feudalism
Post on 06-Jan-2016
26 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Feudalism
Charlemagne & the Carolingian Empire
• Charlemagne ruled for 28 years… from 786 – 814 A.D.
• He not only ruled this Frankish (mostly France) Kingdom… he also expanded it!
• By 800 A.D. Charlemagne had become the Roman Emperor (remember… bringing those 3 elements together!)
• In 841 A.D. Charlemagne died and the Carolingian Empire fell apart!
Why did it fall apart?
• Divisions among his grandsons…• Local #’s gained power…
• & Invasions broke apart the rest.
Grandson #1 (Western Frankish Lands) -
Charlemagne Grandson #2 (Middle Frankish Lands)-
Grandson #3 (East Frankish Lands) -
Invasions
• Muslims – Southern Europe and France
• Magyars (W. Asia) – Central/Western Europe, Hungary
• Vikings (Norsemen of Scandinavia, Germanic, LOVE adventure, war, trade) – most far reaching attacks of the time
Vikings
• The Vikings were warriors! They sacked Villages and Towns… destroyed Churches… and defeated small local armies easily!
• The Vikings became part of European Civilization… starting in 911 AD Frankish rulers gave a group of Vikings land in France (Normandy). They then converted them to Christianity.
• Their ships were long and skinny… allowing them to use rivers to move far inland!
Feudalism
• Because of the Vikings causing problems AND because of the big Empires (Carolingian) falling apart, FEUDALISM was used to keep control under one central government.
• In order to survive… Feudalism is born!
• Feudalism is circular… Warriors swear an oath of loyalty to a leader and fight for them. Leaders in turn take care of the warriors needs.
• During the Middle Ages, Land = Wealth… is the greatest gift a Lord could give their Vassal was land! A grant of land is called a FIEF.
• Knights had great social prestige as the armored cavalry that dominated warfare in Europe for almost 500 years.
Warrior
Leader
Fights for and swears
an oath of loyalty to…
Takes care of and
gives land to…
Hi! I’m Feudalism! Draw me
on the back of
your note sheet!At my heart is the
idea of Vassalage!
My backbone is European
Aristocracy… like Knights!
Kings
Lords
Knights
Serfs
Land
Land
Protection
$, Loyalty, Support
$, Loyalty, Support
$, Loyalty, Labor
KING
LORDS (King’s Vassals)
The Lords Vassals
Knights
This can get CONFUSING!!!
You keep all of this strait with a
Feudal Contract! That
is a set of unwritten laws
that determined the relationship
between the Lords and his
Vassal.
Just to Clarify:
Vassals were NOT slaves, Kings, Lords, Vassals, and
Knights were free men who traded
services
Nobility
• Nobles LOVED war in the Middle Ages! Their main concern was warfare!
• Kings, Dukes, Counts, Barons, Bishops, and Archbishops all held considerable power!
Chivalry
• Chivalry is a code of ethics and an ideal of civic behavior that knights were supposed to uphold.
• EXAMPLES from the Code:– Defend the Church– Defend defenseless people– Treat captives as honored guests– Fight ONLY for glory
• Always followed?........................ NO!
Women of Aristocracy
• They could own land (but usually didn’t)… managed the estate (house)… ,took care of financial accounts… and kept up with supplies.
• The Expectation of Women: Women should be subservient to their husbands.
• The Reality of Women: Many women were strong and dominated their husbands!
top related