Feudalism and The Manor System Daily Life in Medieval Europe
Dec 14, 2015
Feudalism and The Manor System
Daily Life in Medieval Europe
After Charlemagne
• Europe was invaded repeatedly by 3 groups: the Vikings from the north, the Magyars from the east, and the Muslims from the south
• Kings across Europe could not defend all of their lands, so they granted land to nobles
• The nobles had to find a way to defend their territory
Feudalism
• Feudalism: the system of exchanging land for service
• Over time the system became complicated as lords granted land to multiple knights and knights granted land to lesser knights, called villeins
Defense Systems
• Many nobles built castles that could withstand an attack• The nobles then trained soldiers to defend their castles and
territory
Knights
• Most well-trained soldiers for defending a castle
• Becoming a knight was expensive; knights needed to but their own armor, weapons, and horses
• Knights often agreed to defend a castle in exchange for a piece of land
• Nobles would grant knights a fief – anyone who accepted a fief was called a vassal
Feudal Obligations
• A knight’s duties to his lord:– Provide military
service– Remain loyal and
faithful• Took an oath of
fealty, or loyalty
– Give money on special occasions
• A lord’s duties to his knights:– Give land– Protect knights from
attack– Resolve disputes
between knights
Feudalism bound people together through professional duties
The Medieval Manor
• Usually owned by lords or knights• Since lords were too busy with feudal duties to
work the land, they granted land to peasants• In exchange, the peasants provided the lord with
labor and other services
What Did a Manor Include?• Most of the land consisted of pastures and fields for crops• Usually there were 3 fields – a spring field, a fall field, and a
field left fallow (empty) to improve the soil• The peasants would rotate the fields each year this system is
called crop rotation
What Did a Manor Include? (cont.)
• Lords lived in a fortified manor house• Peasants lived in a village on the manor grounds• The village usually had a church, mill, and a
blacksmith• There was often a bakehouse, pond, and
orchard• The manor was built to be self-sufficient, people
on the manor did not have to leave for anything