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.