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The Early Middle Ages Section 3
Preview• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• The Feudal System
• Quick Facts: Feudal Obligations
• The Manorial System
• Daily Life in the Middle Ages
The Feudal and Manorial Systems
The Early Middle Ages Section 3
Reading Focus• What duties and obligations were central to the feudal system?
• How did the manorial system govern the medieval economy?
• What was daily life like for people on a manor?
Main IdeaIn Europe during the Middle Ages, the feudal and manorialsystems governed life and required people to perform certainduties and obligations.
The Feudal and Manorial Systems
The Early Middle Ages Section 3
Knights like William Marshal did not exist at the beginning of theMiddle Ages but began to emerge as the period progressed.
• Feudalism originated partly asresult of Viking, Magyar,Muslim invasions
• Kings unable to defend theirlands, lands of their nobles
• Nobles had to find way todefend own lands
• Built castles, often on hills• Not elaborate structures; built
of wood, used as place ofshelter in case of attack
Origins of Feudalism• Nobles needed trained
soldiers to defend castles• Knights most important,
highly skilled soldiers• Mounted knights in heavy
armor best defenders• Being a knight expensive; had
to maintain weapons, armor,horses
• Knights demanded paymentfor services
Knights and Lords
The Feudal System
The Early Middle Ages Section 3
Fiefs and Vassals
Knights were usually paid for their services withland
• Land given to knight for service was called a fief
– Anyone accepting fief was called a vassal
– Person from whom he accepted fief was his lord
• Historians call system of exchanging land for service thefeudal system, or feudalism
The Early Middle Ages Section 3
Oath of Fealty• Lords, vassals in feudal system had duties to fulfill to one another• Knight’s chief duty as vassal to provide military service to his lord• Had to promise to remain loyal; promise called oath of fealty
Lord’s Obligations• Lord had to treat knights fairly, not demanding too much time, money• Had to protect knight if attacked by enemies• Had to act as judge in disputes between knights
Financial Obligations• Knight had certain financial obligations to lord• Knight obligated to pay ransom for lord’s release if captured in battle• Gave money to lord on special occasions, such as knighting of son
Feudal Obligations
The Early Middle Ages Section 3
• Almost everyone in systemserved more than one lord
• Theoretically, everyonesupposed to be loyal to the king
• In practice, not everyone loyal• Some powerful nobles as
strong as kings they weresupposed to serve, ignoredduties as vassals
• Feudal rules specific to time,place; could change over time;England’s rules not same asFrance’s rules
Fealty to King• Europe’s feudal system
incredibly complex• Person could be both lord,
vassal• Some knights with large fiefs
gave small pieces of land toother knights, created manylevels of obligations
• One knight could serve manylords; no prohibition againstknight accepting fiefs from morethan one noble
Lord and VassalA Complicated System
The Early Middle Ages Section 3
Summarize
How did the feudal system work?
Answer(s): lord gave land to knight in return forprotection and loyalty
The Early Middle Ages Section 3
The feudal system was a political and social system. A related systemgoverned medieval economics. This system was called the manorialsystem because it was built around large estates called manors.
• Manors owned bywealthy lords, knights
• Peasants farmedmanor fields
• Were givenprotection, plots ofland to cultivate forselves
Lords, Peasants,and Serfs • Most peasants on
farm were serfs, tiedto manor
• Not slaves, could notbe sold away frommanor
• But could not leave,marry without lord’spermission
Serfdom• Manors had some
free people whorented land from lord
• Others includedlandowning peasants,skilled workers likeblacksmiths, millers
• Also had a priest forspiritual needs
Free People
The Manorial System
The Early Middle Ages Section 3
• Most of manor’s land occupied by fields for crops, pastures foranimals
• Middle Ages farmers learned that leaving field empty for yearimproved soil
• In time, practice developed into three-field crop rotation system
• One field planted in spring for fallharvest
• Another field planted in winter forspring harvest
• Third field remained unplanted foryear
Rotation• Each manor included fortified
house for noble family, village forpeasants, serfs
• Goal to make manor self-sufficient
• Typical manor also includedchurch, mill, blacksmith
Small Village
A Typical Manor
The Early Middle Ages Section 3
Analyze
How did lords and peasants benefit from themanorial system?
Answer(s): lords' farmlands were taken care of,produced food; peasants were provided protectionfrom invaders
The Early Middle Ages Section 3
Life in a Castle• Life in Middle Ages not easy, did not have comforts we have today• Early castles built for defense not comfort• Few windows, stuffy in summer, cold in winter, dark always
Bedrooms• In early castles, noble family bedrooms separated from main area by sheets• Later castles had separate bedrooms; latrines near bedrooms• Wooden bathtub outside in warm weather, inside near fireplace in winter
Space• Nobles had to share space with others, including soldiers, servants• Private rooms very rare• Main room the hall, large room for dining, entertaining
Daily Life in the Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages Section 3
The family rose before dawn. Men went to work in the fields; womendid chores. During harvest, the entire family worked in the field all day.
Despite discomforts, life in a castle was preferable to life in a village.The typical village family lived in a small wooden one-room house. Theroof was made of straw, the floor of dirt, and the furniture of roughwood. Open holes in the walls served as windows.
• Most families slept on beds of strawon floor
• All shared one room with eachother, animals
• Most glad to have animals toprovide extra heat in cold winters
Bedrooms
Life in a Village
• Peasant families cooked mealsover open fire in middle of floor
• Typical meal: brown bread, cheese,vegetables, occasionally meat
• No chimneys, house often full ofsmoke; fires common
Meals