Life in Medieval Europe: An Intro

Life in Medieval Europe

An Intro

Open Ended

What comes to mind when you hear the words Middle Ages or Medieval?

Along Comes Feudalism

• Fall of (Western) Roman Empire led to something called Feudalism

• Feudalism = system of local control developed into a method of organizing power and government

All about Feudalism

• When Western Rome fell, there was a lack of a strong central gov't

• Local leaders took control of own area

• Eventually powerful local leaders controlled larger areas of territory that grew into kingdoms

Feudalism

• Feudalism operated as a Hierarchy = a system w/ differing levels of power

• Monarch owns all the land in a kingdom & would divide the land into fiefs to be ruled by lords/nobles

• Fief = a large piece of land and everything on it: forests, lakes, animals, fields, and even whole towns/villages

Feudalism

• Lords/nobles served as vassals to the monarch

• Vassals= a person who got protection & land from someone above them in exchange for loyalty & Service

Feudalism

• Lords/Nobles would then divide smaller bits of land to lesser lords/nobles & Knights

• Knight = One who received honor and land in exchange for serving a lord as a soldier.

• Peasants/Serfs worked as farmers and were bound to the land that was owned by lords/nobles

Multiple Choice

Who owns all of the land in a kingdom under the system of Feudalism?

• A Lord or Noble

• A Knight

• A Peasant/Serf

• A Monarch

Multiple Choice

A system of local control developed into a method of organizing power and government:

• Feudalism

• Fief

• Kingdom

Multiple Choice

Which group is at the bottom of the Feudalism Pyramid?

• A Monarch

• Peasants/Serfs

• Lords/Nobles

• Knights

Watch the video and be sure to pay attention!

https://youtu.be/3zqOXN-cuqI

Open Ended

Identify 1 thing you learned or found interesting about the video: