Feudalism and the Manor System Coach Parrish OMS Chapter 14, Section 1

Knights Knight – soldier who received honor and land in exchange for serving his lord. Squire – knight – in – training. A squire becomes a knight when he completes his training and is presented his sword and shield. The squire would kneel as a sword tapped him on each shoulder. This process was called knighting.

Middle Ages Middle Ages – years between ancient and modern times. Occurred about 1000 years ago in Western Europe. The middle ages are often called the medieval period.

Collapse of the Roman Empire The middle ages began with the collapse of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire had provided order to the region for about 500 years. The collapse of the Roman Empire caused Europe to divide into several small kingdoms.

Charlemagne Reunites Western Europe One of the invading groups of the old Roman Empire were the Franks. They came from Gaul. In AD 768, Charlemagne became king of the Franks. He took over many small and weak kingdoms and eventually his kingdom stretched across all of Western Europe.

Charlemagne: Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen

Charlemagne Reunites Western Europe, cont. Charlemagne ruled his kingdom for 50 years, expanding education and the Christian religion. He built schools and improved the economy. After his death (814 AD), the empire was divided among his 3 sons. They fought each other for control of the region.

Feudal System Because of Viking invasions, the people of Europe needed a way to defend themselves. They came up with feudalism – land was owned by kings or lords but controlled by vassals in return for their loyalty. In medieval Europe, the landowners held power. They were called nobles or princes.

Feudal Duties The main duty of a lord was to protect his land and the vassals that controlled it. If a vassal died, his children were cared for by the lord. Vassals were expected in return to fight and help protect the lord. Some vassals were knights who led men into battle.

Pledging fealty to Charlemagne

Knights of Christ by Jan van Eyck

Manor System Manorialism was the way medieval Europeans organized their economy. System was based on the manor – large estate that included farm fields, pastures, and the manor house.

Lords and Manors The lord of the manor was typically a vassal of a king. The manor was part of his fief (plot of land). Most goods such as food and clothing were made on the manor. The lord depended on the manor for wealth. The lord ruled over the poor people who worked the land and also made and enforced laws. He also levied taxes against the peasants.

Role of Noblewomen Women of feudal society also had their role. They would visit other noble families for training. After training, she became lady of the household. A woman’s duties include supervising servants, performing medical tasks, and managing the house.

Noblewomen

Peasants and Serfs The majority of the people of medieval Europe were peasants. They were poor people who made their living as farmers and laborers. They worked the manors’ fields and were allowed to farm a little strip of land for themselves to feed their families.

Peasants

Tied to the Manor Most peasants were also serfs. Serfs – peasants who were considered to be part of the manor. When a noble was given a fief, the serfs on the manor became his. The serfs could do nothing without the lord’s permission. Serfs became free if… they saved enough money to buy a plot of land they escaped for a year and a day without being caught

A Hard Life Medieval peasants worked very hard. Men, women, and children were all required to work. Peasants lived in one room huts. For cooking, they built a fire on the dirt floor. They slept on straw mats on the floor.