Section 2 Medieval Society (Feudalism)

By giving estates (large farms) to nobles who would fight for him, Charles Martel unknowingly created the system of feudalism.

Feudalism – a social order in which landowning nobles governed and protected the people in return for services such as fighting or farming the land.

At the center of each estate was the noble’s castle. Vassal – a noble who served a lord of a higher rank. The lord provided protection, and the vassal was given land and the authority over the people on it.

The land grant was called a fief. In return, vassals served in their lords’ armies. They were knights – warriors in armor who fought on horseback.

Lands of the fiefs were called manors. The manorial system: –Lords ruled the manor –Peasants worked the land –Serfs were peasants who could not leave the land (but they were not slaves).

Improvements in Farming in the Middle Ages: – iron bladed plow – horse collar – water mills and wind mills – crop rotation

Life in Feudal Europe Knights followed the code of chivalry. Nobles lived in castles.

Castles served as fortresses. Later in the Middle Ages, castles were decorated more elaborately.

Peasants lived in cottages and worked year round. Feudalism had made Europe safer. Trade increased and towns grew larger.

People began using money again. Cities like Venice and Flanders became important centers of trade. Cities eventually became crowded and polluted.

Craftspeople in the towns created guilds or business groups. Apprentices Journeymen Masters