2. FEUDAL EUROPE

1. THE BIRTH OF FEUDAL EUROPE

CHARLEMAGNE : 800 Carolingian Empire: Strong power

843 Treaty of Verdun: Divides Empire

Europe Attacked by Hungarians

Vikings

Muslims

Kings need help from nobles

Weak power

Give help for privileges

Swear loyalty Vassals

Receive lands Fiefdoms

Become feudal lords

ROMAN EMPIRE 27 BC – 476 AD

GERMANIC INVASIONS – 5th century

GERMANIC KINGDOMS – 5th-8th centuries

BIZANTINE EMPIRE

476 – 1453

Viking attacks and travels – 7th-11th centuries

MUSLIM EXPANSION

7th – 8th centuries

Al-Andalus (711-1492)

Agricultural and urban crisisPopulation and trade go down

Carolingian Empire – 8th – 9th centuriesCharlemagne reunifies the germanic kingdoms and

spreads Christianism

Treaty of Verdun843

Disintegrationof the

CarolingianEmpire

Xth century

Act of Homage Ceremony

FEUDAL SOCIETY

PRIVILEGED

NON PRIVILEGED

2. THE FEUDAL NOBILITY

2.1. THE KING AND HIS VASSALS

- Monarchs represent God on Earth

- No fix residence Royal Court moves constantly

The king’s responsibilities

- Govern people and mantain unified kingdom

- Leading nobles and armies in war

- Raising taxes (wars, ceremonies)

- Judge legal disputes

2.2. THE WARRIOR NOBLES (knights and feudal lords)

-Trained for war from childhood Pages Squires Knights

Knights

- Defend their territory and help the king and feudal lords

- Gain land and riches through war

- Enjoy privileges

- Live in castles

Helped by

Royal Council (Curia Regis)

A MEDIEVAL CASTLE

3. PEASANTS IN THE FEUDAL WORLD

3.1. LIFE ON A FIEFDOM (Property given by a king or noble to a feudal lord)

- Subsistence economy No surplus No trade

- Small villages and isolated houses

- Low comfort and hygienic conditions

3.2. PEASANTS ON THE FIEFDOM (Majority of population)

1. FREE PEASANTS Own land They can leave it or sell it

Pay taxes Rent or work for the lord

Allowed to marry

2. SERFS Don’t own land. Not free to leave the fiefdom

Divided into

Lord’s demesne: Best lands, castle, serfs

Holdings: Lands for free peasants in

exchange for: Taxes / Work

Due to poor techniques and tools

A MEDIEVAL MANOR

4. MEDIEVAL MONASTERIES

CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Pope, archbishops, bishops, abbots, monks, nuns

Go to countryside to evangelise peasants

Controls and supervises private life

Establish obligations: Praying, mass, confession, fasting

4.1. THE RURALISATION OF THE CHURCH

4.2. LIFE IN THE MONASTERIES

Monastery: Lands and buildings

Serfs and peasants work on lands

Monks duties and work Belong to different orders Subject to Monastic rules

Strict discipline

Preserve and copy books

Teach reading and writing

Farming, praying, singing

THE FIRST MONASTERIES, 4th TO 6th CENTURY

EXPANSION OF THE BENEDICTINE ORDER (CLUNY)

CLUNIAC AND CISTERCIAN MONASTERIES

St. Benedictof NursiaFounder of

theBenedictine

order

6th c.

Cluny

A MEDIEVAL MONASTERY

PARTS OF A MONASTERY

Church

Cloister

Bell tower

Crypt

Chapter house

Chapter house

Refectory

THE CRUSADES

HOLY LAND Area where Christ lived Pilgrimage

Muslim territory during the Middle Ages

Turks restrict access in the 11th century

1095 Pope Urban II called to Holy War (1st Crusade)

- Liberate Holy Land

- Eternal Salvation

More Crusades followed in the 12th and 13th century

5. ROMANESQUE ART

Europe, 11th-13th centuries

Mainly religious (Due to social importance of church)

Boosted by: Religious orders + Pilgrimage

Bizantine and pre-romanesque influence

5.1. ARCHITECTURE Churches and cathedrals

General features: Stout buildings (not very high), warm and intimate atmosphere

Attempt to build like the Romans did (Romanesque)

Materials Stone, wood

Elements Plan: latin cross floor plan

Supporting: thick walls, big pillars, buttresses

Supported: semi-circular (round) arch, barrel vault, groin vault, domes

Decoration: small windows, decorated strips, great importance of

sculpture (capitals, cloisters, doors, portals)

Other features: Bell towers, portals, cloisters…

ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTUREGeneral features

Deeply religious art, rural areas

Churches and monasteries are the mainbuildings Expansion of monasteries

Boosted by Orders and PilgrimageUnified European Style

Tries to re-create Roman architecturePre-Romanesque and bizantine influence

Visigothic architecture 5th-6th centuries

Asturian architecture 9th century

Carolingian architecture 9th century

11th century

Big cathedrals and churches rise up

thanks to the urbandevelopment

Small windows and stout buildings

Austerity and intimacyStone and scarce lighting Praying

The romanic churches become the frame forthe rest of the arts

LATIN CROSS PLAN

MATERIALS

MATERIALS

Stone

(Marble and brick onlyin Italy)

Stone

SUPPORTING ELEMENTS

Pillars

Pillars

Pillars

Columns

Thick walls – Small openings

Buttresses

Wall decoration

SUPPORTED ELEMENTS

Round arch

Round arches

Barrel vault

Groin vault

Domes

Construction system sample

DECORATION AND OTHER ELEMENTS

Portals

Portals

Portals

Friezes

DecoratedCapitals

Bell tower

PARTS OF A ROMANESQUE

CHURCH

Latin cross plant(Ancient Christian

Basilica)

3 naves – 3 apses

1 nave – 1 apse + 4 apsidioles

Transept

Choir

Apse

ROMANESQUE CHURCHES AND CATHEDRALS

San Martín de Frómista, Spain

San Caprasio, Spain

San Clemente de Tahull, Spain

San Juan de la Peña, Spain

Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Sainte Foy de Conques, France

Saint Sernin de Toulouse, France

Saint Pierre de Poitiers, France

San Miniato al Monte, Italy