1. The Middle Ages 476-1500 A.D. Feudalism and Manor System
The Rise of the Catholic Church
The Crusades

2. The Feudal and Manorial System
Main Idea- In Europe during the Middle Ages, the feudal and manorial systems governed life and required people to perform certain duties and obligations.
Feudalism- A loosely organized political system of rule in which powerful local lords divided their landholdings among lesser lords into manors
Manorial System- Economic system in Europe during the Middle ages, based on large estates owned by lords and worked by peasants called Serfs

3. The Feudal System

5. Feudal Social Pyramid

6. Questions
Why do you think powerful lords divided their land amongst lesser lords?
What were three dominate social groups of the middle ages? What was each groups’ task?

7. Fiefs and Vassals
Knights were usually paid for their services with land
Land given to knights for service was called a fief
Fiefs included peasants to work the land, as well as any town or buildings on it
Anyone accepting a fief from a noble was concerned a Vassal
It came from Germanic society, where warriors swore an oath to their leader.

8. The Feudal System Feudal Contract- An establishment of customs and tradition based on an exchange of oaths and obligations
Origins of Feudalism
Feudalism originated partly as result of Viking, Magyar, Muslim invasions After the collapse of the Carolingian Empire
Kings were unable to defend their lands
Built castles, often on hills as place of shelter in case of attack
Knights and Lords
Nobles needed trained soldiers to defend castles
Knights- heavily armored soldiers mounted on horses
Being a knight was expensive; they had to maintain weapons, armor, horses.

9. The Feudal System
Medieval feudal system classifies people into three social groups
–those who fight: nobles and knights
–those who pray: monks, nuns, leaders of the Church
–those who work: peasants
• Social class is usually inherited and the majority of people are
peasants

10. Video
Terry Jones- BBC Medieval Lives Terry Jones- BBC- The Peasant Minutes minutes

11. Life on the Manor
Economic System- Lord/ Knight rules land and peasants work land for protection
- Lord’s word was law, peasants were almost like slaves

12. A Self-Sufficient World
Each manor included fortified house for noble family, village for peasants and serfs
Goal to make manor self-sufficient
They produced almost everything they needed. The manor had a bakery, winery, church, blacksmith, orchards, forests, and fields for harvest

13. Three-Field Rotation
Most of manor’s land were occupied by fields for crops, pastures for animals
Middle Ages farmers learned that leaving one-third of their field empty for year improved soil, the practice developed into three-field system

14. Questions
Why was it the goal of the manor to be self-sufficient? (think of what happened to society when the Roman Empire fell)

15. The Three Field System

16. Medieval Warfare Castles were also fortresses, designed for defense.
Castles were fortified with massive stone walls and guard towers.
Many large scale battles took place at these castles.
This type of warfare is known as siege warfare.
These battles were usually very bloody.

17. Siege Warfare
Typically, siege warfare took place with an army surrounding a castle and cutting off food and supplies in attempt to capture it
If the people refused to surrender, they would assault the castle using a variety of weapons, such as catapults, battering rams, and siege towers.
Defensively, the people in the castle would shoot arrows , pour scalding hot water or tar onto the attackers as well as launching projectiles of their own.

18. The Village Church The center of village affairs and social life
Daily life and holidays revolved around the Christian calendar
The church required Christians to pay a Tithe or tax equal to 1/10th of their income.
Baptism marked the entrance into the community and the dead were buried in the church yards.

19. Rise of the Church
After Fall of Roman Empire, the Catholic Church was the guiding force of the new civilization
Centered in Rome, it was the only remaining institution that offered unity, guidance, and education in Europe