Feudalism
Feudalism
The Development of Feudalism
The Vikings were a threat (danger) to the safety of people in Europe. Organized governments like that of the
Carolingian Empire were breaking apart. People began to turn to local land-owning aristocrats, or nobles, to protect
them. To survive, it became important to find a powerful lord who could offer protection in return for service. This led
to the formation of a new political and social order in medieval Europe known as feudalism. One of the major
characteristics of feudalism was the idea of vassalage, or service to a lord.
Knights and Vassals
In Germanic society, warriors swore an oath (made a promise) of loyalty (support and faithfulness) to their leaders
and fought in battles for them. Then the leaders took care of the warriors’ needs. By the eighth century, a man who
served a lord by fighting in wars was known as a vassal.
The Frankish army originally had foot soldiers dressed in coats of mail and armed with swords. (Mail is armor made of
metal links or plates.) There were also horsemen who threw spears. In the eighth century, larger horses and the stirrup
were introduced. (Stirrups are loops in which the horsemen could put their feet.) After that, horsemen also wore coats
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Feudalism
of mail. This was possible because the larger horses
could carry the extra weight of a horseman wearing
the mail. The stirrups helped keep the horsemen on
their horses. As a result, they could use long lances
against enemies in battle and still stay on their
horses. This heavily armored cavalry (group of
horsemen) came to be called knights. Knights
dominated (were of major importance) warfare in
Europe for almost 500 years. The knights had great
social importance and were an important part of the
European aristocracy.
It was expensive to have a horse, armor, and
weapons. It also took time and practice to learn to
use them well. As the royal governments broke down,
the more powerful nobles took control of large areas
of land. When these lords needed men to fight for
them, they gave each vassal a piece of land in
return. The land supported the vassal and his family.
Wealth was based mostly on land in the Early
Middle Ages. As a result, land was the best gift a
lord could give to a vassal.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
The Feudal Contract
Loyalty to one’s lord was the most important virtue, or sign of good behavior, in feudal society. A ceremony was held
to make the relationship between lord and vassal official (formally approved). For example, he would place his
hands together between the lord’s hands. The vassal promised his loyalty to the lord as part of the ceremony.
By the ninth century, the land given to a vassal had become known as a fief (FEEF). Vassals who held fiefs came to
have political authority, or power, within their fief. The number of powerful lords and vassals increased (grew in
number) as the Carolingian empire lost power. This led to the formation of medieval Europe. Many different people
now maintained order instead of a single government.
Feudalism became increasingly complicated, with many levels. The vassals of a king were great lords. These lords
might also have vassals who would owe them military service, or the duty to fight, in return for a grant of land from
their estates. Those vassals might also have vassals. The vassals at the lowest level would be simple knights with barely
enough land to provide income (money coming in).
The lord-vassal relationship bound together large and small landowners. It was an honorable, or respectful,
relationship between free men. No one was thought of as a servant. Feudalism came to be characterized, or defined,
by a set of unwritten rules known as the feudal contract. These rules determined the relationship between a lord and
his vassal. The main duty of a vassal to his lord was to perform military service, usually for about 40 days a year. A
vassal also had to appear at his lord’s court, or place where he was residing, to give advice when he was asked to do
this.
Under the feudal contract, the lord also had responsibilities to his vassals. Of course, he supported a vassal by
granting him land. He also had to protect his vassal by defending him and by taking his side in a dispute, or
disagreement.
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Feudalism
The Nobility of the Middle Ages
European society in the Middle Ages was dominated
by men whose chief concern was warfare. Vassals had
to fight for their lords when needed. The nobles
included the kings, dukes, counts, and barons. Nobles
even included bishops, who often had large landed
estates and a great deal of political power. These
groups formed an aristocracy, or nobility, of people
who held political, economic, and social power.
Great lords and ordinary knights came to form a
common group within the aristocracy. They were all
warriors. The institution of knighthood united them all.
However, there were also social divisions among them
based on differences of wealth and landholdings.
Young knights were trained to be warriors. They had few responsibilities, and so they had little to do but fight. In the
twelfth century, tournaments began to appear. These were contests in which knights could demonstrate, or show, their
fighting skills. The joust had become the main part of the tournament by the late twelfth century. Jousts were individual
combat (fighting) between two knights.
