European Medieval Society

4 Categories Feudalism The Manor The Church Chivalry

Feudalism Arose due to a need land owners had for protecting their territory No national standing army to protect one’s land Alliances/loyalties between lords and vassals Oaths of loyalty in exchange for land and military service Ranking of power and authority People knew their place The lord grants the vassal a fief, land in return for service and loyalty The vassal then parcels out that land to lesser lords as fiefs

Feudalism

Feudalism Hierarchy

Feudalism hierarchy

Feudalism One more look

The Manor Society Set the economic base of medieval Europe Self-sufficient communities producing a variety of goods Established a set of rights and obligations between serfs and lords Serfs were bound to the land Had to ask lord permission to marry to travel

A medieval manor

The Manor

The Church The unifying force of Christian faith Western Europe: Catholic Church: Pope head of the Church Held power over people’s everyday lives Involved in political affairs Power struggles between Popes and monarchs Cathedrals were the visual showcase of their power

The Medieval Cathedral

Medieval cathedral

Code of Behavior Chivalry A knight had to display courage and valor in combat Devotion to a feudal lord Devotion to a heavenly lord Respect towards women Love songs evoking the women a man cannot have came from traveling troubadours

Code of Chivalry

Chivalry: Isn’t dead

Crusades Causes: To restore the right of Christians in the Holy Lands of Jerusalem To aid the Byzantine Empire against the Seljuk Turks who were getting close to invading Constantinople To gain the fabulous riches of the East To acquire new feudal lands in the East To gain access to trade routes to the East

Crusades: Effects Hardened Muslim attitudes toward Christians The beginning of the build up of the Ottoman Empire in the East Expanded the use of a money economy Stimulated trade, architecture and the growing urban culture Began a new need for spices and luxuries from the East Broadened contacts with the Muslim world Crusaders brought back knowledge once thought lost of the ancient Greeks and Romans New discoveries, uses of herbs, medicine from the East Cultural diffusion