Charlemagne and Feudalism

Europe in the Middle Ages

Lesson 3.4

Multiple Choice

Bellringer: This was a group of infantry soldiers in the Ottoman empire.  They were enslaved captives who could not marry or participate in business until age 40; They were also paid soldiers who eventually evolved as their own social class. 

• Sunni

• Janissari

• Shi'a

Lesson Overview

Learners can:

• identify the levels in European feudalism’s social structure

• relate ideas of the Magna Carta to ideas in United States government

• evaluate whether Europe’s Middle Ages were a “dark” time period

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Vocabulary:
Charlemagne, divine right, feudalism, feudal system, fief, Magna Carta, manorialism, manor system, medieval, Middle Ages, serf, William the Conqueror

Charlemagne

The Western Roman Empire fell to invading Germanic people in the 400s. The period of Europe’s history from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance around 1500 is called the Middle Ages or the medieval period. The word medieval comes from the Latin words for middle and age.
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Europe consisted of smaller kingdoms rather than the large empire of Rome. Without the protection and unity of the empire, European society became more unstable. Villages were more vulnerable to attacks from outside groups.
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Scientific advancements slowed as the empire split into less-connected states, reducing the opportunity for collaboration and the sharing of knowledge among scholars.

Charlemagne

In the late 700s and early 800s, Charlemagne (SHAR-leh-main), was the king of a Germanic group called the Franks. He conquered and reunited much of central Europe.

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This Frankish empire was a precursor to modern-day France. Charlemagne had a strong relationship with the Roman Catholic Church. After people in Rome attacked Pope Leo III and removed him from power, Charlemagne protected the pope and helped him reclaim his position.

​The map to the right shows Charlemagne’s territory in 814.

Charlemagne

In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne and gave him the title Holy Roman Emperor. It solidified the relationship between the political power of the king and the religious authority of the pope.
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Charlemagne promoted Christianity and sent missionaries to spread the religion. He ordered clergy to learn to read so they could better understand the Bible, and he encouraged Christian education for the populace.
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He also sponsored religious art and architecture, as he spent the wealth he acquired through conquest on the creation of cathedrals.

​A fourteenth-century French depiction of Pope Leo III crowning Charlemagne

Feudalism

After Charlemagne died in 814, the area under his rule again split into smaller kingdoms. These kingdoms were further divided into sections of land called fiefs.
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Kings often had little direct control over the people of their kingdoms; instead, the nobles who held control of the fiefs had power. A system of rule called the feudal system or feudalism began to dominate European society. The feudal system provided a social structure with different levels of people and different roles for each level.

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The king and church promoted the idea of the divine right to rule. This idea is the belief that the king’s power comes from God. It is similar to the Chinese concept of the Mandate of Heaven, though while the Mandate of Heaven allows for rebellion against unvirtuous rulers, the belief in the divine right forbids rebellion. Serfs, who were farmers required by law to work on plots of land.

Feudalism

• Advised the King.

• Was the most powerful institution in all of Europe.

• Legitimized the feudal system by confirming God appoints the kings.

• Received money & Land from king and nobles
  

The Church (Top Institution)

King (Top Individual)

Feudalism: Top of the Pyramid

• Owned and controlled all the land in the country

• Was extremely powerful

• Believed in the "divine right" to rule granted by God

• Ruled over the nobles

• Earned a position as protector

• Provided military service & loyalty in exchanged for land and goods

• Fought in wars OR to protect the land

• Escorted lords OR the king

• Were ruled by lords and the king
  

Knights

Lords & Nobles

Feudalism: Middle of the Pyramid

• Lived as privileged group with high social class

• Were wealthy & powerful

• controlled plots of land called fiefs

• Ruled knights & peasants

• loved leisure & elegance
  

Peasants and Serfs

Feudalism: Bottom of the Pyramid

• Were majority of the population (85%)

• Worked to provide resources like food, fuel, and wool

• were required by law to work & pay rent on the land

• Had few rights or protections

• lived difficult lives
  

Video Question

How did serfs compensate the lord for living on his land?