An idea of civilized (well-developed, polite) behavior gradually developed among the nobility in the eleventh and
twelfth centuries. This behavior was called chivalry. The idea was influenced by the Catholic Church. Chivalry was a
code of ethics (ideas of good behavior) that knights were supposed to obey. Knights made an oath to defend the
Church and defenseless people. They were also expected to treat captives, or prisoners, as honored guests instead of
putting them in dungeons. A knight was expected to treat aristocratic women with tenderness, or kindness, and respect.
Women could legally own property, but most women remained under the control of men. They were controlled by
their fathers until they married and then by their husbands if they married. Still, aristocratic women had many
opportunities to play important roles.
The lady of the castle often had to manage the estate because the lord was often away at war or court. This usually
meant managing many officials and servants. The lady also took care of the finances, which took a lot of knowledge.
She was also responsible for supervising the food and maintaining all the other supplies needed for the smooth
operation of the household.
Women were expected to obey their husbands, but there were many strong women who advised, and even
controlled, their husbands. One of the most famous of these was Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was heiress to the duchy of
Aquitaine in southwestern France. Eleanor was married at the age of 15 to King Louis VII of France. The marriage was
not a happy one, and Louis had their marriage annulled (ended). Eight weeks later Eleanor married Duke Henry of
Normandy. He soon became King Henry II of England. She and Henry had eight children. Five of their children were
sons. Two of her sons—Richard and John—became kings of England.
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Feudalism
Feudal Social
Hierarchy
The New Agriculture
Europe had a fairly small population in the Early Middle Ages. During the High Middle Ages, however, the population
almost doubled. Between 1000 and 1300, the population increased from 38 million to 74 million.
What caused this huge increase? For one thing, Europe was more settled (not likely to change) and peaceful after the
invasions of the Early Middle Ages had stopped. Food production also increased after 1000. This was because the
climate changed during the High Middle Ages, and the result was better growing conditions for crops.
Changes in technology also helped to produce more food. Many labor-saving (work-saving) devices, or tools, were
created during the Middle Ages. People began to use the power of the water and the wind to do jobs that humans or
animals once did. Many of these new tools were made from iron, which was mined in different areas of Europe. Iron
was crucial in making the carruca. The carruca was a heavy, wheeled plow with an iron plowshare, or cutting part. This
plow was unlike earlier plows. It was drawn, or pulled, by six or eight oxen and easily turned over heavy clay soils to
prepare ground for planting crops.
The use of the carruca also led to the growth of farming villages, where people worked together. Iron was expensive.
An entire community had to get together to buy a carruca to share. Also, one family could not afford (have enough
money for) a team of animals. So, villagers shared their animals.
Shifting from a two-field to a three-field crop rotation (switch or change on a regular basis) also increased food
production. In the Early Middle Ages, peasants had divided their land into two fields. They planted one field and let
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Feudalism
the other lie fallow, or unplanted, each year. This helped the unplanted field regain its fertility (ability to grow plants).
Each year they switched the field they planted. Then there was a change in this pattern. Lands were divided into three
parts. Peasants planted one field in the fall with grains, such as rye or wheat. These grains were harvested, or picked,
in summer. They planted the second field in spring with grains, such as oats and barley, and vegetables, such as peas
and beans. They harvested these grains and vegetables in fall. They allowed the third field to lie fallow. This way,
only one-third of the land lay fallow at any time instead of one-half. This practice of rotating crops on three fields
kept the soil fertile and allowed people to grow more crops.
The Manorial System
Landholding nobles were a military elite. Their ability to be warriors depended on having
the free time to practice war skills. Landed estates were located on the fiefs given to a
vassal by his lord and farmed by peasants. The land supplied the economic support that
made the economic system of manorialism possible.
A manor was an agricultural estate that a lord managed and that peasants farmed.
Increasing numbers of free peasants became serfs, or peasants legally bound to the
manor. Serfs had to give labor services to the lord, pay rents to the lord, and be under
the lord’s control. Probably 60 percent of western Europeans were serfs by 800 CE.
