Aim: why did Feudalism have an impact on societies of the Middle Ages?

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Aim why did Feudalism have an impact on
societies of the Middle Ages?

• Listen and then take notes continuously.

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What is Feudalism?

• A political and economic system, characteristic
  of the European Middle Ages, in which a more
  powerful lord allows (possibly several) weaker
  lords, vassals, to use portions of his land for
  various purposes (E.g. farming) and in turn
  expects a payment of some sort.

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Feudal Hierarchy
Can you draw it? What do you think it looked
like? Why?
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God
God
Feudal Hierarchy
Monarch
King
Vassal
Nobles
Duke
Why was society structured like this?
Vassal
Lord
Vassal
Knight
Commoners / Peasants / Serfs
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How did Feudalism work?
God King Duke Duke
Duke Lord
Lord Lord Lord Lord
Lord Lord Lord Lord
Lord Lord Lord Knight Knight Knight
Knight Knight Knight Knight Knight Knight Knight
Knight Knight Knight Knight Knight Knight Knight
Knight Knight Knight Knight Knight Commoners
Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners
Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners
Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners
Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners
Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners
Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners
Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners
Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners
Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners Commoners
Commoners Commoners
God
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Vocabulary
In text

• Monarch The ruler of a land or state, who claims
  that rule through birthright, conquest, and or
  divine right. Normally a dictator.
• Royalty The ruling family of a land.
• King Title normally taken by the male ruling
  monarch.
• Noble Usually a small minority of people who
  distinguish themselves (normally by birth) from
  the majority of people, the commoners, and hold
  positions of privilege within the land. They also
  normally owe allegiance and homage to more
  powerful nobles.
• Duke The most powerful noble title. Often also a
  royal.
• Lord A generic noble title.
• Knight Normally the lowest noble title. Usually
  trained as a highly skilled cavalry soldier.
• Vassal One who owes allegiance and homage to
  another.

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Vocabulary (cont.)

• Commoner One of common birth. Not a noble.
  Majority of the population. Hence common.
• Peasant Another term for a commoner. Later on in
  European history came to mean a rural commoner.
• Serf Someone who lives on a manor and sharecrops
  for the owner of the land, a noble.
• Divine Right The right to rule, normally as a
  monarch, attained from God. That is, having been
  granted the right to rule from God. Used as a
  justification for royal dictatorships.

You should have these notes already!
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So how did the Economy function?
Why use the manor system?

• The Feudal Economy of the European Middle Ages
  was based on the Manorial System. That is the
  mostly agricultural productivity of a Manor.
• Feudal Economies were based on agricultural
  production. They were Agrarian.
• See next slide for diagram of a Manor.

Unbelievable!
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Manorial System

• Serfs worked in the fields growing crops.
• They would then give a (large) share to their
  Lord and or pay a monetary tax.
• That Lord, invariably being a vassal to someone
  else, would then pay homage, give a share to his
  overlord.
• And so on and so on
• Nobles became wealthier the further up the Feudal
  Hierarchy they were.
• A King with many Lords vassal to him would
  obviously be a very wealthy person.

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Peasant House
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Aim why did Feudalism have an impact on
societies of the Middle Ages?

• Listen and then take notes continuously.

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Fin
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Aim why did the feudal status quo of the Middle
Ages slowly begin to collapse from 1300CE to
1500CE?
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Why didnt peasants rebel?

• They did occasionally but lost nearly every time!
  Being treated like dirt is better than almost
  certain death.
• Why did they lose?

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Thats why!
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They are not Commoners!
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They are!
However, they are not nearly as well trained or
armed as Knights. In addition, they are being
paid by a NOBLE.
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• Why else did peasant rebellions fail nearly all
  of the time?
• The same reason why vassal lords had to be really
  careful if they tried to overthrow their
  overlord.
• Answer The structure of the feudal political
  hierarchy itself. See next slide.

Did the answer help?
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Fictitious Land Somewhere in Medieval Europe
made up of 25 manors.
Duke Duke King Lord Lord
Lord Lord Lord Lord Lord
Lord Lord Lord Lord Lord
Lord Lord Lord Lord Lord
Lord Lord Lord Lord Lord
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• Occasionally Nobles did successfully rebel
  against Kings. If the Noble was successful, the
  Noble might become the new King!
• However, when such a rebellion occurred, if
  outnumbered, nobles would frequently hold up in
  and strategically use their

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Castles
Why would the castle play a vital role in
Medieval warfare?
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Edict of 1626 ordering the demolition of the
feudal castles in France
Read this

• For these reasons, we announce, declare, ordain,
  and will that all the strongholds, either towns
  or castles, which are in the interior of our
  realm or provinces of the same, not situated in
  places of importance either for frontier defense
  or other considerations of weight, shall be razed
  and demolished even ancient walls shall be
  destroyed so far as it shall be deemed necessary
  for the well-being and repose of our subjects and
  the security of this state, so that our said
  subjects henceforth need not fear that the said
  places will cause them any inconvenience, and so
  that we shall be freed from the expense of
  supporting garrisons in them.

What was the real reason for doing this? Why?
Read it and think about it. Dont write it down.
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What sort of weapon would destroy the strategic
advantage of holding up in a castle? Why?

• The strategic use of castles and the use of
  knights came to a screeching halt with the
  invention of

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And?
A cannon small enough to be held by a human is
called a?
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BTW
The Ottoman siege of Constantinople, 1453
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Aim why did the feudal status quo of the Middle
Ages slowly begin to collapse from 1300CE to
1500CE?
Why would nobles increasingly lose their power?
And why would power increasingly shift toward
centralized governments E.g. Monarchies?
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• Power shifted increasingly toward a central
  authority, that is a monarch (king).
• Monarchs didnt require the same sort of
  allegiance from their vassal nobles and knights.
• They could use their large personal unskilled
  armies made up of paid commoners armed with guns
  and cannons to easily defeat nobles and destroy
  all castles.
• Thus ended the Medieval Feudal Hierarchy of the
  Middle Ages.

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Fin
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Vocabulary (cont.)

• Commoner One of common birth. Not a noble.
  Majority of the population. Hence common.
• Peasant Another term for a commoner. Later on in
  European history came to mean a rural commoner.
• Serf Someone who lives on a manor and sharecrops
  for the owner of the land, a noble.
• Divine Right The right to rule, normally as a
  monarch, attained from God. That is, having been
  granted the right to rule from God. Used as a
  justification for royal dictatorships.

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Vocabulary
In text

• Monarch The ruler of a land or state, who claims
  that rule through birthright, conquest, and or
  divine right. Normally a dictator.
• Royalty The ruling family of a land.
• King Title normally taken by the male ruling
  monarch.
• Noble Usually a small minority of people who
  distinguish themselves (normally by birth) from
  the majority of people, the commoners, and hold
  positions of privilege within the land. They also
  normally owe allegiance and homage to more
  powerful nobles.
• Duke The most powerful noble title. Often also a
  royal.
• Lord A generic noble title.
• Knight Normally the lowest noble title. Usually
  trained as a highly skilled cavalry soldier.
• Vassal One who owes allegiance and homage to
  another.

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