The Dark

Ages
Western
Roman
Empire
Germanic Invasions
Collapse of
Rome
Germanic
Kingdoms
Journal Questions
• What would you do if the government collapsed?
• Trade has stopped and the government can no
longer protect you
• How do you get food?
• How do you get security?
• Who do you work for?
• Take a few minutes discuss with your neighbor then
answer the questions in the Journal
Crash Course (4 minutes)
The Feudal System
By Alex Charlick
 European Feudalism
was born out of the
Collapse of the Roman
Empire it can best be
understood as a post-
apocalyptic society
 Centralized: Power was
centralized in a single ruler in a
single city, cities and towns were
governed from afar (Example: The
Key Roman Empire)
Vocabulary
Terms Decentralized: Power devolved to
local leaders – towns and cities
governed themselves (Example:
Medieval Europe)
 • Two Key Power bases form
at the end of the Roman
Empire – will form the basis
of Feudal Government
• Latifundia & Local elites who
own large tracts of land and
live on that land with their
slaves
• The Roman Church formed a
strong hierarchy based
around the Pope in Rome

End of the Roman

Empire
 • Germanic Tribes settle roman territory
• Deurbanization: Towns & Cities are cut
off from trade and reduce in
Population unable to support their
large populations most people return
to the countryside
• Being out of cities meant fewer people
died of disease
• Local landowners have enough money
to own their own weapons and army –
so they begin asserting military control
over the area around their manors
• eventually building castles to help
them control that land.
• Their slaves and people fleeing the
collapsing towns/cities form the serfs
and peasantry who serve their local
lord

In the Ruins of Empire

 • Ideally Serfs/Peasants would work
on lord's land to produce food in
exchange for that lord providing
protection from bandits and other
lords. In practice this didn’t often
happen instead lords would raid
each others land often.
• Serfs were bound to their lord's
land and worked his lands
communally – usually working
between 28-32 hours a week and
the rest of their time was spent
working their own private plots of
land and in recreation.
• Military age men were often asked
to serve their lord in Feudal Levies
in times of war but were poorly
equipped, the best armor and

Lord/Manor System
weapons were reserved for the lord
Vassals

• Large land holders had trouble controlling all their land, so

they would hand out rights to smaller plots of land to other
military men who in turn would owe military service to the
larger landowners – these were called Vassals and owed
loyalty to their lord.
• They were called different names based on how much land
they held and how many vassals they had.
• 1. Kings
• 2. Dukes
• 3. Counts
• 4. Barons
• 5. Knights
The Catholic
Church
• While literacy declined across Europe, it was
preserved within the Catholic Church – educated
and literate church officials then used this literacy &
education to help manage the affairs of local lords in
exchange for protection of church lands and church
property.
• The Catholic Church also helped use religion to
ideologically justify the power of the lord saying that
his power was granted by God.
• The Church and Lords had a symbiotic relationship
as they both reinforced the others power.
Church Hierarchy

• Like the Feudal System the

Catholic Church had its own
hierarchy with the Pope in
Rome acting as King of all
Christians, and different
officials below him being
required to manage local
areas and towns
To Summarize (Write this in your
notes)
• After the collapse of the Roman Empire
• 1. Power became more decentralized and localized
• 2. People deurbanized; leaving the cities for the countryside this
resulted in less death and disease
• 3. Trade decreased and as a result material wealth declined and
goods were produced locally
• 4. The Church was the only source of literacy and education and thus
held a lot of power
• 5. The government was based on relationships rather than on law