Feudal+Society

** UNIT 2 ** ** FEUDAL SOCIETY ** From about 850 to about 1100, three new peoples invaded Europe: the Vikings, the Magyars and the Saracens. These invasions created a climate of violence and insecurity in Europe. Many people thought that it was a punishment from God and a sign that the world would end in the year 1000. After the Carolingian Empire, Europe was divided into numerous kingdoms. The kings had no armies and could not protect their lands. The peasants turned to the nobles for protection. In exchange, the peasants had to work for the nobles and submit to their authority. They became nobles’ serfs Barons governed in the king’s name in exchange for a fief or manor. The barons became the king’s vassals by accepting the king’s supremacy. They did this at a ceremony where they paid homage to the king and swore allegiance to him. These lords could also have vassals, who were usually nobles of a lower rank. They swore allegiance to their lord and received a smaller fief. However, there were frequent wars between them in this period. Under feudalism, the king’s power was very limited. The court was formed by a group of lawyers, clergy and soldiers. The king’s army was small. When his kingdom was in danger, the king called on the nobles for help. The king’s main income came from his fiefs and from some towns. He could not charge taxes in his vassals’ lands. Nobles received land in exchange for swearing allegiance to the king. This land was called a fief or manor. Each manor had a castle (where the lord lived), villages, forests and agricultural land. The demesne was part of the land on the manor that was used by the lord himself. He rented plots of land to the peasants. The peasants paid the rent in money, products or work on the lord’s land. They also had to pay a tax to use the mill, the oven and the press. People who crossed the lords’ bridges and lands had to pay a toll. Medieval society was divided into three groups called estates: the nobles, the clergy and the workers. -The nobles were the knights and their families. They had to defend the population. -The clergy were the monks and priests. They had to pray for the spiritual salvation of the people. -The workers were peasants, craftsmen and merchants. Except for the clergy, everybody was born into an estate. The nobles and the clergy were privileged estates. They did not pay taxes, they did not do manual work... War was the nobles’ main activity. They fought on horseback and their weapons were the lance, the shield and the mace. Nobles’ sons served as pages to an important noble and learned to fight. They became squires and served a knight. If they proved their worth, they were made knights. Nobles had to be ready to go to war at any time, so they often trained in tournaments. The most important function of noblewomen was to marry and have children to continue the family line. Marriages were arranged by parents, sometimes when the future husband and wife were only children. Noblewomen organised the servants, educated the children, did sewing and weaving and had to obey their husbands in everything. Women who did not marry went into convents. The Pope in Rome was the head of the Church. The Pope had great influence and he could excommunicate a king. Then, his subjects did not owe him any allegiance. Below the Pope, the Church was divided into two groups: the secular clergy and the regular clergy. The leaders of the secular clergy were bishops. They controlled a diocese. In each diocese there were parishes where priests worked. The regular clergy were member of religious orders. Their leaders were abbots. Below him, the superiors managed the monasteries, where friars, monks and nuns lived. The parishes and monasteries owned their own lands, where peasants worked. The most important religious order in the Early Middle Ages was the Order of Saint Benedict. Each religious order had a rule which explained its members’ duties, like not to leave their monastery or beg to collect money for the poor... Nuns and monks lived in convents and monasteries. They spent most of their time in prayer and meditation. They also worked in the garden, looked after the poor and sick and copied decorated manuscripts by hand (called miniatures). Ninety percent of the population were peasants. Most lived on a fief and worked on the lord’s land. -Some peasants were serfs. They were completely subjected to the lord’s authority. They could not leave the fief or get married without permission. They were not paid for their work. Serfdom was passed down to their children. -Other peasants were freemen. They could leave the fief and take personal decisions. They worked on the lord’s land and paid rent but they kept some of the harvest. They paid a tithe to the Church. The peasants usually lived in small villages. Their houses were made of mud and wood and had one room. People and animals often shared the house. All the family had to obey the father. Peasants were self-sufficient (they grew food, made clothes, built their houses...). However, they did not live well. They rarely ate meat or fish. Disasters (such as drought, floods, plague...) caused many deaths. The whole family, including children, worked from sunrise to sunset. They used very basic tools.They had no fertilisers. Every year they left half of their land fallow. As a result, agricultural production was very low. The peasants’ main crops were cereals for making bread and beer. They also grew vegetables, grapes and other fruits.
 * SOCIAL STUDIES. Summaries in English **
 * NEW INVASIONS OF EUROPE **
 * The Vikings came from Scandinavia. They conquered the British Isles, northern France and southern Italy, and they founded kingdoms.
 * The Magyars or hungarians came from steppes of Asia. They settled in Eastern Europe, and founded the kingdom of Hungary.
 * The Saracens were Muslim pirates who attacked the Mediterranean coasts of Europe.
 * THE ORIGIN OF FEUDALISM **
 * FEUDALISM **
 * THE POWERS OF THE KING AND HIS COURT **
 * A FIEF **
 * MEDIEVAL SOCIETY **
 * NOBLES OR KNIGHTS **
 * NOBLEWOMEN **
 * THE CHURCH **
 * RELIGIOUS ORDERS **
 * LIFE IN MONASTERIES **
 * THE PEASANTS’ LIFE **
 * SERFS AND FREEMEN **
 * EVERYDAY LIFE **
 * THE PEASANTS’ WORK **