Feudalism
7.6.3, 7.6.1
Feudalism’s development in Europe, life of knights/nobles/peasants, trade and guilds in
cities
• Martel starts feudalism in Europe (sort of)
• Martel needs army to stop Muslims from invading France
He gave large farms (estates) to nobles
Nobles would fight for him
• Nobles would then use resources generated by the estates to get horses and weapons
In other words, he would trade crops and goods that were developed on the estate  weapons
& horses
• Martel starts a type of feudalism – on accident
It becomes a new way of organizing society
• Landowners Gain Power, Feudalism Rises
• Charles Martel’s grandson is Charlemagne
Charlemagne was named Roman Emperor by the Pope
• After Charlemagne dies, Europe loses its strong central government
Nobles become more powerful
They collect taxes and impose laws
Farmers and peasants would rely on nobles if invaders came
They could not rely on kings anymore
• This new order of nobles with power is feudalism
Landowning nobles governed and protected the people in return for services like fighting or
farming the land
• A.D. 1000 – European kingdoms were thousands of feudal territories
Some large, some as small as an ancient city-state
At the center of each feudal territory  noble’s castle / fortress
• Understanding Feudalism
• Feudalism was based on bonds of loyalty and duty among nobles
Vassal: someone who served a lord of higher rank
Lord: a person of high rank who had vassals serve him; this lord would protect the vassal in
return
Oath: the vassal would put his hands between the hands of the lord
“To keep faith and loyalty to you against all others.”
• Understanding Feudalism
• A vassal serves in his lord’s army
• In return: lord grants vassal land
The land the lord granted a vassal was called a fief
Vassals would then get to govern those people who lived on their fiefs
• The Rise of Knights
• Vassals who had other live on their lands and served to protect their lords were called…
KNIGHTS
Warriors in armor who fought on horseback
Warriors used to only fight on foot until…
The Stirrup! An armored man can sit on a horse and charge
Swords, shields, and lances (long, heavy spear)
A.D. 700s – 1200s: knights on horseback were the most powerful soldiers in Europe
• Medieval Europe and Japan
-Comparisons•
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• Europe AND Japan had feudal societies
• Japan
Powerful nobles  loose loyalty to Japanese Emperors
Nobles relied on samurai (like the European nobles relied on knights)
Samurai owed loyalty to their lords/nobles (called the daimyo)
Samurai fought for daimyo like…
Knights fought for lords
• BOTH knights and samurai wore armor and fought on horseback
• Feudal System Illustrated
• The Manorial System (part of feudal system)
• Manors: the lands on the fiefs (land granted to vassals) during the Middle Ages
Lords ruled the manor
Peasants worked the land
Some peasants were freemen who paid to farm the land
These free peasants had rights and could leave if they wanted
• The unpleasant (yet often bearable) life of a serf
• Most peasants were serfs
Could not leave manor
Could not own property
Could not marry without lord’s approval
• Serfs were NOT slaves, though
Lords could not take their lands
Lords had a duty to protect their serfs
Serfs needed safety to grow their crops