Europe in the Middle Ages

Feudalism and the Manor System

Chapter 5 Section 1

The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages began with the collapse of the Roman Empire.

The term “Middle Ages” (also called the “Medieval” period) describes the years between ancient times and modern times.

The Fall of the Roman Empire Invaders

destroyed Roman towns and cut off trade routes

By about 500 A.D., the Roman Empire in Western Europe had completely collapsed

It was replaced by a patchwork of small kingdoms.

The Franks

They claimed the area called Gaul (modern day France) The name “France”

comes from the word “Franks”

In 768, a skilled military leader named Charlemagne became king of the Franks.

Charlemagne's Empire At the time, many

small kingdoms in Europe were often at war with on another.

Charlemagne expanded his kingdom by conquering these weaker kingdoms

He ruled an empire that stretched across Western Europe

King Charlemagne Charlemagne ruled for

nearly 50 years During his reign he

worked hard to keep Western Europe united

He established schools to promote learning, issued money and improve the economy and spread Christianity.

Charlemagne’s Death After Charlemagne’s

death his empire was divided among his three sons.

They fought each other, weakening the empire.

Other groups also attacked the weakened empire, perhaps the fiercest attacks were made by the Vikings

Attacks From the North The Vikings came from

the far north of Europe (present day Denmark, Sweden, and Norway)

They were skilled sailors and tough warriors

Relying on surprise, the Vikings burned and looted European towns

They also reopened trade routes throughout Europe

The Feudal System Under feudalism, land

was owned by kings or lords but held by vassals in return for their loyalty

In medieval Europe, power belonged to those who controlled the land.

They gave a share of land, called a fief to each of their vassals A vassal promised to

follow the landowners laws and fight for him

The Feudal System

KingsKnights

and NoblesPriests

Peasants

The Manor System Feudalism was the way

medieval Europeans organized power and government.

Manorialism was the way they organized their economy

The Manor was a large estate that included farm fields, pastures, and often and entire village It also included a large house

called the manor house, where the lord, or ruler, of the manor lived

Lords and Manors

The lord of the manor was typically a vassal of a king or of a more powerful lord. The manor was part of his fief

Most manors were far from towns, villages and other manors so they had to be self-sufficient (or able to supply their own needs)

Food, clothing, and other things needed by the people who lived on the manor were made there.

The Role of Noblewomen Women of the noble class

also played an important part in the feudal system

She managed the household, performed necessary medical tasks, and supervised servants

When her husband or father was away fighting she often served as “lord of the Manor” making important decisions.

Peasants The majority of people in

medieval Europe were peasants Peasants made their living as

farmers or laborers They were often very poor and

did all of the work on the manor They farmed the lord’s fields to

raise food for the household. They were only allowed to farm

a small strip of land for themselves (even so they had to give part of their own harvest to their lord)

Serfs Serfs were peasants

who were considered to be part of the manor

When a noble was given a manor as part of his fief, its serfs became his

They could not leave the manor or even get married without his permission

A Hard Life Medieval peasants lived

and worked a hard life Men, women and children

were all required to work They often lived in one-

room huts For heating and cooking

they built a fire on the dirt floor

Smoke filled the dark, cramped interior before drifting out of a hole in the roof

A Hard Life Peasants ate simple

foods such as black bread, cabbage, and turnips

They rarely ate meat, since animals of the manor and surrounding the land were reserved for the lord

At night they slept on mattresses made out of cloth and stuffed with straw

The Church and the Rise of Cities

Chapter 5 Section 2

Gothic Cathedrals Most Gothic cathedrals

were built in Western Europe between 1100 and 1400. Gothic refers to the style of

architecture A cathedral was the church

of a bishop (an important leader of the Roman Catholic Church)

During the Middle Ages, nearly all people in Western Europe were Roman Catholic.

Religious Power of the Church During the Middle

Ages life was short and hard for most people

They were comforted by the Christian belief that they would enjoy the rewards of heaven after death if they lived according to the Church teachings

The Church also held that if people didn’t obey those rules, they would be punished after death.

The promise of reward combined with the threat of punishment made most people follow the teachings of the Church

Economic Power of the Church The Church gained

great wealth by collecting taxes

It also took fiefs from lords in exchange for services performed by the clergy In fact the Church was

the single largest owner of land in Europe during the Middle Ages!

Political Power of the Church

The combination of religious and economic power allowed the church to grow politically

They made laws and set up courts to enforce them

People who did not obey the Church were threatened with excommunication Excommunication means

being from membership in the Church and participation in Church life

Church Organization The Church was highly

organized Almost every village had

a Priest Bishops supervised the

Priests An Archbishop

supervised several Bishops

Archbishops were under the authority of the Pope

The Papacy was based in Rome

The Church in Everyday Life The Medieval

Church touched nearly all aspects of life

During the Middle Ages, the clergy were almost always in attendance to offer a blessing or to perform a service

Monasteries and Convents Some religious men

felt that they should dedicate their lives to God by living together in religious communities called monasteries.

Religious women, called nuns, lived in similar communities called covenants

Scholasticism Some Christian

scholars studies ancient Greek texts that said people should use reason to discover truth This went against the

teachings of the Church So medieval scholars

made a system that used reason to support Christian beliefs

The Revival of Trade

As people felt safer they began to travel more and learn more about distant places

Ancient trade routes came into use again bringing goods from Africa and Asia into Europe

The Growth of Towns At first, local goods were

traded in markets of small villages

As trade grew so did these markets

Traders chose convenient locations for travelers

Also at this time manors were becoming overcrowded Many lords gladly allowed

peasants to buy their freedom and move to the new growing towns

The Rise of the Middle Class Town life was very

different than the farm or manor life

Towns and cities were not self-sufficient Their economies were based

on the exchange of goods and services

A new class developed between nobles and peasants made up of merchants, traders and craft workers

The Role of Guilds A guild included all the people who practiced a

certain trade or craft Guilds set prices and prevented outsiders from selling

goods in town It took a long time to become a member of a guild Between the ages of 8 to 14, a boy who wanted to

learn a certain trade became an apprentice (an unpaid worker being trained in a craft)

He would then work in the home of the master of that trade for as long as 7 years

Then he could become a journeyman (salaried worker), in time if guild officials judged that the journeyman’s work met their standards, he could join the guild

Medieval Culture

The growing cities attracted traveling scholars and young men flocked to schools

Knights also lived by a code of honorable conduct called Chivalry

Many stories were told about knights and their brave deeds

Overcrowding and Disease Medieval towns and

cities were extremely crowded

These towns also had a lack of sanitation

The Bubonic Plague, called the Black Death, killed 1/3 of Europe's population between 1347 and 1351 It was spread by fleas

living on rats that thrived in the unsanitary towns