Chapter 6 Daily Life in Feudal Europe
I.
Feudal Europe
A. After the victory at the blood-soaked field of the Battle of _________ went to William
the Conqueror, life in England changed for many.
B. William planned to rule in _______, using the system of __________ that was already in
place in France.
C. Vassals paid __________or showed honor, to their lords. The work homage comes from
the French word for “man.” the vassal was to be the lord’s man in body, mind, and
spirit.
D. In 1066, feudalism was not fully developed in __________ and William wanted to
change this.
E. William ordered a survey to be taken of the______________of every bit of land in land.
The results of the survey were written in The ________ ___________ ______, which
became a valuable source of information for the king’s tax agents.
F. Then William distributed the land as _________ to his Norman followers.
II. Life in the Country
A. William and his Norman lords built fortified _____________ on their fiefs all over the island
kingdom of England.
B. By 1100, several hundred castles had been built throughout the countryside. These Norman
_____________helped to shape the lives of the kings, lords, and knights who made up the
__________.
III. Nobles
A. For the lord of the fief, a castle might be home. For others who lived on his land, it was both
a center for ___________ __________ and a place of _________ during battle.
B. A ___________castle was usually built at the top of a hill and surrounded by a deep
_________, or moat. The Norman castle was build for security not _________.
IV. Life in a Castle
A. The lord and lady of the castle usually slept behind a curtain in the _________ ________
_______. Also sleeping in the hall might be a small mob of knights, guests, servants, and
dogs. The floor was covered with herbs to keep down the smell of bones and other
refuse.
B. Life in a castle was far from __________. The knight was often the ________younger
son of a lord’s _________. The lord provided the knight with food, lodging, armor, and a
horse in exchange for his services.
C. But between wars the castle’s knights fought among __________or bullied the
__________unless the lord of the castle kept an eye on them.
D. The lady of the castle had very little power, except over female servants. Medieval
women were supposed to be __________to their husbands and fathers, just as vassals
were subject to their lords.
E. When their husbands were at war, women took over the ________, the entire castle
and entire estate.
V. Peasants
A. The lord’s castle might be a cold, _________ _________. But the peasants, or _______,
who lived in the village n the lord’s estate, had even less comfortable homes.
B. They typically lived with their ________in a hut with a straw roof which helped to
______the hut.
C. Peasants worked hard on land they did not own by ________. The women produced
food and clothing for her own __________.
VI. Clergy
A. The influence of the clergy- from pope, archbishop and bishops to priests, monks, and
nuns-extended to every part of medieval life.
B. Most medieval manors included a small ______. From baptism to marriage to burial, the
_________ of the church guided the lives of medieval men and women.
C. People saw their life on earth as a brief __________for the eternal life to come. They
believed only a few would spend ________in heaven. Many sinners, people believed,
would spend eternity in the flames of hell.
D. The power to ___________or to forgive sinners made the church a considerable force.
E. Many people joined the church to acquire __________ and ___________.
Draw the Pyramid Below:
VII. The Monastery
A. Thousands of monks, nun, and servants also lived and worked in large stone
__________.
B. A monastery was a complex ___________ with many different buildings-granaries,
breweries, bakeries, with huge ovens, wineries, and the abbey church and library.
C. Inside the library monks copied _________books.
D. The ________and ________ taught children, fed the poor, cared for the sick, provided
shelter to travelers.
VIII. Life in the Towns
A. Not all people lived in feudal _________or _________. Peasants seeking freedom,
younger sons of nobles seeking a fortune, and scholars seeking new ideas left the
country manor or towns.
B. Narrow crowed streets with wooden houses showed up against each other with hardly
any light that became the center of _________.
C. Trade _________and the town’s _______.
IX. Guilds
A. Shoemakers, blacksmiths, tailors, weavers, bakers banded together with others for their
trade to form __________.
B. A guild was a _________of people who practiced a trade. Guilds for each trade
________the number of people who could practice that trade.
X. Discrimination Against Jews
A. Many European Jews also lived in towns because they were not allowed to own land.
However, they did not become craftspeople, because they were also not allowed to join
guilds.
B. Many Jews were ___________while others were money __________since this was the
only trade forbidden to Christians.
C. As trade became important, Jews became ___________.
D. During this period, Jews often suffered at the hands of Christians who __________their
wealth and used their __________as an excuse to persecute them.
XI. The Magna Carta
A. Many lords renounced their___________to John and in June of 1215 forced his seal on a
document-The Magna Carta.
B. The Magna Carta focused on the rights of __________. It gave the lords certain rights
that a king could not take away.
C. This subjected the king to the rule of _____ which will be the basis for future reforms
and the Bill of __________.
D. The signing of the Magna Carta signaled the beginning of feudalism’s ___________.
E. The ideas of personal _______ and _________were now firmly planted.