1. Unit Nine Block Four Lecture Political Instability and feudal society
World History I
Unit Nine Block Four Lecture
Political Instability and feudal society

2. Coincidence? I think not!
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Coincidence? I think not!
These guys are very similar (except for the cool gear and stuff)

3. When it all falls apart again!
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Charlemagne reins as the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire until his death in 814 CE/AD
Social and political order soon fall apart in the Empire and eventually there is a civil war between the Charlemagne's heirs
Everybody eventually agrees to end the civil war by signing the Treaty of Verdun (843 CE/AD), which divided Charlemagne’s empire into parts.
Europe once again falls back into a period of national weakness

4. Back to invasions and local rule
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Things go bad quickly without a strong Empire
There are successive waves of invasion:
Angles/Saxons to Britain (421 CE/AD);
Magyars from Central Asia to Hungary (893 CE/AD),
Vikings from Scandinavia to Russia, England, Normandy, and Iceland (700 to 1100 CE/AD),
Muslims from Northern Africa to Spain (711 to CE/AD)
There is instability as people migrate from towns that are being invaded. This leads to a decline in trade and the destruction of monasteries
Not those Vikings!!!
Now these are Vikings!

5. The result is the Feudal System
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A power vacuum (lack of power) forms without any regional control
People are not secure as their villages are being pillaged and burned
People cannot get the most basic necessities of life, including food, a place to live, a job, and protection
The landowners are also suffering as they cannot trade. But, they can support a small population of people on their estates
So the landowners and the people make a deal that forms the basis of the Feudal system

6. Feudal Society (a unique social contract)
There are social, economic and political aspects of the Feudal system
Social: This is a system of obligations (contracts) between the manor lord (a land owner) and the protected serfs (farmers) where land exchanged for protection
Economic : the manor load grants land (fiefs) to vassals and knights (the protectors of the manor). The manor is now self-sufficient, leading to the concept of manoralism (servants are dependent on the protection and services of the lord)
Political : There is a rigid class structure (the Lord and his family; the vassals and knights; and the serfs (everyone else).
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