Agenda
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Short review on feudalism (use the same notes from last class)
A taste of medieval life (reading and short response)
Word search-assigned
Crossword puzzle- extra credit
Time to work on the assignments from last class
DUE TODAY1. Notes on the Middle Ages (including the article you read last class
on feudalism and the notes from today)
2. Coat of arms
DUE NEXT CLASS1. Word search/crossword puzzle
Quick Vocabulary
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Vassal- a man who served a lord in a military capacity
Knight- a member of the heavily armored cavalry
Cavalry- soldiers who fight on horseback
Fief- the grant of land made to a vassal; the vassal held
the political authority within his fief
• Feudal contract- unwritten rules that determined the
relationship between a lord and his vassal
• Tournaments- contests where knights demonstrated
their fighting skills
• Chivalry- a code of ethics that knights were supposed
to uphold
Feudalism
• Feudalism was based on the exchange of land
for military service. King William the
Conqueror used the concept of feudalism to
reward his Norman supporters for their help
in the conquest of England. Life lived under
the Medieval Feudal System, or Feudalism,
demanded that everyone owed allegiance to
the King and their immediate superior.
How does feudalism work?
Middle Ages Feudalism
• The good thing about Middle Ages Feudalism was
that is was possible for everyone to move higher up
the ranks of the pyramid of power and this is what
everyone aspired to do. Medieval Squires and Pages
of the Middle Ages wanted to become knights. A
Middle Ages Knight who proved valiant in battle or
was successful at jousting in tournaments could
become wealthy and ambitious because of Middle
Ages feudalism. His wealth could pay for a manor
house or even a castle. If his importance in the land
increased it became possible for him to join the
nobility. The most powerful nobles even aspired to
be King - and the Medieval history of the Middle Ages
under the feudalism pyramid describes such coups.
Impact of Feudalism
• Feudalism had a dramatic effect on England and
Europe during the Middle Ages. The pyramid of
power which was the Feudal system ran to a
strict 'pecking' order - during the Medieval
period of the Middle Ages everyone knew their
place. The emergence of the Medieval Feudal
System of the Middle Ages affected all spheres of
Medieval society: a land-based economy, the
judicial system and the rights of the feudal lords
under the feudal system and the lack of rights for
the serfs and peasants. Next class- the decline of
feudalism….
A taste of life in the Middle Ages….
• As Nielsen reads the article, “Curling Up with
the Rats…Sleeping Arrangements in Medieval
Castles,” write down a list of 8-10 things that
would make living in the Middle Ages
appealing or not appealing.
TURN IN:
1. Notes from yesterday and today (stapled)
2. Coat of Arms assignment