FEUDALISM
FEUDA-LAND-ISM
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the start of the Middle Ages began/Medieval Times.
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TIMELINE OF EVENTS
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EARLY MIDDLE AGES - 476-1000CE - The Early Middle Ages began with the fall of Rome. The Roman Empire had unified much of Europe for about 500 years. After the Empire collapsed, life was difficult in Western Europe. People had to work hard to just survive. On top of trying to survive and earning enough money to eat, they also had to fight to protect themselves from invaders. These challenges gave rise to the economic system we call FEUDALISM. In the Feudal system, people pledged their loyalty to a lord (a powerful leader and landowner). In return, they (Peasants, serfs, and other social classes) received protection from that lord meaning knights/warriors fought on behalf of their lords. This was a cycle of loyalty, dedication, work, and land.
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HIGH MIDDLE AGES - 1000-1300 - The High Middle Ages is when Feudalism took place and the Catholic Church highly influenced people, places, and society during this time. In addition, towns started to develop.
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LATE MIDDLE AGES - 1300-1450 - More towns started to grow and expand outside of feudal manors.
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In the 12th - 15th centuries (1100s-1400s), Feudalism started to decline!
Below, is a deeper look into Feudalism or I like to say FEDUDAL-LAND-ISM because this system has to do with land and loyalty!!
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LET'S EXPLORE BELOW!
CHARLEMAGNE
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After 476, Europe was left with no central form of government or system of defense. One powerful group out of the many that attacked or tried to take over the empire/Europe during this time were the Franks (where France gets their name from). They were successful because of their use of knights (armored soldiers on horses). Knights gave their loyalty to their ruler and in return they were rewarded with land, privileges, and money. The most important leader of the Franks was Charlemagne, meaning Charles the Great. He ruled from 768-814 (40 years). It is said he could not read or write, but love scholarly works read to him, he encouraged education, and unified nearly all Christian lands of Europe into one Empire. One poet called him "King Father of Europe". He built his Empire with the help of a pope (leader of the Catholic Church). Pope Leo III supported Charlemagne giving him the blessing of the church sending the message to the people the he had "God on his side", and in return Charlemagne gave the Pope and church protection with his army. In 800, the Pope crowned and named Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor. The rulers that followed Charlemagne could not keep the empire unified or protected from attacks from invaders like the Vikings. From the end of the Roman Empire, to the Frank's successful knighted army, to Charlemagne and the Pope, FEUDALISM started to develop with the system of kings, land, and loyalty.
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FEUDALISM - FEUDAL LAND ISM
By the High Middle Ages (about 1000), Europeans developed the system of FEUDALISM (FEUDAL LAND ISM). This system provided people with protection and safety, and establishing a stable social order. Under this system people were bound to one another through promises of loyalty. In theory, all the land in the kingdom usually belonged to the king or sometimes queen. Some land even belonged to the Church. The king/queen kept some of the land to themselves then gave fiefs (feefs) or land grants (pieces of land) to the most important lords and ladies. Then, those lords and ladies became the king's vassals. In return for the land and privileges that the lords received from the king/queen, the lords and ladies pledged their loyalty to the king by promising them with their knights in times of war or need. The lord/lady then gave smaller pieces of their land to knights and lesser lords making them their vassals. In return for their land and privileges the lords gave them, those lesser lords and knights pledged their loyalty, protection, and work to the higher lords/ladies. A number of these written contracts still can be seen in museums today. At the bottom of this social system were peasants. The lower lords and knights then rented some of their land to the peasants that pledged their loyalty and work to them for allowing them to have some of their land. They worked and farmed the land for the social classes above them. There were also some peasants called "serfs". They were tied to the land they worked and could not leave the land without permission.
Most lords and wealthier knights lived on manors or large estates. A manor usually included a castle or manor house, one or more villages, and surrounded by farmlands. Manors were in the countryside and not generally close to towns. This meant that the peasants had to work and provide everything for everyone in the feudal system they lived in. There were very few things that were imported from the neighboring towns. During the Middle Ages, people were born into that social class for life meaning they often had the same job and life their parents did.
