Feudalism
- Feudalism is a term
used by historians to describe the governmental system and the
relationships between landowners and warriors.
- Warriors, known as
knights, would pledge his allegiance to a lord, who would in turn give
that knight some land.
- The lord would
grant a fief (property) to the knight, who would then become the
lord's vassal (servant)--this was called the "feudal
compact."
- The vassal must
fight for the lord when he needs it and attends his court once a month.
- A vassal was
required to pay homage to his lord, usually this meant kneeling down,
taking the lord's hand, and speaking an oath of loyalty.
- Men were
apprenticed to older knights before they could become a full knight
themselves.
- When a knight died,
his fief would revert to his son, though his lord would be protector of
that son if he was underage, or if it was a daughter.
- The Feudalism of the
Church
- Church land was
bound up in feudalism like most other land.
- Some clergy were
known to fight as knights themselves.
- By the 11th
century, most clergy assigned fiefs to vassals who fought on their
behalf.
- Barons were loads of
large territories who usually paid homage to a king.
- Often a baron's
army could outnumber that of king, which kept a check on the king's
power.
- The divine right of
the king gave him power over his vassals, no matter how much land they
had.
- In countries like
France and England, the kings built up enough land and power to rule
effectively over their barons.
- In the case of
France, the kings of England were vassals of French king, their first
included Gascony, Aquitaine and Normandy.
- Medieval society was
divided into three estates
- Usually the
peasantry farmed on large plantations known as "manors" which
were owned by a lord or lady of the nobility (or a member of the clergy)
- Iron plows and
water-powered grinding mills helped with agricultural production, but the
yield was still miniscule by today's standard.
- To maintain the
health of the soil, the "three-field system" was used where two
fields were planted (one in fall, one in spring, and one field was left
to reconstitute its fertility--then they were rotated.
- Villages sprung up
on and around manors with small cottages for the peasants and a large
manor house for the lord and lady.
- The lord oversaw
major agricultural issues but delegated everyday overseeing to his
stewards or bailiffs.
- The lady of the
house ran household operations, oversaw servants, entertained guests and
ran the manor when her husband was away.
- Most peasants were
serfs, meaning they were bound to the land and to their lords for
"labor service" a few days each week.
- The Location and
Appearance of Towns
- Most medieval towns
were surrounded by walls.
- Residences also
sprang up outside the walls in the suburbs.
- Towns were
dominated by a main church and a central marketplace.
- Buildings for the
craft guilds and the wealthiest families would also be in the center of
the town.
- The Life of the
Townspeople
- Though townspeople
were free, unlike serfs, they still had a hierarchy: merchants at the
top, then skilled craftsmen and artisans, then unskilled laborers and
apprentices.
- Merchants,
craftsmen and artisans formed their own groups called guilds which
regulated their trade and protected it merchants
- Craftsmen were
classified as masters, journeymen, and apprentices
- Once became a
master after spending years learning as an apprentice, working as a paid
journeyman for a number of years, and completing his
"masterpiece."
- Guilds participated
in religious feasts and festivals, social organizations and usually
provided weld for charities.
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