Feudalism and Manorial System Click to Add Subtitle

Click to add title Feudalism By the 900’s were governed by small, local, independent leaders, most often by local lords. The political organization these leaders represented is known as feudalism. A. The System the system a powerful noble would granted land to lesser noble Actual ownership of the land reminded with the noble who made the grant. The noble that was granted the can use it and its products on it but never can own the land

The person who granted the land was a lord and the grant of land was called fief. The person who received the fief was a vassal. The transaction of a noble granting land and a vassal receiving land created a contract between the two. A vassal could further divide the land he had been granted and grant it to others, such as knights. Thus, a vassal could also be a lord.

Primogeniture- system of inheritance from father to eldest son Women’s rights regarding legal property were limited. A woman might have had fiefs in her dowry. However, when she married, her husband gained control over her dowry. In most cases a woman regained control of the property in her dowry if her husband died. The local lords held many of the powers associated with government. Kings were bound by the customs and obligations of feudalism.

In theory every landlord was a vassal to the king In theory every landlord was a vassal to the king. In practice the king controlled only those who lived on his feudal lands. Even the church was part of the feudal system. The medieval church owned vast owned vast amounts of land and had many vassals who were granted fiefs in return for military protection and service. B. Warfare wars were common during the Middle Ages many of the wars grew from private fights between feudal lords, or lords and vassals, and were local conflicts, that involved only a

handful of nobles and their knights In other cases, wars could be large-scale events that involved whole regions and that could be immensely destructive. In the Middle Ages the knight wore armor in battle and were heavily armed. In the early Middle Ages the armor was made out of mail chain-, small, interlocking mental links stitched to a knee-length leather shirt. The Knight would wear an iron helmet and carry a sword, a large shield, and a lance. With introduction to gunpowder the overlapping mental plates replaced the chain mail. The plated mental was so heavy sometimes they had to lifted by a crane to get on their horse.

the horses they use were much bigger than a normal horse today In medieval times wars had different effects on society. For nobles, wars were an opportunity for glory and wealth. For most of the Middle Ages, however, war was a major cause of suffering and hardship. The church tried to limit the general suffering caused by war by issuing several decrees that prohibited acts of violence and private warfare near churches and other holy buildings. If the decrees were not obeyed, the church threatened punishment. The church tried to get the lords not to fight on certain days and on weekends and holy days

C. Feudal justice feudal justice was done different than Roman justice Three Ways for Trial 1. trial by battle 2. compurgation, or oath taking 3. trial by and accused- or their representatives- in which the outcome determined innocence or guilt The outcome of the trial by ordeal was determined by how the accused survived a particular ordeal

II. Manorial System Feudalism provided social and political structure to the culture of the Middle Ages. Manorialism shaped the economy of much of Europe during these years. The system took its name from the manors of the Middle Ages. Manors are large farming estates that included manor houses, cultivated lands, woodlands, pastures, fields, and villages. Central authority and organizated trade- key parts of most modern economies were almost nonexistent during the Middle Ages

People that lived on manors needed to be self-sufficient People that lived on manors needed to be self-sufficient. They produced everything they needed. Some items had to be purchased like iron, salt, wool, wine and certain manufactured goods. A lord and several peasant families shared the land of the manor. The domain is one third of the manor’s land owned by the lord. The rest of the land which is two-thirds is farmed by peasants. The peasants work the land and give some of the crops to the lord The peasants pay many kinds of taxes

The manor village was located along a stream or river, which provided waterpower for the village mill. For safety a small group of houses were clustered near the manor house or castle. The land surrounding the manor house included the village, vegetable plots, cultivated fields, pastures and forests. Cultivated land was often divided into three large fields for growing grain. A. Peasant life a peasant life was very difficult in medieval times they did backbreaking work in the fields

the peasants were called serfs the serfs could not leave the land without permission for the lord most of the peasants /serfs would be born on the manor and died on the manor B. Nobles Lifestyle the nobles did not really live in luxury the castle is fortified base and the lord enforced his authority and protect the countryside castles were usually built on hills or other landform that would prevent easy attack

if the castle was on flat land they would put a ditch around the castle and is called a moat C. Chivalry was a system of rules that dictated knights behavior towards others to be knight a boy had to belong to noble class and had to pass through two stages of training stage one- began about the age of seven, a boy would serve as a knight’s page or attendant(learn knightly manners and begin to learn how to use and care for weapons) stage two- as teenager the page would become a knight’s assistant, called a squire ( take care of the knights horse, armor and weapons

The knight’s had a coat of arms was a graphic symbol that identified him and that represented his personal characteristics. The coat of arms was painted or stitched onto the knights shield or outer coat, his flag, or possibly his horse’s trappings. The coat of arms were pasted form generation to generation. Chivalry did much to improve the rough and crude manners of early feudal lords. III. Church A. Church Hierarchy the church had broad their political powers

the church was organized according to a strict hierarchy each rank had a different responsibilities and powers parish priest was the lowest rank the parish priest in charge of administer the five of the seven sacraments The sacraments were ceremonies at which participants received God’s direct favor B. Bishop bishop managed a group of parishes called diocese the king or nobles usually controlled the selection of the bishops

C. Church leadership archbishop manages the archdiocese pope is the supreme authority in the church, the pope is advised by a group of counselors called curia the curia most important powerful members are the cardinals D. Monasticism monastic lifestyle monks and nuns believed that they had to withdraw from the world

Monasticism refers to the way of life in convents and monasteries monks lived in monasteries and nuns lived in convents E. Benedictine Rule Benedict to worship God as a hermit later Benedict became a Saint Benedict Monasteries and convents all over Europe adopted these standards called the Benedictine Rule abbot- elected head of community abbess- role for women at the convent IV. Church and Medieval life A. Political Role in the papal states the pope was both political and religious leader

the church had its own law called canon law and have its own courts The court could also issue and interdict against the entire region. The churches can be closed in that region. people that denied the churches principles or who preached beliefs not approved by the church were considered heretics the church collects the tithe which is one-tenth of a Christian person’s income

B. Problems of the Church one problem concerned lay investiture the practice of a noble, such as king, appointing a friend or relative to be a bishop or abbot. During the Middle Ages, moreover, people could buy high positions within the church hierarchy. This practice was called simony. the search for heretics was called the inquisition the church believed that serve actions were needed to stop the spread of heresy in the Christian world.