“From the fury of the Norseman, save us O’ Lord”

HOW was this prayer answered?

Objective to identify how :

In Europe during the Middle Ages, the feudal and manorial systems governed life and required people to perform certain duties and obligations.

The Feudal and Manorial Systems

Knights did not exist at the beginning of the Middle Ages but began to emerge as the period progressed.

• Feudalism originated partly as result of the Viking, Magyar, Muslim invasions

• Kings were unable to defend their lands, lands of their nobles

• Nobles had to a find way to defend their own lands

• They built castles, often on hills• Not elaborate structures; built of

wood, used as place of shelter in case of attack (motte and bailey)

Origins of Feudalism• Nobles needed trained soldiers to

defend castles• Knights were the most important,

highly skilled soldiers • Mounted knights in heavy armor

were the best defenders• Being a knight was expensive; they

had to maintain weapons, armor, horses

• Knights demanded payment for services

Knights and Lords

The Feudal System

Fiefs and Vassals

Knights were usually paid for their services with land

• Land given to a knight for service was called a fief.

– Anyone accepting a fief was called a vassal.

– The person from whom he accepted the fief was his lord.

• Historians call the system of exchanging land for service the feudal system, or feudalism.

Oath of Fealty• Lords and vassals in feudal system had duties to fulfill to one another.• A knight’s chief duty as vassal was to provide military service to his lord.• He had to promise to remain loyal; A promise called the oath of fealt.y

Lord’s Obligations• Lord had to treat knights fairly, not demanding too much time or money.• He had to protect the knight if he was attacked by enemies.• He had to act as judge in disputes between knights

Financial Obligations• Knight had certain financial obligations to lord.• Knight obligated to pay ransom for lord’s release if captured in battle.• Gave money to lord on special occasions, such as knighting of son.

Feudal Obligations

• Almost everyone in the system served more than one lord.

• Theoretically, everyone supposed to be loyal to the king.

• In practice, not everyone was loyal• Some powerful nobles as strong as

kings they were supposed to serve, but ignored their duties as vassals

• Feudal rules specific to time, place; could change over time; England’s rules were not same as France’s rules

Fealty to King • Europe’s feudal system was incredibly

complex.• A person could be both lord and

vassal.• Some knights with large fiefs gave

small pieces of land to other knights; this created many levels of obligations.

• One knight could serve many lords; no prohibition against knight accepting fiefs from more than one noble.

Lord and Vassal

A Complicated System

The feudal system was a political and social system. A related system governed medieval economics. This system was called the manorial system because it was built around large estates called manors.

• Manors were owned by wealthy lords and knights.

• Peasants farmed manor fields.

• They were given protection, and plots of land to cultivate for selves

Lords, Peasants, and Serfs

• Most peasants on farm were serfs, tied to manor.

• They were not slaves,. They could not be sold away from manor

• But could not leave, or marry without lord’s permission

Serfdom

• Manors had some free people who rented land from lord. They were known as tenants.

• Others on the manor included landowning peasants, skilled workers like blacksmiths, millers

• Also had a priest for spiritual needs

Free People

The Manorial System

• Most of the manor’s land was occupied by fields for crops, pastures for animals.• Middle Ages farmers learned that leaving a field empty for year improved soil.• In time, this practice developed into three-field crop rotation system.

• One field was planted in spring for fall harvest.

• Another field was planted in winter for spring harvest.

• The third field remained unplanted for year.

Rotation• Each manor included a fortified house

for noble family, and village for peasants and serfs.

• The goal was to make manor self-sufficient.

• The typical manor also included a church, a mill, and a blacksmith

Small Village

A Typical Manor

Life in a Castle• Life in the Middle Ages was not easy. They did not have comforts we have today.• Early castles were built for defense, not comfort.• They had few windows. They were stuffy in summer, cold in winter, and dark

always.

Bedrooms• In early castles, the noble family bedrooms were separated from main area by

sheets.• Later castles had separate bedrooms with nearby latrines.• A wooden bathtub was placed outside in warm weather, inside near fireplace in

winter.

Space• Nobles had to share space with others, including soldiers and servants.• Private rooms were very rare.• Main room was the hall. It was a large room for dining and entertaining.

Daily Life in the Middle Ages

The family rose before dawn. Men went to work in the fields; women did chores. During harvest, the entire family worked in the field all day.

Despite discomforts, life in a castle was preferable to life in a village. The typical village family lived in a small wooden one-room house. The roof was made of straw, the floor of dirt, and the furniture of rough wood. Open holes in the walls served as windows.

• Most families slept on beds of straw on the floor.

• All members shared one room with each other and animals.

• Most were glad to have animals to provide extra heat in cold winters.

Bedrooms

Life in a Village

• Peasant families cooked their meals over an open fire in the middle of the floor.

• Typical meal: brown bread, cheese, vegetables, and occasionally meat.

• Their were no chimneys. The house was often full of smoke; and fires were common.

Meals