1. Pages 186- 190

2.  People needed protection from invasion for themselves & their homes. Due to this a new system known as feudalism emerged.  Feudalism  System of rule in which powerful lords divided up their land among lesser lords known as vassals who pledged service & loyalty.  Feudal contract  Exchange of pledges to enter into feudalism. Lord agreed to protect vassal, & in turn vassal pledged loyalty, 40 days a year of military service, & monetary payments.  Fief  An estate given by the lord to the vassal that included peasants to work the land

3.  Monarch  Dukes & Counts (powerful lords) Vassals Peasants  In many cases a person could be a lord to vassals, but a vassal to a duke or count.  Vassals often had more than one fief from more than one lord. If the two lords got into an argument the vassal had one lord who he pledged his loyalty to first to side with

5.  To feudal nobles warfare was a way of life.  Many trained since boyhood to be a knight (mounted warrior)  At 7, a boy was sent away to the castle of his father’s lord to learn to ride & fight.  He also learned how to care for his armor & weapons. Training & discipline were strict.  Lazy was corrected by severe blows or beatings.  In the 1100’s warfare decreased & tournaments (mock battles) became popular.  These tournaments were contests of fighting skill. Early ones were as dangerous as real battles, but as time went on they became more ceremonious.

7.  Powerful lords used castles to fortify their homes to withstand an attack.  They began to get larger & more grand.  Monarchs & nobles owned huge castles with towering walls. They included towers & drawbridges over wide moats.  They stored food & water to be able to withstand long attacks.  People often tried tunneling under castles to attack if they failed to starve people out.

8.  Supervised vassals while husband was away  Performed agricultural & medical tasks  Managed the household  Some took hand in politics  Eleanor of Aquitaine inherited lands in France married twice & became Queen of France then Queen of England  Women received land through their dowry

9.  Knight’s code of conduct  Bravery, loyalty, & honesty were required  Fair fighting in warfare  Treatment of captured knights  Placed women on a pedestal  Protect & cherish them  Troubadours (wandering poets) adopted this view of women & gave us ideas of romantic love

10.  Manor (lord’s estate) was the heart of the economy  Most peasants were serfs. They were not slaves because they could not be bought & sold, but they could not leave the manor without permission.  Peasants had to work several days a week farming, & doing handy work.  They paid the lord a fee when they married, inherited acres, or used the mill to grind grain.  They had the right to farm several acres for themselves & were protected by the lord from raids.  In exchange for a lifetime of labor. Guaranteed food, housing, & land through this

11.  Manor was self-sufficient  Peasants produced almost everything they needed from food & clothing to furniture & tools.  No schooling or knowledge of the world outside.

13.  Life was harsh  Children helped plant seeds, pull weeds, & take care of livestock  They ate black bread with veggies (peas, cabbage, turnips, or onions)  Very seldom had meat unless they poached wild game on the manor  They might have fish if they lived near a river  Lived in a one room hut with cows, chickens, pigs, or sheep  Spring & Autumn they plowed & harvested  Summer they hayed  Winter they pulled weeds & did handy work  Few lived passed 35  Granted a week off at Christmas & Easter & would celebrate by butchering an animal & feasting. They would also dance & play sports (wrestling & ball games)