Life in Medieval Towns

​2.2 Feudalism & the Rise of Towns GRN

• explain feudalism.

• compare and contrast the lives of knights and peasants.​

​The Feudal Order

​What is feudalism?

​

​The system of service between a lord and the vassals who have sworn loyalty to the lord; political order; under feudalism, nobles governed and protected people in return for services.

​List facts about lords, vassals, and knights.

​Lords	​Vassals	​Knights
​*High-ranking nobles who had the power over others.	​*A low-ranking noble who served a lord after taking an oath	​*low-ranking vassal who were armed warriors who fought
​*Nobles who gave land as a reward to loyal vassals	​*Vassals served in the army	​

​Who swore an oath to the lord?

Who fought for the lord on horseback?

Multiple Choice

Who swore an oath to the lord?

• vassal

• knight

Multiple Choice

Who fought for the lord on horseback?

• vassal

• knight

• serf

• priest

*Honor the church

​

*Respect women of high birth

​

*Help people​

​*Obey one's lord

​

*Be honest

​

*Fight fairly ​

​RULES OF CHIVALRY

​What is one of the rules of chivalry?

Multiple Choice

What is one of the rules of chivalry?

• Honor the lord

• Open doors for ladies of noble birth

• Follow the vassal's orders

• Clean the castle

​Describe the medieval castle. What was its purpose? What does it look like?

​A castle was a stone building that served as a defense for its owner. The castle was at the center of the estate. Most castles had two parts. The first was a motte, or steep-sided hill. The other was the bailey, an open space next to the motte. Both parts were encircled by high walls. The keep was several stories high. It had a basement for storing food and tools, a kitchen, stables, a great hall, and smaller rooms including bedrooms and a chapel.

​

​What was the purpose of a castle? What were two parts of a castle?

Multiple Choice

What was the purpose of a castle?

• To hold all who lived on the manor

• A defense to invaders

• Feed the manor

Open Ended

What were the two parts of a castle?

​How were freemen and serfs similar and different?

​Freemen	​Similar	​Serfs
​*paid for the right to farm	​+Were peasants	​-Were tied to the land
​*worked only their land *Had rights	​+Worked the nobles land year round +Lived in villages	​-Could not own land, move, or marry without permission

​Who was paid to work the land? Freemen and serfs were both __.

Who could not marry without permission?​

Multiple Choice

Who was paid to work the land?

• serfs

• freemen

Fill in the Blank

Who could not marry without permission?

Fill in the Blank

Freemen and serfs were both ___.

​Why was life more difficult for serfs than freemen?

​Serfs and their descendants were tied to the manor. They could not own property, move to another area, or marry without the noble's permission.

Multiple Choice

Why was serf's life more difficult?

• Manors were not safe.

• Serf's and their descendants were tied to the manor

• Serfs were required to work ten hours a day.

​Identify three improvements that helped farmers.

​The wheeled, iron-bladed plow, horse collar, and crop rotation made farming more efficient.

Open Ended

Name one improvement in farming.

​*towns grew larger; cities became wealthy

*merchant families in the city grew wealthy and powerful

*various cities became well known for producing high quality goods

*goods arriving from the east

*traders traveled greater distances

*trade between regions of Europe increased

​Effects of Trade

​+Repaired roads

+Protection by nobles

+Law enforcement

+New technology for growing

food ​

+Growth in population ​

​Causes of Trade

​Write the effects of Europe's increase in trade after the 1100s.

​How did the growth of the middle class effect feudalism?

​People in the middle class had some wealth because of their roles as merchants, bankers, or artisans. They became important leaders in the cities. In many cities, these were the people who were elected officials like city council members, lawmakers, judges.  Wealthy townspeople who made up the new middle class did not like owing taxes or serving in the nobles' armies, so they forced the nobles to give them basic rights and freedoms.

Multiple Choice

What was a major reason the middle class effected feudalism?

• They did not like owing taxes or serving in nobles' armies.

• They moved to towns.

• They found new jobs.

• Lords were too mean.

​What is a guild? What did medieval guilds do?

Guilds are business groups. Each type of business had its own guild, which controlled all the business and trade in a town. They set prices for goods and services and maintained standards, check on the quality of goods.​

Subject | Subject

Multiple Choice

What did guilds NOT do?

• Set prices for goods and services

• Maintain standards

• Checked quality of goods

• Monitor other guild pricing

​Describe living conditions in Medieval city.

​Life in medieval city was crowded, dirty, and unsafe. Pollution and disease were widespread.

Fill in the Blank

Medieval cities were not safe, dirty, and crowded. ___ and disease were widespread.