Germanic invaders raided the western half of the Roman Empire
1. Constant fighting
2. Disruptions in trade
 Cities no longer economic centers
3. Downfall of cities
 Governments collapsed
 Nobles retreat to rural areas
URBAN people move to RURAL areas
consequences of population shift to rural areas
literacy declined
loss of common language
 Germanic invaders mixed with the Romans
only way to be educated was
through Catholic Church
different languages evolved from Latin
-French
-Spanish
breakup of unified empire
 kings couldn’t defend lands
 people loyal to local leaders with armies
REMEMBER:
the feudal system was based on rights and obligations
Feudalism- system of exchanging land for
service
Fief- granted land
Lord- the landowner, he gave permission for people
to use his land
Vassal- the person using the land
Manor- the lord’s estate
The Manorial System
The feudal system was a political and social system. A related system
governed medieval economics. This system was called the manorial
system because it was built around large estates called manors.
Lords, Peasants,
and Serfs
• Manors owned by
wealthy lords, knights
• Peasants farmed
manor fields
• Were given
protection, plots of
land to cultivate for
selves
Serfdom
Free People
• Most peasants on
farm were serfs, tied
to manor
• Manors had some
free people who
rented land from lord
• Not slaves, could not
be sold away from
manor
• Others included
landowning peasants,
skilled workers like
blacksmiths, millers
• But could not leave,
marry without lord’s
permission
• Also had a priest for
spiritual needs
King
Nobles
&
Church Officials
Knights
Peasants
Serfs
• The land legally belonged to the king
• Nobles granted use
of land if they
Swore loyalty to king
Gave military services
to king
• Powerful vassal
• Wealthy
• Controlled Knights
Noblewoman
• Could inherit estates her
husband
• Held little property
 Land passed to sons
• Could send knights to war
• If husband was off fighting
 Military commander
 Warrior
• Basic education
Church Official
• Powerful vassal
• Church was the bond
among the divided social
classes
• Peasant families paid a
tax of one-tenth of their
income (tithe) to the
church
• Nobles were always fighting each other
Needed skilled warriors to defend land
• Pledged to defend land in exchanged for fiefs
• Wealth from land allowed them to devote lives to war
• Started training at age 7
Warfare
• Knights in the Middle
Ages wore armor in battle
and were heavily armed.
• Armor was made of chain
mail—small, interlocking
metal links stitched to a
knee-length leather shirt.
• The knight would also
wear an iron helmet and
carry a sword, a large
shield, and a lance.
Warfare
• When gunpowder was
invented during the late
Middle Ages,
overlapping metal
plates replaced chain
mail.
• Plate armor was so
heavy that knights had
to be hauled onto their
horses with cranes.
Knight Life
• To become a knight, a boy had to belong to the noble
class and had to pass through two stages of training.
• Page- The first stage began at about the age of seven.
• The page would learn knightly manners and how to use
and care for weapons.
• Squire- the second stage usually the boy was a
teenager.
• The squire would take care of the knight's horse,
armor, and weapons.
• When ready, the squire would accompany the knight
into battle.
• If the squire proved himself to be a skilled and
courageous fighter, he would be knighted in an
elaborate religious ceremony.
Knight Life
• A knight's coat of arms
identified him
• A coat of arms was a
symbol that
represented his
personal characteristics.
• A coat of arms was
passed along from one
generation to the next.
•
•
•
•
Worked land
Cared for animals
Maintained Estate
Owed lord
Several
workdays a
week
Portion of
grain
produced
• Paid high taxes to live
on land
• Most traveled no more
than 25 miles from
where they were born
• Worked next to men in
fields
• Ran households and had
children
• Girls learned household
skills
• People who couldn’t leave the place
they were born
• Not slaves
 Couldn’t be bought or sold
- all labor produced belonged to lord
• Lord provided
 Housing
 Farmland
 Protection from bandits
• Created everything the lord needed
• Most children didn’t survive till
adulthood
• They were not allowed to hunt on the
lord’s land so they rarely ate meat.
• Serfs had short life expectancies due
to disease, starvation, and frequent
warfare.
king
Noble
Church
Official
Knights
Peasants/Serfs
A Typical Manor
• In return for being able to work the land, the peasants gave the lord some of
their crops (taxes) and helped to farm his land.
• Most of manor’s land occupied by fields for crops, pastures for animals
• Middle Ages farmers learned that leaving field empty for year improved soil
• In time, practice developed into three-field crop rotation system
Rotation
• One field planted in spring for fall
harvest
• Another field planted in winter for
spring harvest
• Third field remained unplanted for
year
Small Village
• Each manor included fortified
house (castle) for noble family,
village for peasants, serfs
• Goal to make manor self-sufficient
• Typical manor also included
church, mill, blacksmith
Daily Life in the Middle Ages
Life in a Castle
• Life in Middle Ages not easy, did not have comforts we have today
• Early castles built for defense not comfort
• Few windows, stuffy in summer, cold in winter, dark always
Space
• Nobles had to share space with others, including soldiers, servants
• Private rooms very rare
• Main room the hall, large room for dining, entertaining
Bedrooms
• In early castles, noble family bedrooms separated from main area by sheets
• Later castles had separate bedrooms; latrines near bedrooms
• Wooden bathtub outside in warm weather, inside near fireplace in winter
Castles
• A castle was a fortified base from which the lord
enforced his authority and protected the
surrounding countryside.
• In the early Middle Ages, castles were simple
structures made from earth and wood, later they
were made from stone.
• Castles were usually built on hills or other
landforms that would prevent easy attack.
• If a castle was on flat land (difficult to defend) a
moat and drawbridge were built
BUILDING A MOTTE AND BAILEY CASTLE:
The Normans had invented a way of
building castles quickly. It was a bit like
making sandcastles but on a much bigger
scale.
On top of the mound they built a tower
and surrounded it with a wooden fence.
This was the strongest point of the castle.
After digging a ditch, they raised a great
mound in the middle. This was called a
“motte” which is French for “mound”.
Below the motte there was another enclosure
surrounded by a fence. This was called the
“bailey’. The Normans built motte and bailey
castles all over England
Castles
• The keep was the main
part of the castle. It was a
strong tower that usually
contained storerooms,
workshops, barracks and
the lord's living quarters.
• A castle's rooms had thick
walls and small windows
with no glass so they
were usually dark and
chilly.
Life in a Village
Despite discomforts, life in a castle was preferable to life in a village.
The typical village family lived in a small wooden one-room house. The
roof was made of straw, the floor of dirt, and the furniture of rough
wood. Open holes in the walls served as windows.
Bedrooms
Meals
• Most families slept on beds of straw
on floor
• Peasant families cooked meals
over open fire in middle of floor
• All shared one room with each
other, animals
• Typical meal: brown bread, cheese,
vegetables, occasionally meat
• Most glad to have animals to
provide extra heat in cold winters
• No chimneys, house often full of
smoke; fires common
The family rose before dawn. Men went to work in the fields; women
did chores. During harvest, the entire family worked in the field all day.