Feudalism Feudalism - a form of government where the power is in the hands of the land owning nobility There was a shift of power from a king to local lords or nobles The people of Europe were divided into 3 groups clergy, nobles and peasants –The clergy were in charge of educating people about religion –Nobles ran the government, protected the peasants and enforced the laws –Peasants were the poor farmers who raised crops for food

Feudalism The power of a noble came from the amount of land they owned Land = Power Under feudalism soldiers were given land for their service in the army –This land was called a fief or estate –From the income earned from the land they bought war supplies; horses and weapons After the death of Charlemagne many feudal territories were established and run by individual nobles –The Nobles had all of the power and made the laws

Feudalism –Peasants and townspeople had to follow the laws if they wanted to be protected by the lord from raiding peoples

Lord and Vassal The lord vassal relationship was based on the loyalty of the vassal to the lord and vice versa For this loyalty the lord would protect the vassal –A ceremony called an act of homage made the relationship between lord and vassal official Vassals had to serve the lord by bringing knights to battle, and serve 40 to 60 days a year in the army –Knights were warriors on horseback

Lord and Vassal * If a lord were captured the vassal would trade places with the lord or pay a ransom for the lord A vassal was expected to be at the lords court They had to provide entertainment and food when the lord visited When a vassal died his eldest son would take over as vassal of the fief

King NobleClergy LordPope VassalBishops Knight Priests Peasant Townspeople

Review page 15 If you had to go back in time to the Feudal era who would you want to be? Explain in a paragraph response and give specific examples of why you want to be the person that you have indicated.