Feudalism

The Fall of the Carolingians

• The Carolingian Empire fell
following Charlemagne’s death in
814.
• During the ninth and tenth
centuries Western Europe was
beset by a wave of invasions from
different, foreign peoples which
added to the disintegration.
 The Invaders
• Muslim Saracens attacked the
southern coasts of Europe.
• The Magyars came from western
Asia and attacked central Europe.
• The Vikings came from the north
and attacked far and wide,
raiding, pillaging, destroying cities
and even defeating small armies.
 The Development of Feudalism
• Invaders posed a threat to the safety
of the people, especially in the
absence of a strong central
government.
• People began to turn to local landed
aristocrats or nobles to protect them.
• This change led to the new political
and social system called feudalism.
 The Development of Feudalism
• At the heart of this system was the idea
of vassalage.
• It came from Germanic society, where
warriors swore an oath to their leader.
• Landowners would give pieces of their
land to others in exchange for military
service.
• Therefore, a man who served a lord
militarily was known as a vassal.
 Feudalism
• The relationship between lord
and vassal was made official by
a public act of homage of
vassal to the lord.
• Loyalty to one’s lord was
feudalism’s chief virtue.
 Feudalism
• Feudalism came to be characterized
by a set of unwritten rules known as
the feudal contract.
• These rules determined the
relationship between lord and
vassal.
• The major obligation of a vassal was
military service, about 40 days a
year.
 Feudalism
• The land the lord granted to a
vassal was known as a fief.
• Kings had vassals who
themselves had vassals who also
had vassals.
• Feudalism became extremely
complicated.
 Feudalism
• 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;
majority of people are peasants
Hierarchy
 Knights
• Almost all nobles were knights. In fact,
you had to be a noble just to be a knight.
• Training began at age 7, as a page, under
the guidance of the lady of the manor.
• Became squires at age 14-15 and were
trained by other knights.
• Those deemed worthy were “dubbed”
knights around age 21.
 Knights
• Knights were equipped head to toe with
reinforced armor.
• Knights were notable for fighting atop a
horse but also fought on foot.
• Leather saddle and stirrups enable knights
to handle heavy weapons
- Lance - Broadsword
- Mace - Morningstar
• In the 700s, mounted knights became the
most important part of an army.
 Knights
• As blacksmiths and armorers
improved their metalworking skills,
they developed plate armor.
• The plates provided protection and
ease of movement.
• Each plate covered a different area
and had a specific name, as shown
in the drawing.
• Plate armor was effective against
cuts and thrusts, but it was very
expensive and few could afford it.
 Knights
• The idea of feudalism worked and for a brief
period of time, the invasions of foreign
peoples ceased.
• Trained as warriors but with no adult
responsibilities, young knights began to hold
tournaments (mock battles) in the twelfth
century.
• These were contests for knights to show
their fighting skills.
• The joust became the main attraction.
 Knights
• In the eleventh and twelfth centuries,
under the influence of the Church, an
ideal of civilized behavior among the
nobility evolved.
• It was called chivalry.
• Knights were to defend the Church and
defenseless people, treat captives as
honored guests, and fight for glory and
not material rewards.
• Can you think of a modern day
chivalric code? Military? Police?

• What about and example right

here at Creekside?
Knights Code of Honor
Chivalry
Chivalry
Economics during Feudalism
• The number of people almost doubled in
Europe between 1000 and 1300, from 38
to 75 million people.
• One reason is that increased stability and
peace enabled food production to rise
dramatically.
• Food production increased also because a
climate change improved growing
conditions and more land was cleared for
cultivation.
• Europe had more farmland in 1200 than it
does today.
The New Agriculture
• Technological changes also aided
farming.
• Water and wind power began to do
jobs once done by humans or animals.
• Also, iron was used to make scythes,
axes, hoes, saws, hammers, and nails.
• Advances such as the carruca, a heavy,
wheeled plow with an iron plowshare
pulled by animal teams made farming
much easier.
The Manorial System
• Medieval landholding nobles were a
military elite who needed the time to
pursue the arts of war.
• Peasants worked the lords’ landed estates
on the fiefs of the vassals.
• These estates provided the needed
economic support for the nobles.
• These agricultural estates were called
manors.
The Manorial System
• Increasing numbers of free
peasants became serfs–
peasants legally bound to the
land.
• Serfs worked the lord’s land,
helped maintain the estate,
paid taxes and rent, and were
under the lord’s control.
• By 800, probably 60 percent of
western Europeans were serfs.
The Manorial System
• Lords had a variety of legal rights over
their serfs.
• Serfs needed the lord’s permission to
marry anyone outside of the manor and
to leave the manor.
• Often lords had the right to try peasants
in their own courts.
• Serfs, however, were not slaves.
• Usually, a serf’s land could not be taken
away, and serfs’ responsibilities were fixed.
• The lord was obligated to protect his serfs.
Life of the Peasant
• European peasant life was
simple.
• The peasants’ one- or
two-room cottages were
built with wood frames
surrounded by sticks with
a thatched roof.
• They were very cramped
and there was little
privacy.
Life of the Peasant
• The seasons largely determined peasant life
and work.
• Harvest time, August and September, was
especially hectic.
• In October, peasants prepared the ground for
winter planting.
• November brought the slaughtering of excess
animals because usually there was not
enough food to keep them alive all winter.
• February and March brought plowing for
spring planting.
• Summer was a time for lighter work on the
estates.
Life of the Peasant
Life of the Peasant
• A peasant’s life was not all labor because of
the numerous Catholic feast days, or holidays.
• The three great feasts were Christmas, Easter,
and Pentecost.
• Other feast days were dedicated to saints or
the Virgin Mary.
• More than 50 days a year were essentially
holidays.
The Manor
The Manor
• By 1100, large estate houses gave way to castles.
• Many people made their homes at the castles
including the lord, his family, knights and other
warriors and their servants.
• Castles dominated much of western Europe.
 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 gory.
 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, ballistas 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
 Knights
• Knights existed for several
hundred years until
technology and warfare
forced them to
abandon their
way of fighting
and adopt new
practices.