Middle Ages: Feudalism

Warm-Up• 1. Get out your sensory figures of:

Christians, Charlemagne and Vikings.

• 2. Share with your group or with a partner in your group. Notice how similar and/or different your ideas are. Be prepared to share as a whole group.

Story Time

• Hear ye, Hear Ye!!• Ye shall partake in a story about the

Viking descendents called Normans and their invasion of Saxon England! • This story and pictures can be found

in the Bayeux Tapestry – on my board.

Edward the Confessor, King of England

Harold, Earl of Wessex and William, Duke of Normandy

Harold, Earl of Wessex William, Duke of Normandy

King Edward Dies.

Earl Harold Becomes King Harold II of England.

William and Normans Invade England!

William Invades England; October 1066 A.D.

Saxons (English) and Normans Battle

Duke William Tells his Soldiers He Is Fine.

Harold II, King of England, Is Killed!

Duke William Is Now King William I of England.

Feudalism

• The people of the Middle Ages came to be dominated by feudalism.

• Feudalism was a system of government in which nobles gave out land to less powerful nobles in exchange for loyalty and services.

• The nobleman who “owned” or controlled the land was called the lord – and the lesser nobleman who received the land was called the vassal.

Lord’s Rule

• Under feudalism, the lord governed only the people of his land.

• Sometimes the king united the local nobility in a common defense against invading forces.

• This was an improvement over having each lord attempt to act alone in defending his land and people.

Feudal Structure

• In a feudal society, each person had a fixed place.• Powerful local lords acted independently of the

king, but they recognized his leadership and their duty to serve him.

• The local lords divided their land among vassals, or lesser nobles.

• Vassals then divided their land among knights, or still lesser nobles, who served in was as mounted warriors.

Manorialism

• The common people, mostly peasant farmers, tilled the land in return for the lord’s protection.• Sometimes peasants were serfs.• Serfs were not slaves, but they had

to stay on the land and serve their lords – the land owned them!

Manorialism

• The parcel of land granted to a vassal by his lord was called a fief.

• The center of the lord’s fief was the manor, which consisted of a large house or castle, surrounding farmland, villages, and a church.

• A fief might also include several other manors or castles belonging to the fief-owner’s castles.

Manorialism

• On the manor, peasants lived and farmed, but they did not own the land they lived on.• In exchange for their lord’s

protection, the peasants contributed their labor and a certain amount of the food they raised.

Manorialism

• Medieval nobles had more power than the peasants.• However, the difference in the standard of living

between the very rich and the very poor was not as great as the difference today.

• Castle Life – defense and not comfort, smoky, dark, cold, and had many insects and critters.

• Peasant Life – small huts with dirt floor and animals inside the home. Worked Lord’s land 2-3 days a week, the rest on their land. Sundays, holidays, festivals were the only day’s off and controlled by the Church.

Guided Practice

•Feudalism Activity

•Students will simulate feudalism in Medieval Europe.

Independent Activity

• 1. What need would the nobles and king have for all that food and material (tokens)?

• 2. How effective (how well did it work and what did it provide) was feudalism and manorialism?

• 3. Are there any areas in need of improvement? What changes would you recommend to feudalism and manorialism?

Closure

• Objective: design a fiefdom with the components from feudalism and manorialism.

• You have been granted a fief from the king. What will your fiefdom look like?– Castle(s)– Farm land– Water source– Food source– People to work the land– People to protect the land

Homework

•Review your notes and be prepared to complete a quiz on feudalism.