A serf’s labor services included working the lord’s land. The lord’s land made up one-third
to one-half of the cultivated, or planted, land on the estate, spread throughout the manor.
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Peasants used the rest of the estate’s land to grow food for themselves. Serfs usually worked about three days a
week for their lords. They paid rents by giving the lords part of every product they raised. Serfs also paid the lords
for the use of the manor’s common, or shared, pasturelands, streams, ponds, and woodlands.
Lords had many legal rights over the serfs on their estates. Serfs could not leave the manor without the lord’s
permission. Lords often had political authority on their lands. This gave them the right to try (put on trial) peasants in
their own courts. However, serfs were not slaves. The land assigned to serfs to support themselves usually could not be
taken away. Their responsibilities to the lord remained fairly fixed. It was also the lord’s duty to protect his serfs. He
had to ensure their safety so that they could farm the land.
The life of peasants in Europe was simple. They lived in small houses, or cottages. Their cottages had wood frames
surrounded by sticks. The spaces between sticks were filled with straw and pieces of stone and then plastered over
with clay. Roofs were simply thatched, or covered with straw. The houses of poorer peasants had a single room.
Houses of richer peasants had at least two rooms. A main room was used for cooking, eating, and other activities.
Another room was used for sleeping. There was little privacy in a medieval household.
The seasons of the year determined peasant activities. Each season brought a new set of tasks. Harvest time in August
and September was especially busy. A good harvest of grains, used for making bread, was important to survival in
the winter months. A new cycle of labor began in October, when peasants worked the ground to plant winter crops.
Extra livestock (farm animals) were slaughtered, or killed, in November because there was usually not enough food to
keep the animals alive all winter. The meat would be salted to preserve (keep it from spoiling) it for winter use. The
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Feudalism
land was plowed in February and March for planting spring crops. Crops included oats, barley, peas, and beans.
Early summer was a fairly relaxed time, although there were still weeding and sheepshearing to be done.
In every season, the serfs worked both their own land and the lords’ lands. Serfs had small gardens next to their
homes in which they grew vegetables. The vegetables made up part of the peasants’ diet (the type of food someone
usually eats). The basic part of the peasant diet, and of the medieval diet in general, was bread. Women made the
dough for the bread and formed it into loaves. The loaves were usually baked in community ovens, which the lord
owned. Peasant bread contained wheat, rye, barley, millet, and oats. It was highly nutritious. The ingredients (items
used to make a food) in the bread give it a dark appearance and a heavy, hard texture (feel).
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Feudalism
Vocabulary
Agriculture is the science and business of raising crops and farm animals.
Aristocracy is a class of people who are born into a high social position. They usually have more wealth and enjoy more
privileges than the rest of society.
Climate is the typical weather conditions of a place. It includes average temperature, rainfall, humidity, and other
conditions.
Duchy is a region or area controlled by a duke or duchess.
Dungeon is a dark prison or cell built underground.
Economy is the way goods, money, natural resources, and services are produced and used.
Empire is a group of nations ruled by an emperor or empress.
Estate is a large piece of land, usually with a large home on it.
Heiress is a girl or woman who will receive a lot of money or property after the death of a relative.
High Middle Ages was a period in Europe from about the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries.
Joust was a contest between two people on horseback while using lances or other weapons.
Lance is a long spear made of a wooden pole with a sharp metal point at one end. The lances could be used as battering
rams to break through lines of enemy soldiers or walls or to knock opponents off their horses. In tournaments, a
knight would try to unhorse an opponent with the use of a lance.
Manor is a large piece of land with a house on it. Peasants and serfs lived on the manor and farmed the land. This system
was called the manorial system.
Nobles are people with a high rank or title. They had a great deal of power during the period of feudalism in Europe in
the Middle Ages.
Percent is the number of parts in every hundred. “60 percent of western Europeans were serfs” means that 60 out of every
100 people in western Europe were serfs.
Revive is to bring back or to lead to a rebirth. A revival is the rebirth of something that used to exist.
Sheepshearing refers to the act of cutting off the wool of a sheep.
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