Feudalism and Manorialism

Feudalism and the Manor System in Europe

DO NOW: Matching

Word Bank: Vikings, Serf, Overlord, Vassal, Feudalism, Homage, Aqueduct, Fief

1. ____________________: political, economic, and social system used in Europe during most of the Middle

Ages.

1. ____________________: a noble who received land from a higher lord.

1. ____________________: a lord who granted land to another lord in return for certain services.

1. ____________________: a piece of land granted by one lord to another.

1. ____________________: the formal acknowledgement of loyalty from a vassal to his lord

1. ____________________: raiders from Scandinavia who terrorized Europe in the ninth and tenth

centuries.

1. ____________________: a peasant bound to a piece of land.

Europe after
Charlemagne

• Charlemagne’s death

marked the end of a strong,
central government in
Western Europe

• Series of invasions destroy

the Carolingian empire

• Major invading groups:
• Vikings
• Magyars
• Muslims

Vikings

• Seafaring people from

Scandinavia

• Warriors travelled in

longboats

• Reached

Newfoundland

• Plundered monasteries

until converted to
Christianity

Magyars

•Early Hungarian people, once hired
as mercenaries by the Byzantines

•Converted to Christianity

•By the 900s, had reached Gaul and
southern Italy

•Invade & pillage like Vikings

•Defeated by Saxons & forced into
central Europe

•Attacks cease in 955

Muslims

•The Umayyad Caliphate
defeated the Visigoths &
conquered the Iberian
Peninsula
•Al-Andalus was ruled by the
“Moors” between 711 and
1492
•The capital Córdoba
became a center of education and learning and largest city in Western Europe

Angles and Saxons

• Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invade
England from the
continent

• Filled power vacuum in Britain after fall of
Rome

• This is where “Anglo- Saxon” comes from

Results

• People no longer trust that a king can protect
them from invaders

• Look to local rulers with their own forces

• Nobles exchange land for loyalty and military
aid

• System known as Feudalism develops

Multiple Choice

What caused the development of feudalism in medieval Europe?

• The rise of democracy

• The invention of the printing press

• The collapse of central authority

• The spread of Christianity

Feudalism

• Land is given to vassals - low-ranking lords for their loyalty
• Estates given to vassals were known as fiefs
• This becomes a formalized legal system over time

Roles in the Feudal System

• Monarch - Kings & queens who own the land
• Lord - vassals of the monarch
• Knight - receives honor and land in exchange for serving lord as a
soldier
• Serf - peasant farm workers tied to the land

Multiple Choice

What is feudalism?

• A type of economic system

• A religious belief system

• A form of democracy

• A political and social system in medieval Europe

Multiple Choice

What was the role of serfs in the feudal system?

• Farming the land

• Collecting taxes

• Praying for the people

• Providing military service

The Manor System

The Manor System

• Economic system within

feudalism

• Based around the Manor – estate with farms, houses, a
village, etc.

• Lord collects taxes from serfs who work the land

• Self-sufficient with the lord in charge

Multiple Choice

What is manorialism?

• A medieval religious practice

• A feudal economic and social system

• A form of ancient architecture

• A type of medieval clothing

The Manor System

•Serfs are tied to the
manor
•Given small strips of
land to farm after
working the lord’s
fields

Multiple Choice

What was the main economic activity on a manor during the medieval period?

• Trading and commerce

• Farming and Agriculture

• Blacksmithing and metalwork

• Printing and bookbinding

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the relationship between the lord and the serfs in the manorial system?

• The lord and serfs were equal partners in managing the manor.

• Serfs had complete independence from the lord.

• Serfs were bound to the lord's land and had to provide labor and goods in exchange for protection and land.

• Serfs paid rent to the lord in exchange for using the land.

Feudalism and Manorial Life Reading

6 Myths about the Middle Ages Video