the medieval period. social structure king and queen ruled over all of the land except for the...
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The Medieval Period
Social Structure
King and Queen Ruled over all of the land except
for the Church
Nobles Paid taxes to kings for favors and
positions at court Position of power over local
villages
Knights and Vassals Served nobles (militarily or
otherwise) in exchange for land
Commoners Known as peasants or serfs, did
not own land, worked on the Knights and Nobles land
KING
LORDS (VASSALS TO KING)
KNIGHTS (VASSALS TO LORDS)
Fief and Peasants
Military Aid
Food Protection Shelter
Food Protection Shelter
PEASANTS (SERFS)
Pay Rent
Fief and Peasants
Farm the Land
Homage Military Service
Loyalty MANORIALISM: ECONOMIC SYSTEM
Agriculture the basis for wealth
Lands divided up into self-sufficient manors
Peasants (serfs) worked the land and paid rent In exchange for protection
Barter the usual form of exchange
FEUDALISM: POLITICAL SYSTEM
Decentralized, local government
Dependent upon the relationship between members of the nobility
Lord and his vassals administered justice and were the highest authority in their land
Role of Women Unmarried women had some rights:
Enter the convent instead of marry Own property Own small business Women in higher classes had some political
power
Married women gave over all their rights to their husband when they were married
All women worked in some capacity to contribute to society on the whole, jobs depended on social rank (run the home, give birth to sons, manual labor, etc)
Violence against women was common
Women were naturally sinful according to the Bible (story of Adam and Eve)
FeudalismThe manor was the lord’s
estate. The manor system was an
economic arrangement between a lord and his serfs.
The lord would provide serfs with housing, strips of farmland,
and protection from bandits.In return, the serfs tended the
lord’s lands, cared for his animals, and performed other tasks to maintain the estate.
The manor was largely a self-sufficient community.
The Church The Catholic Church was the only
church in Europe during the Middle Ages, and it had its own laws and large income.
Church leaders such as bishops and archbishops sat on the king's council and played leading roles in government.
Bishops, who were often wealthy and came from noble families, ruled over groups of parishes called dioceses.
The Parish Priest tended to the sick and indigent and taught Latin and the Bible to the youth of the village
Characteristics of Medieval Literature Romance
Tells of exploits of knights Often a supernatural element
involved
Christian message concern with salvation and the
world to come only interest in spiritual change
Heroism Beowulf Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Literature as moral lesson loyalty to king chivalry