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MORE ON FEUDAL SOCIETY AND ROLES
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MONARCHS (KINGS AND QUEENS)
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At the very top of the feudal society were the monarchs or kings and queens. They were expected to keep order in their kingdom and provide protection for their vassals (lords and ladies or people that they granted land/fiefs to). They believed that God gave them the right to rule. The relied on lords and ladies to give them knights in times of war. They often lived in castles overlooking their land that was ruled by lords and ladies with their manors to not only keep order, but to show they they had all the power and land. They relied on the Royal Blood Line to keep order and power within their own family.
Castles were built for many purposes. One reason was to serve as a home to the kings and queens. They were also built for military purposes by providing protection to the people within the walls. In times of war, people would flee to the castle for protection. The castles location also reminded lords, ladies, and all the people in the land of the king and queen's power. Early castles were built of wood and surrounded with high wooden fences. After about 1100 most castles were built of stone with tall towers and became more elaborate. There were a variety of rooms to house the many, many people that lived in the castles.
LORDS AND LADIES
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Lords and ladies were given their smaller plot of land/fief from the king or queen to manage. They then became the vassal to the king and queen. In return, they promised work, loyalty, and protection to the king as needed. They often lived in a manor house or castle that overlooked their land filled with people. It was the lord's responsibility to manage his land, people, and knights. He provided knights to the king, as needed. He also provided food to from the peasants/serfs to the knights and kings. Ladies were extremely busy managing their houses full of people including servants, pages, squires, knights, artists, and more. They made sure everyone was fed, entertained, clothed, working, etc. They also bathed everyone in the house about once a month.
Often times royalty (Kings, Queens, Lords, and Ladies) would have elaborate feasts and parties. You can see what the parties were like to the right.
KNIGHTS
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Knights were mounted soldiers of the medieval world. In general, they were wealthy because a full set of armor and horse was expensive. In addition, the process of becoming a knight was long, not easy, took dedication, and a life long commitment to a code of behavior called chivalry. Knights were given their land from the lord and ladies above them. In return, they provided the lords, ladies, peasants, and land protection. They went to war when called upon by the king. A boy started as a page or servant at the age of seven when they left home to live with a lord. All wealthy lords had several pages at once. They spend much of their time with the lady learning household duties, religious instruction from a priest or friar, learned to ride a horse, play music, and other duties to become a good knight. After seven years as a page, they became a squire. During this time, they spent time with a knight learning to become a knight as the "knights assistant" polishing their armor, tending to the horse, bathing them, gathering the knight's food, and more. He waited on the knight day and night. In his 20's, if he was worthy after all his training with the knight including how to fight, wear armor, use a lance, etc. he had a very special ceremony to become a knight. Becoming a knight was an honor.
Being a knight was more than just a profession, it was a way of life. They lived by a code of chivalry. This is a code of ideal behavior, including bravery, loyalty, and respect for women and others, and more. Knights were expected to be loyal to the Church and their lord. They needed to be just, fair, kind, respectful, help those in need, and protect all that were worthy.
Jousting tournaments were a part of their lives as well. This was where two knights on horseback galloped towards on another with lances and try to knock one another off the horse.
They fought wearing heavy armor. They initially fought wearing chain armor, but by the 14th century, they were more heavily armored until the 17th century when warfare changed to gunpowder and cannons.
PEASANTS
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Most people during this time were peasants. Peasants provided all the food and goods for everyone, including themselves in their feudal society. Their labor and hard work allowed for the knights to protect them, for the lords to manage all the land, and the kings to manage even more land than the lords/ladies. They were considered free or unfree. This had to do with what they owed the lords. They were always working the land and animals or as metal workers, shoemakers, and other craft like jobs. Some worked the land and some worked in the small villages located on the manor. They cared for their own families, land, and animals as well. They had many, many taxes including a head tax which was a tax per person living in their home every year. When a women would get married, they had to pay a merchet tax. They also had to pay taxes whenever the king or lords asked which they did often just because. They were required to grind their grain in the Lord's mill in order for the lord to see how much they had, and would only allow the peasants to take some back home for their own families. Because of this, some families kept hand mills in secret. They lived in small, simple homes with their families and animals. They had simple diets and has busy and difficult lives.
As you can see, FEUDALISM is easy to remember by calling it FEUDALANDISM because the society has to do with land and loyalty. Eventually people started moving into towns that were scattered all over the medieval world from these feudal society pieces of land, but some did still stay on the manor land. Eventually, feudalism ended because of this and other reasons, but we will talk about that later! Now, apply what you learned here to your project of choice!