FeudalismFeudalism

The Formation of Europe (800-1400 C.E.)The Formation of Europe (800-1400 C.E.)

Social/EconomicSocial/Economic HierarchyHierarchy

Who’s who?Who’s who?

King/lordKing/lord: Owned land: Owned land

VassalVassal: Received land from a lord, responsible : Received land from a lord, responsible for land managementfor land management

ClergyClergy: lived like wealthy lords, only group : lived like wealthy lords, only group educated in subjects other than warfare, educated in subjects other than warfare, owned landowned land

Village PriestsVillage Priests:: lower class, less educatedlower class, less educated

Who’s Who? (cont.)Who’s Who? (cont.)

PeasantsPeasants: serfs, had to work on land born : serfs, had to work on land born on; could not leave without lord’s on; could not leave without lord’s permissionpermission

VilleinsVilleins: rented land from lord, worked : rented land from lord, worked land, status higher than serfs but lower land, status higher than serfs but lower than nobilitythan nobility

The Manor Home

Day to Day Responsibilties

• Steward: legal advisor, traveled from manor to manor, monitored accounts, held court

• Bailiff: supervised peasants/farm work, responsible for getting crops harvested, collecting rent, dues and fines owed

• Reeve: helped bailiff supervise work, middle man between bailiff and peasants

Agricultural-based Economy

• The manors were self-managed• Farms produced everything that community

needed• Peasants were bound to land, worked to Lord’s

satisfaction• This was a limited economic model because it

discouraged trade and travel, divided local political territories, and relied too heavily on prosperous growing seasons

Charlemagne (742-814)

• Charles the Great

• Germanic leader who wanted to organize and unite all people who lived under former Roman Empire

• Crowned Emperor of Holy Roman Empire by the Catholic Pope

• Set precedent by establishing a relationship between Church and gov’t

Charlemagne

• Valued arts and learning, however, could not unify Empire- dies in 814, empire falls into grandsons’ control

• Did not collect taxes from small political territories-did not make enough money to build bigger, stronger empire

• Did not effectively communicate with local towns who held their own rules/laws

The Catholic Church

• Possessed large amounts of land, resulting in power and a fair say in politics

• United western Christendom

• Had courts

City Life

• Lacked roads, had narrow and muddy dirt paths, people often bumped into each other

• Dark, lack of sunlight, buildings/homes cast shadows amongst each other and over paths

• Shops located off of paths-created over-crowding, limited fresh air

Disease

• These conditions created a breeding grounds for disease