Transcript not - burrowsbest

As important landowners
fought to keep their
lands, a ‘system’ to help
them stay powerful
started to develop. It is
called the feudal
system.
http://www.tiscali.co.uk
When Charlemagne (the good French king who started
schools and promoted art and learning) died, his grandsons
fought each other to become emperor. Charlemagne’s land
was divided into 3. When these lands became smaller
empires, the Vikings and Muslims attacked.
And guess what happened?
The land became
divided into little
kingdoms again. All of a
sudden there were
barons, dukes, princes
and counts ruling over
small pieces of land.
Noblemen controlled
their little pieces of land
and this was called the
Feudal System.
See how most people in a feudal system were at the
bottom? This type of system is called a hierarchy. Below
is an example showing what life was like in England when
King William conquered the land in 1066.
The King (1)
Barons and Bishops ( about 300)
Knights (about 5000)
Villagers (about 500 000)
www.geocities.com/larwilson2001/feudalism
The Feudal System lasted many centuries and is what many think of when
they think of the middle ages.
The Feudal System worked this way: You were pretty much born into your ‘position’ of
importance in medieval society.
Let’s start with the lowest
position.
Serfs were like slaves.
They worked from sunrise to
sunset for the earl, duke or
count. They got NO money
for their work. They couldn’t
even leave the manor! They
did get food, clothing and a
little hut to live in and they
were protected if there was
an invasion or war. It was
not a good life!
Villeins were a little better off than serfs. They were free men and had a very
small plot of land to farm. They were allowed to sell the food they grew BUT
they had to pay the lord of the manor in animals or food they grew (like
paying taxes).
http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/cbs/pages/dept/history/norms/feud.htm
Commoners were
merchants who
ran businesses or
were servants in
the castle. They
got paid for their
work and services.
They also had to
pay rent and taxes.
Bailiffs worked for the lord of the manor. They collected rent, taxes and
fines. A bailiff also would act as judge for the commoners.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/maxpages/
Knights were given land by a Baron. In return they provided military
service to the King when he needed it. They also had to protect the
Baron, his family, and the Manor, from being attacked. They were not
as rich as the Barons, but Knights were still very wealthy. A war horse
could cost as much as an airplane does today!
http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/cbs/pages/dept/history/norms/feud.htm
If you were a baron (a lord), you got land and castles from the King BUT you had to be
loyal in return. A lord’s life centered around fighting. Lords were professional warriors.
That meant you had to fight for the king during a war. Barons needed soldiers to help
them do this, so they made their soldiers into knights. They would give their knights
smaller pieces of land BUT then the knights had to be loyal to the baron. Knights were
later called dukes, earls, or counts.
Lords and knights followed the rules of Chivalry. The rules of chivalry were that you had
to be courageous, fight according to certain rules (you could not fight dirty or cheat to
win), keep your promises and defend the church.
http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/cbs/pages/dept/history/norms/feud.htm
Bishops and Abbots were
noblemen who devoted
their life to the church, but
they had land like other
nobles. Some of these
Bishops and Abbots were
as wealthy and as powerful
as the greatest lords.
The best (maybe) position was king! The King was in complete control
under the Feudal System. He owned all the land in the country and
decided who he would lease land to. He only allowed those men he could
trust to lease land from him. However, before they were given any
land they had to swear an oath to remain faithful to the King at all
times.The only problem with this position was that a King from another
country, or your brother, or even another nobleman always wanted
your job and your country. Kings had to be careful who they trusted.
It was very common for Kings to be killed in horrendous ways!
Now that you know about the feudal system, go to
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/20050408/newhistor/keystage3/castlesde/castles/thefeudal/Default.htm
This is a short activity.
Once you have completed it, you may go to
http://www.quia.com/cc/66097.html and play the memory
game.