Multiple Choice

How did serfs compensate the lord for living on his land?

• By making payments

• By giving gifts

• By preforming labor

Manorialism

The feudal hierarchy was strongly tied to an economic system called the manor system, or manorialism. In this system, lords owned large estates called manors.

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A manor included the lord’s home and its surrounding land. Nobles, knights, and peasants lived on and worked for the manor.
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Between 1000 and 1300, improvement in economic conditions caused changes in European society and weakened the feudal and manor systems. Farmers cleared more land for farming by cutting down forests and draining swamps. They also constructed windmills and watermills, which could grind grain more efficiently than grinding by hand.

​A fifteenth-century French painting of a manor

Manorialism

Conditions became more peaceful after the frequent warfare of the early Middle Ages diminished. Increased agricultural output and greater stability led to an increase in population.
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A merchant class emerged, using rivers as trade routes, and towns grew along these rivers. Lords and kings became wealthier as agricultural production and economic activity increased.
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Lords could afford to pay for services rather than give their land to farmers in exchange for work. Kings used their wealth to hire armies that were more powerful than a manor’s group of knights, which gave kings greater control over lords.
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From 1300 to 1500, kingdoms continued to grow larger and stronger and grew into nation-states. A nation-state is an independent country linked by shared government, language, and culture. Four nation-states developed in Europe: England, France, Spain, and Russia.

England and the Magna Carta

Early in the Middle Ages, two ethnic groups called the Angles and Saxons held power in different parts of England. In the 800s, King Alfred united these regions into one country. These two ethnic groups together were called the Anglo-Saxons.
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In 1066, a French noble named William of Normandy, later known as William the Conqueror, invaded and conquered England.

He defeated its defenders at the Battle of Hastings.
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William’s French-speaking group, the Normans, became England’s nobility, and the Anglo-Saxons became serfs. Over time, the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans blended their cultures, and their combined language formed the modern English language.

​The Bayeux Tapestry, a French tapestry believed to have been created within a few years of the Battle of Hastings, depicts the battle. Norman soldiers ride on horseback, and Anglo-Saxon soldiers are on foot.

England and the Magna Carta

William created a strong central government in England and set up a council of advisors to help him rule. A later king, Henry II, established a unified code of law throughout England that replaced regional laws.

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The next ruler, Richard I, was a less effective ruler—he spent most of his rule away from England fighting wars called the Crusades. After Richard I died, his brother John became king.
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During King John’s reign, tensions among social classes caused commoners to worry that the higher social classes would force the commoners off the commoners’ property. They wanted legal protection of their property

​King John

Video Question

Why were the barons unhappy with King John?

Multiple Choice

Why were the barons unhappy with King John?

• He demanded more money and refused trials.

• He was a great leader.

• He was too generous with taxes.

The Magna Carta

A combination of higher taxes, unsuccessful wars, and conflict with the pope had made King John unpopular with a lower-ranking group of England’s nobility called the barons.
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In 1215, a group of barons rebelled against John. John met with the leaders of the barons, who forced him to approve a document called the Great Charter, also known by its Latin name, the Magna Carta.

Video Question

How were the Middle Ages viewed by later scholars during the Renaissance?

6 myths about the Middle Ages that everyone believes: TED-Ed

Summary

In this lesson, you learned:

• Charlemagne spread Christianity and established a link between the government and the Catholic Church.

• Feudalism and manorialism shaped society’s structure and daily life in medieval Europe.

• The Magna Carta granted rights and limited the king’s power.

Drag and Drop

​ Top of The Pyramid (Institution)​

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Top (Individual)​

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Controls plots of land or fiefs​

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Protector ​

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Bottom of the Pyramid/Largest group/Worked the land ​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Church

King

Nobles

Knights

Peasants & Serfs