Transcript Feudalism
FEUDALISM
Ch.9 section 2
The Invaders
Carolingian Empire began to fall apart soon after
Charlemagne’s death (814)
Divided into three major sections:
The
west Frankish lands
The eastern Frankish lands
The middle Kingdoms
Local nobles gained power
Invasions
added to the falling
Invaders cont.
Magyars
People of western Asia
At the end of the 9th century moved into central Europe
(Hungary) and invaded western Europe
Vikings
Great love of adventure, search for spoils of war, and new
avenues for trade may have led to attacks in other areas of
Europe
Warriors, superb shipbuilders, and sailors
Enabled attack places far inland
Mid-9th century building European settlements
invaders
In 911, west Frankish king gave a group of Vikings
land forming a section of France that became
Normandy
Deliberatly
planning to convert to Christianity which
made the Vikings part of European civilization
The Development of Feudalism
Attacks and invaders caused people to turn to
nobles to protect them
Usually
a powerful lord that could offer protection in
return for services
Led to feudalism– a political and social system
Vassalage- warriors fought for their lords and the
lords to care of the warriors needs
Vassal-
a man who served a lord in a military capacity
Knights- heavily armored calvery
Great
social prestige and back bone of the aristocracy
The Development of Feudalism
Powerful nobles took control of large areas of land
To
get men to fight for them they would grant each
vassal a piece of land to support him and his family
Since there was little trade at this time and wealth was
based primarily on land, this was an important gift
The Feudal contract
The relationship between lord and vassal was made official by
a public ceremony
To become a vassal, a man performed an act of homage
“The man should put his hands together as a sign of humility, and
place them between the two hands of his lord as a token that he
vows everything to him and promises faith to him; and the lord
should receive him and promise to keep faith with him. Then the
man should say: ‘Sir, I enter your homage and faith and become
your man by mouth and hands [that is, by taking the oath and
placing his hands between those of the lord], and I swear and
promise to keep faith and loyalty to your against all others’
The Feudal Contract cont.
Loyalty to one’s lord was the chief virtue
Fief- the granting of land to a vassal
Vassals
that held fiefs came to hold political authority
The feudal system became increasingly complicated
The
lord-vassal relationship bound together greater
and lesser landowners.
Honorable
relationship between free men and implied no
sense of servitude
Feudalism cont.
Came to be characterized by unwritten rules–
feudal contract
Determined
the relationship between a lord and his
vassal
Major
obligation was to perform military service usually 40
days a year
When summoned would have to appear to give advice to
the lord
Also responsible to make financial payments for various
occasions
Feudal contract cont.
The lord also had responsibilities towards the vassal
Granted
land
Required to protect his vassal
Either
defending him militarily or by taking his side in a court
of law
The Nobility of the Middle Ages
Dominated by men whose chief concern was warfare
Nobles would include: kings, dukes, counts, barons,
and even bishops and archbishops who had large
amounts of land and political power
Formed
an aristocracy that consisted of people who
held political, economic, and social power
Social
divisions based on extremes of wealth and land
holdings
The nobility of the middle ages cont.
Tournaments– contest where knights could show their
fighting skills
Began to appear in the 12th century
Late in the century dominated by the joust
Individual combat between two knights
Used to train for war
Chivalry– an ideal of civilized behavior among
nobilities
Code of ethics knights were supposed to uphold
In addition to their oath to defend the Church and
defenseless people nights were to treat captives as honored
guest
Knights should only fight for glory and not for material
rewards
Aristocratic Women
Could legally hold property, but most remained
under control of men
Lady
of the castle had to manage the estate when lord
was away at war or court
Large amounts of officials and servants
Oversaw financial accounts and food supply and
maintained other supplies for smooth operation
Aristocratic Women cont.
Expected to be subservient to husband
Many were strong women who advised and even
dominated the husband
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Remarkable personality
Heiress to the duchy of Aquitaine in southwest France
Married at the age of 15 to King Louis VII of France
Not a happy marriage and was annulled
Eight weeks later married again to Duke Henry of
Normandy, who became King Henry II of England
Stormy relationship
Spent much time in Aquitaine
Eight children
Richard and John became kings of England