FEUDALISM - Wikispaces · Feudal society is a military ... economical system of feudalism throughout Western Europe. THE FEUDAL SYSTEM •Eventually, the fief became hereditary ...

FEUDALISM

WHAT IS FEUDALISM?

The political, economic and social system that predominated in Western Europe between the 9th and 14th centuries.

FEUDALISM: ORIGINS AND CAUSES

The fall of the Roman Empire because of the Germanic invasions

+

The lack of security in the borders

Many asked for protection to powerful people

The Germanic kingdoms in the 6th

century


Charlemagne encouraged FEALTY (=vasallaje) between his nobles. That implied two things:

1. The vassal offered services to the lord.

2. In exchange, the lord must maintain economically to the vassal.

ACTIVITY

Translate into Spanish the following text:

Feudalism was the medieval model of government. Feudal society is a military hierarchy in which a ruler or lord offers mounted fighters a fief (beneficium), a unit of land to control in exchange for a military service.


• To maintain economically a vassal, the lord gave him a piece of land.

• This piece of land is called FIEF.

• The fief consisted of a rural estate composed of extensive areas of arable land, pastures and forests where people hunted and obtained firewood and other products (fruit, timber, medicinal plants, honey, etc.)

The fief

• The fief was divided into two parts:

– Demesne: land exploited directly by the lord. It consisted of farmland, pastures and wood. It was farmed by serfs.

– Tenements: plots of land the lord gave to free peasants in exchange for rent, services or a part of the harvest.

THE SECOND ASSAULT TO CHRISTIAN EUROPE

• During the 9th-11th centuries there was a second wave of invasions to Europe. The invaders were…

THE VIKINGS

THE MAGYARS • Also known as HUNGARIANS…

THE SARACENS

Also known as MUSLIMS…

• Do you remember this from the ISLAM UNIT?

THE SECOND INVASIONS

THE SECOND INVASIONS…

• …helped to spread the political, social and economical system of feudalism throughout Western Europe.

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

• Eventually, the fief became hereditary…

• … and a ceremony was established:

The commitment between the vassal and the lord was sealed with an act of homage.

The act of homage consisted in four

parts:

1. inmixtio manum

2. The oath of fealty.

3. The osculum

4. Sign the documents

ACTIVITY Do a commentary on the next image:

ACTIVITY

• Investigate about some authentic, historical act of homage.

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

• The vassal swore fealty (=loyalty) to his lord, and swore to provide him with military help (troops) and advice.

• The lord swore to protect his vassal and provide him with resources he needed to make a living: a fief.

• It is very important not to forget that this agreement was between FREE MEN.

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

• Gradually, a pyramidal system was created. For example, a noble could be a vassal of a king and, at the same time, he could be the lord of another noble.

• That made the kings weak. Can you see why?

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

THE FEUDAL SOCIETY

• At the same time, the feudal lords exercised their authority over the peasants who worked on the fief.

THE FEUDAL SOCIETY

• The feudal society sets up in close groups. You belong to a group by birth.

• Those groups are the ESTATES OF THE REALM. There were two kinds of estates:

– PRIVILEGED ESTATE: nobility and clergy.

– NON-PRIVILEGED ESTATE: all the people who were not members of the clergy or nobility belonged to this group. They were peasants, crafstmen, traders…

THE FEUDAL SOCIETY

THE FEUDAL SOCIETY

• The PRIVILEGED ESTATE justifies this organization thanks to the THEORY OF THE THREE ORDERS:

PRIVILEGED ESTATE: NOBILITY

Nobles dedicated their time to fighting wars, hunting and leisure. There were two different groups within this estate:

1. Higher nobility – dukes, marquises, counts, etc. They were vassals of the king and lords of other vassals. They lived in castles, collected taxes and administered justice in their fiefs.

PRIVILEGED ESTATE: NOBILITY 2. Lower nobility: knights, who possessed

nothing except their weapons and their horse. They were vassals of the feudal lord. .

ACTIVITY • Use the following link to tag the parts of an armour

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Components_of_medieval_armour



PRIVILEGED ESTATE: CLERGY

• Clergy: a group of persons dedicated to a religion.

• There were two kinds of clergy:

1. Secular clergy: priests who depended on a bishop.

2. Regular clergy: members of a religious order who lived in a monastery.


• Within the clergy, there were two different groups:

Higher clergy: bishops and abbots, who generally belonged to noble families. They were feudal lords.

Lower clergy: the rest of the clergy: priests, monks, nuns…


NON-PRIVILEGED ESTATE: PEASANTRY

• They represented about 90% of the population.

• All peasants had to pay a TITHE to the Church.

• Peasants could be free or serfs.

• Free peasants cultivated the tenements.

• Serfs could not leave the fief. Most of them worked on the demesne lands.

THE FEUDAL ECONOMY

• The economy was mainly based on agriculture and livestock.

• Trade almost disappeared. Communications were cut off because of the frequent wars.

• Agriculture was based on the two-year crop rotation.

• At the end of the 10th century, they began to use watermills and windmills.

THE FEUDAL ECONOMY

• The lords exploited the peasants thanks to the control of the MANOR. In Spanish, manor means señorío.

• This is the key of the feudal system!

ACTIVITY

• According to the explanation of manor, try to give an explanation of the following term:

MANORIALISM

THE FEUDAL ECONOMY

• The lord exercised his authority in two ways:

–Territorial (Señorío territorial): Peasants worked the land. They also paid taxes (in kind, money or labor).

–Jurisdictional (Señorío jurisdiccional): The lord has judicial power, political power and economic power (collecting taxes).

PORTAZGOS (GATE TOLL)

PONTAZGOS (BRIDGE TOLL)

Señorío jurisdiccional

The castle, residence of the lord…

ACTIVITY

• Draw a plan of your own manor. Do not forget to include all its elements.

• Draw your own castle, tagging its main parts.

SUMMING

UP

THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION

• Religion during Middle Ages played a very important role, affecting directly to:

– DAILY LIFE

– SOCIETY ORGANIZATION

– POLITICS

– CULTURE

– ART


• The leaders of the Catholic Church (popes, bishops) supported kings and emperors.

• THINK ABOUT THAT: Do that sound logic to you?

The monastery: The first monasteries were founded during the 5th century. A monastery is under the authority of an abbot/abbess

ACTIVITY

Go to the next link and locate the main parts in a monastery:

http://www.berkshirehistory.com/kids/abbey_plan.html

LA IMPORTANCIA DE LA RELIGIÓN


The life of monks/nuns are determined by three rules:

1. Poverty.

2. Obedience.

3. Chastity.

ACTIVITY

• Do a research about the main religious orders during the feudal age.

THE CRUSADES

CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS IN NEAR EAST AFTER THE FIRST CRUSADE

ACTIVITY

• Investigate about the first three crusades:

– Why did they happen?

– Which were the consequences of the Crusades?

– Why do these attacks receive the name of “crusade”?

THE END By Daniel Quijano Ramos

Geography & History teacher

IES Puerta de la Axarquía

FEUDALISM - Wikispaces · Feudal society is a military ... economical system of feudalism throughout Western Europe. THE FEUDAL SYSTEM •Eventually, the fief became hereditary ...

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