1. Feudalism
Def- new system of government based on land ownership and personal service

2. Began During Rome’s Decline
Lack of Law enforcement and protection
Small landowners gave land to larger landowners in return for protection

3. Early German Tribal Custom
German Chiefs divided spoils of war among companies in return for loyalty and military service
Warriors became Lords and passed out their land for the same pledges
At bottom were knights with just enough land to support themselves

4. Feudalism Structure

5. Feudalism Structure
Person giving the land was a Lord; Person who received land from Lord was called a vassal; the land was called a fief
Both parties signed a contract stating the duties of each:
Lords
Protected vassals/families
Defend their honor
Gave them justice in court
Vassals
Provided military service
Paid taxes
Gave shelter and entertainment to Lord

6. Vassal
Lord
Military Service
Land (manor)

7. Landowning Nobles Became as Independent as Kings
They settled legal disputes
They kept armies
They controlled food supply
They collected taxes

8. Feudalism: Complicated and Clumsy System
Divided Christianity into 1000’s of local governments
One Lord could be a vassal of other Lords
Kings could be vassals and be one
Example- King John of England was a vassal of French king Phillip

9. Medieval Society
Nobility
Clergy
Freemen
Peasants

10. Nobility
Kings and their vassals
Status was inherited

11. Clergy Only group educated in subjects other than war
Bishops and high ranking officials lived like lords
Village priests were lower class and had little education

12. Peasants Bottom of the social scale Largest group
Nearly all were serfs
Depended on nobles for livelihood
Could never become noble, but could become clergyman and rise within the church

13. Peasants Many struggled to produce enough food to feed the families
Peasants were not free to leave the manor and were required to ask for permission
To gain freedom a peasant had to save money for his own land or marry a free person

14. Living in a Castle

15. Castle Diagrams

16. Built for Defense

17. Castle Defense Keep Stone tower Provided a safe place during a siege
High walls several feet thick surrounded the building
Moat or ditch ran around the outside wall
Drawbridge controlled the entrance to the castle

18. Interior Rooms Rooms cold and dark Hearth fire warmed only small area
No chimneys so rooms often filled with smoke

19. Bedrooms Beds built on platforms
Canopy with heavy drapes for privacy and to keep out drafts
Falcons, dogs, and even some farm animals slept in same room as family

20. Dining Area Tables were boards set on saw horses
Food was eaten from a communal trough
Food scraps were thrown to the ground
Animals would eat the scraps
No carpets but rushes spread on floors to lessen cold- became smelly with garbage

21. Manorial System

22. Manor Estates of the Nobles
Almost all goods and services were produced here

23. Fief
Large fief might include several hundred manors (which might be widely separated from each other).
Small fief might include only 1 manor

24. Manor House
Main part of manor centered around a large fortified house or castle
Lord’s stables, mill, and cookhouse on the estate
Nearby was a church, priest’s house, small village of peasant huts

25. Land of Estate Lord would divide the meadows and woodlands
Lord took the best land
Peasants used the poorer land for their food crops
Farmland was divided into long strips with dirt ridges separating
Peasants pooled their oxen and plows and farmed together
Would leave some farmland lay fallow- let it recover to plant the next year

26. Serfs
Had to work 2-3 days a week on the Lords land before they did their own work (more time during harvesting and planting)
Paid part of their harvest in taxes
Could not leave manor of their own free will

27. Serfs Considered to be property Could not hunt or fish on lord’s land
Uneducated- believed in magic

28. Day-to-Day Running of the Estate
Stewards
Baliffs
Reeves

29. Stewards Highest Rank Legal advisor to the lord Ran the manor’s court
Traveled from manor to manor checking conditions

30. Baliff Supervised the work of peasants and farming of land
Checked financial accounts
Collected rents and fines

31. Reeve Helped baliff supervise farm work (foreman)
Large manor might have many reeves
Told lord of peasant’s complaints about officials

32. Women on the Manor Most were housewives and mothers
Took care of homes and raised large families
Did all kinds of farmwork except plowing
Planted and harvested
Sheared sheep
Milked cows
Took care of chickens
Thatched roofs

33. “Ladies” Noblewomen Inherited land and held honors and offices
Because of war ladies ran and defended manors in lords absence
Usually performed medical services too

34. Women and Marriage All classes married young (usually by 14 years old)
Fathers usually tried to have dowry for daughter
Land or money she took to marriage
Without dowry almost impossible to marry
These arranged marriages seemingly turned out well

35. The Crusades- expeditions to “free the holy lands” from the muslims Cruciata means “marked with the Cross”

36. Events Leading to the Crusades
By 1089 Muslims had taken Jerusalem and were threatening the Byzantine Empire (Seljuq Turks)
Byzantine Emperor (Alexius I) asked the Pope (Pope Urban II) for help

37. Pope Urban II Called Knights to become crusaders
Promised the forgiveness of sins, freedom from debt, and choice of fiefs in conquered lands (Primogeniture inheritance of first-born son)
Knights began organizing
armies

38. 1st Crusade Began in 1097; Led by Frankish princes and nobles
Had organized army
Captured Jerusalem in 1099 and mercilessly slaughtered Muslims, Jews and even some Christians
Seized land and created the Crusader States on strip of land along the Mediterranean
Most successful of the Crusades and energetic

39. The Capture of Jerusalem

40. Crusader States

41. 2nd Crusade 50 years after the first (1147)
Brought on by the Muslims attacking the Crusader States and the fall of Edessa
Led by Louis VII
Overall had little success

42. The Third Crusade
Led by Frederick Barbarossa, Phillip of France, and Richard the Lion-hearted

43. Third Crusade Began in 1189 AD when Jerusalem was taken by the Muslims
Despite all the fighting, the Crusade failed to recapture Jerusalem
They did however win the right for Christians to visit Jerusalem

44. The 4th Crusade 1202 AD Did not fight the Muslims
Captured and sacked Constantinople (fellow Christians)
Set up their own government
Thrown out in 1261 and Byzantine Emperor was restored

45. Results of the Crusades
Changes in Weapons and Warfare
Political Changes
Weakening of feudalism and growth of centralized government
Expansion of trade (ie spices, silks, precious stones, paper, glassware, foods)
Growth of ideas and knowledge