had to act as judge in disputes between knights

Financial Obligations• Knight had certain financial obligations to lord• Knight obligated to pay ransom for lord’s release if captured in battle• Gave money to lord on special occasions, such as knighting of son

Feudal Obligations

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• Almost everyone in system served more than one lord

• Theoretically, everyone supposed to be loyal to the king

• In practice, not everyone loyal• Some powerful nobles as

strong as kings they were supposed to serve, ignored duties as vassals

• Feudal rules specific to time, place; could change over time; England’s rules not same as France’s rules

Fealty to King • Europe’s feudal system

incredibly complex• Person could be both lord,

vassal• Some knights with large fiefs

gave small pieces of land to other knights, created many levels of obligations

• One knight could serve many lords; no prohibition against knight accepting fiefs from more than one noble

Lord and VassalA Complicated System

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Summarize

How did the feudal system work?

Answer(s): lord gave land to knight in return for protection and loyalty

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The feudal system was a political and social system. A related system governed medieval economics. This system was called the manorial system because it was built around large estates called manors.

• Manors owned by wealthy lords, knights

• Peasants farmed manor fields

• Were given protection, plots of land to cultivate for selves

Lords, Peasants, and Serfs • Most peasants on

farm were serfs, tied to manor

• Not slaves, could not be sold away from manor

• But could not leave, marry without lord’s permission

Serfdom • Manors had some

free people who rented land from lord

• Others included landowning peasants, skilled workers like blacksmiths, millers

• Also had a priest for spiritual needs

Free People

The Manorial System

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• Most of manor’s land occupied by fields for crops, pastures for animals

• Middle Ages farmers learned that leaving field empty for year improved soil

• In time, practice developed into three-field crop rotation system

• One field planted in spring for fall harvest

• Another field planted in winter for spring harvest

• Third field remained unplanted for year

Rotation• Each manor included fortified

house for noble family, village for peasants, serfs

• Goal to make manor self-sufficient

• Typical manor also included church, mill, blacksmith

Small Village

A Typical Manor

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Analyze

How did lords and peasants benefit from the manorial system?

Answer(s): lords' farmlands were taken care of, produced food; peasants were provided protection from invaders

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Life in a Castle• Life in Middle Ages not easy, did not have comforts we have today• Early castles built for defense not comfort• Few windows, stuffy in summer, cold in winter, dark always

Bedrooms• In early castles, noble family bedrooms separated from main area by sheets• Later castles had separate bedrooms; latrines near bedrooms• Wooden bathtub outside in warm weather, inside near fireplace in winter

Space• Nobles had to share space with others, including soldiers, servants• Private rooms very rare• Main room the hall, large room for dining, entertaining

Daily Life in the Middle Ages

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The family rose before dawn. Men went to work in the fields; women did chores. During harvest, the entire family worked in the field all day.

Despite discomforts, life in a castle was preferable to life in a village. The typical village family lived in a small wooden one-room house. The roof was made of straw, the floor of dirt, and the furniture of rough wood. Open holes in the walls served as windows.

• Most families slept on beds of straw on floor

• All shared one room with each other, animals

• Most glad to have animals to provide extra heat in cold winters

Bedrooms

Life in a Village

• Peasant families cooked meals over open fire in middle of floor

• Typical meal: brown bread, cheese, vegetables, occasionally meat

• No chimneys, house often full of smoke; fires common

Meals

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Contrast

How was life in a castle different from life in a village?

Answer(s): castle life more comfortable, people did not have to work in the fields; village life was very difficult, no comforts, whole family had to work continually