Name:_______________________
Feudalism: Harmful or Helpful?
Feudalism was the major social and political order in medieval Europe. It developed as power
passed from kings to local lords.
Although King Charlemagne had been able to unify Europe and bring back
an organized government, his successes quickly disappeared. After he died,
everything fell apart. Europe was in chaos again. Since things were
disorganized, Europe was being attacked and invaded by other groups of
people who wanted their land and resources. The most destructive group of
invaders were the Vikings. The Vikings came from Scandinavia in Northern
Europe (what is Norway and Sweden today). They robbed, burned, and
destroyed communities along the coasts and rivers of Europe.
These invasions made trade and travel unsafe. Bridges and roads fell
into disrepair. Shortages of food and others goods grew, and people would
go their whole lives without leaving their village. People saw no reason to
learn; in fact almost no one outside of the church, not even kings, could read
or write. Churches and monasteries became the only places with people who
could read and write (except for Charlemagne’s schools for the elite).
In response to the attacks on their land, the system of Feudalism developed to help
protect Europe. This was a political, social, and economic system that dominated the lives of
Europeans during the Middle Ages. Politically, at that time, Europe was controlled by kings. It
was the king’s responsibility to take care of his land, but since there was no easy way to
communicate with his kingdom, the king split up his land and gave it to noblemen called lords.
The lords had complete control over their piece of land called a manor. The economic portion of
feudalism was centered around the lord's estates or manor, and is called manorialism. A lord's
manor would include peasant villages, a church, farm land, a mill, and the lord's castle or manor
house. They were responsible for protecting the land and growing food on it. Since there was so
little communication between different kingdoms or manors, there was almost no trade or
exchange of new ideas – everything came from the manor. This made the manors self-sufficient
(they were able to provide for themselves). The lords lived in castles, which were large
buildings with strong walls made out of stone, they were sometimes even surrounded by small
bodies of water called a moat. The lords had to build castles to protect themselves and their
possessions from invaders. Besides the castle, the rest of the manor consisted mostly of
farmland, plus a church and small houses where the common people lived. The lords had
responsibilities also under this system. In return for the service and fees paid by the peasants,
they provided land and protection to them. Lords also had to pay fees and give service to high
lords and the king. Feudalism affected all levels of society.
To control their land, the lords depended on loyalty from two different groups of people:
the knights and the serfs. The knights were the sons of other noblemen; they were from higher
members of society. The job of the knights was to protect the manor. They started training when
they were young, sometimes even when they were seven years old. Their job was to make sure
no invaders attacked, and that the castle and farmland were safe. If a war was happening, the lord
could ask the knights to form an army and go fight. Also, the king could always ask the lord to
send him some knights to fight in a different war. The serfs (they were also known as peasants)
did most of the work on the manor, which mostly consisted of farming. They had to farm almost
all day, from sunrise to sunset. It was impossible for a serf to change their social class – if you
were born a serf you would die as a serf. They were not slaves because they could not be bought
or sold, but they could not readily leave the manor either. Serfs were given land to farm in
exchange for service to their lord. This service usually involved working the lord's fields,
maintaining roads and the manor, and providing military service in times of war. Serfs paid
taxes to their lord in the form of crops. This is also how the paid the fee to use the manor's mill
or other services. They could keep a small portion of the food they grew so they can sustain
themselves, but they had to give the rest of it to the lord. The lord would use the food to feed
himself, his family, and the knights.
This system worked because of loyalty. The lord took a pledge to be loyal to the king and
to help him whenever he asked. The knights took a pledge to be loyal to their lord, and to protect
his land and do as he asked. The serfs pledged their loyalty to the land, they would never leave,
and they would always do what the lord asked. Everyone took their pledges very seriously.
Feudalism helped protect Europe, but life was still very hard for most Europeans.
You Be the Historian
Do you think feudalism was more helpful or harmful
in Western Europe’s development? Explain. Could
there have been alternative ways to organize society
instead of feudalism?
Name:_______________________
Feudalism: Harmful or Helpful?
Write down 1 piece of info. for each column that is DIFFERENT than the group
before you.
HARMFUL
HELPFUL
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