Feudalism

European

Background

  • The crown was generally given to him by an archbishop, which was important because it marked the king as being chosen by God.

  • Kings also derived their authority from their ability to enforce the laws and provide justice.

  • The overwhelming majority of people would never have anything more than a token interaction with their king.

  • They would know that he existed and know that his picture was on their coins, but that's about as far as things went. For them, the idea of a king was all they really needed

  • When the Western Roman Empire fell in 476 C.E.

  • a state of chaos encompassed Western Europe for many centuries

  • The people of Western Europe needed some form of a political system to defend themselves

  • Feudalism became the political and economic system that provided a solution to the problems of instability in western Europe

  • It began around 800 C.E. and some scholars argue that it lasted until around the 12th century

Threats to Western Europe

Feudalism

Vikings-came from the North

Magyars-came from the East

  • From the early 9th century onwards, the lands of western Europe came under renewed attack

  • These invaders raided deep into the interior.

  • Vikings sailed far up rivers to strike at unsuspecting towns, villages and monasteries

  • Bands of Magyars rode on their fast ponies on long raids from central Europe as far as western France.

  • Inspired by Muhammad's desire to spread north, Muslim forces advanced into Spain

Muslims-came from the South

Nobles

The Oath of Fealty

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  • The king would grant land to trusted nobles, and they would pledge homage and fealty to the king.

  • It was also the task of the nobles to provide military support for the king

  • The nobles offered this protection through the use of knights, who most often were the sons of the nobles

  • The peasant people, or serfs, through farming the land or doing duties the nobles prescribed, were given protection.

  • Many Lords of the Middle Ages led the role of both vassal and lord simultaneously. This meant that they had control of a piece of land, and leased some of that land

"I promise on my faith that I will in the future be faithful to the lord, never cause him harm and will observe my homage to him completely against all persons in good faith and without deceit."

You're the best!

KNIGHTS

Threats

  • It can be seen from the above that feudalism began as a response to circumstances in which warfare was common.

  • Many knights were professional warriors who served in the lord's army. In return, the lord provided the knight with lodging, food, armor, weapons, horses and money.

  • Knights promised in return to pay homage, be loyal to the lords, to fight for them when needed and to raise money when the lords demanded it.

  • The boys who trained to be knights were generally the sons of knights or lords.

The New Agriculture

SERFS

Population increased between 1000 and 1300 from approximately 38 million to 74 million people.

Why?

  • Europe more settled and peaceful after invasions had stopped

  • The climate changed, resulting in improved growing conditions

  • Food production grew because more land was devoted to agriculture.

  • Changes in technology also aided the growth of farming.

  • People harnessed the power of water and wind to do jobs once done by human or animal power

  • Many of these new devices were made from iron, which was mined in various areas of Europe.

  • Iron was crucial in making the carruca, a heavy, wheeled plow with an iron plowshare.

  • The use of the carruca led to the growth of farming villages because iron was expensive. Likewise, one family could not afford a team of animals, so villagers shared their beasts.

  • Although not technically a slave, a serf was bound to a lord for life.

  • He could own no property and needed the lord's permission to marry.

  • Under no circumstance could a serf leave the land without the lord's permission

  • Serfs had to provide the Knight with free labor, food, and service whenever it was demanded

  • By 800, probably 60 percent of western Europeans were serfs.

Crop Rotation & The Manorial System

Shifting from a two-field to a three-field crop rotation also increased food production.

In the Early Middle Ages, peasants divided their land into two fields. Now, lands were divided into three parts:

  • Peasants planted one field in fall with grains, such as rye & wheat, that they harvested in summer.

  • They planted the second field in spring with grains, such as oats and barley, and vegetables, such as peas and beans, that they harvested in fall.

  • They allowed the third field to lie fallow, or unplanted.

Crop Rotation

A manor was an agricultural estate that a lord ran and peasants worked. manor was owned by a lord, who traded his loyalty to another lord in exchange for it.

It was usually comprised of tracts of agricultural land, a village whose inhabitants worked that land, and a manor house where the lord who owned or controlled the estate lived.

Additional Terms

Fief-a vassal's source of income, held from his lord in exchange for services. The fief constituted the central institution of feudal society

Tithe-A church tax. One tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the church and clergy

homage-a special honor shown publicly. Formal public acknowledgment of feudal allegiance

Vassal-a person who held land under the feudal system, doing homage and pledging fealty to an overlord, and performing military or other duties in return for his protection; feudal tenant

fealty-a feudal tenant's or vassal's sworn loyalty to a lord.

Manor-the lord's estate. The fief is part of the estate

& Agriculture