Transcript Castles, Peasants, and Cities (oh my)

Feudalism
 What
is it?
 1) Political and
social system of
Middle Ages
 2) New way to get
soldiers
 3) System of
vassals
What is a vassal?
 Someone
who is given use of land in
return for military service
 See handout
 A vassal can be vassal to more than
one lord (subinfeudation)
Feudal Contract
Both men must be nobles (free
men and knights as well)
 Unwritten rules that
determined relationship
between lord and vassal
 Lord has land and wants
military service
 Vassal wants land and will fight
 Made official by public
ceremony (homage)

Homage
 1)
Oath of fealty (made by vassal)
– Always stated in the negative, i.e. “I will
not…”
 2)
Investiture of fief (done by lord)
 3) Kiss
Obligations
Lord
 1) Protection (physical and
legal)
 2) Guardianship (of minors)
 3) Justice (if vassal is
accused)
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A) Trial by battle
B) Compurgation (oath taking)
C) Trial by ordeal
Obligations
Vassal
 1) Military Service (40
days/year)
 2) Counsel (attend court,
judge peers)
 3) Relief (1 year’s income
– payment to become
vassal)
 4) Aids and Dues
(hospitality, financial
costs, etc.)
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Manorialism
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Manorialism = economic
system of Middle Ages
Most people lived on a manor
(at least in the early Middle
Ages); Consists of:
Seigneur (Lord of the Manor)
holds fief containing manors
which is…
Land worked by serfs – some
free (all legally bound to work
the vassal’s land) –*disregard
much of what book says about
peasant life span
Life of Nobility
Most of Middle Ages
activities centered around
war
 Actual fighting or hunting
(practice for war) or
tournaments (play war)
 Families
 Husband head of family –
marriages often made to
advance one’s wealth and
land
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Knights
 Chivalry
 Age
7 = page
 Age 12-14 = squire
 Age 18 (usually) = knight
 Marked by grand ceremony
Castles, Peasants, and
Cities
(oh my)
Where people lived
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Not everyone lived in castles
(most lived on a manor)
Castles for nobility (usually
only for Kings)
Not all large, stone
structures
First castles = motte and
bailey
When weaponry changes,
castles change
Not cozy, comfy places to
live
Become ineffective at end of
100 Years’ War because of…
Life in Castles
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No soap, deodorant,
toothpaste, and perfume
hard to come by
Draftiness (motte & bailey
had problems with rain)
Tapestries on walls, animal
skins on windows
Light frequently from
torches (no chimneys until
12th-13th century)
Floor covered with rushes
(straw)
Food not so good (no forks!)
Economy Changes
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By 1000-1100 trade begins to revive
(the Crusades stimulate desire for
products such as high quality cloth,
silk, spices, sugar, etc.
Trade Fairs
Trade leads to revival of cities
(walled structures) which leads to
decline of feudalism (peasants can
leave because they have a place to
go)
Trade creates 3 important
developments: a manufacturing
system, a banking system, and the
practice of investing capital (p. 259)
Towns and Cities
 Townspeople
had at least 4 basic
rights
 1) Freedom
 2) Exempt status (no serf service)
 3) Town Justice
 4) Commercial privileges
 Creates organization of guilds
Cities
Crowded, dirty places
 Generally small since walls were
expensive to build
 Fire danger great (wooden
houses with candles for light and
heat)
 Bad smell (animal and human
waste)
 Bad water
 Few baths (closed down because
of public nudity)
 Disease, such as…
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Black Death
 1348-1350
 Kills
1/3 of
Europe’s population
(20+ million)
 3 forms of Black
Death
 Bubonic (60%),
Pneumonic (90%),
Septicemic (100%)
Spread of Plague
Blamed on Jews, witches,
foreigners, or punishment
of God
 Really spread by
 1) Well-meaning stupidity
(processions and public
prayers, going to church,
getting together with
people)
 2) Attitude towards cats
(agents of Satan)
 3) Change in rat
population (brown rat
replaces black)
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