Europe in the Middle Ages
Feb 24, 2016
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