Kick off! Key Terms  Knights  Fief  Vassal  Feudal System  Fealty  Manorial System  Serfs

Feudalism and The Growth of Monarchies

Objectives: 9/27/13  Understand the major political and economic systems that organized societies in Western Europe during the Middle Ages

The Feudal and Manorial Systems

The Feudal System  Feudalism originated as a result of the new invasions  Kings were unable to defend their kingdoms  Nobles needed new way to defend their land  Built large castles  Trained knights, paid them in land  Called a fief  Anyone who accepted land called a vassal

Feudal Obligations  Knight’s chief duty as a vassal was to provide military service to lord  Promised to remain loyal  Called oath of fealty  Financial obligations  Pay lord’s ransom if captured  Lord had to treat knight fairly and protect him if attacked  Also had to judge disputes between knights

A Complicated System  Person could be both a lord and a vassal  One knight could serve many lords  Had to choose side if they fought  Rules were specific to time and place

The Manorial System  Economic system built around estates called manorsmanors  Owned by lords  Worked by serfs (peasants bound to the land)  Other free peasants rented land  Most land occupied by crops and pastures  3-field system (crop rotation)  Had a fortified house for noble family and village for peasants

Daily Life in Middle Ages  Castles build for defense, not comfort  Peasants lived in small, cramped village houses  Huge danger of fire  Long hard days of manual labor

Town v. Manor  Write a one-page well-crafted essay in which you argue whether you would rather live in a medieval town or manor.  Try to convince us of your argument  State your facts to support your argument  In text- (manor life: p ; towns: )