6th Grade UBD - Unit 9- Medieval Society and Politics

Feudalism and Manorialism- During the Middle Ages in Europe,
the military and political system of feudalism and the economic
system of manorialism developed.

England, France, Spain, and Russia Form Stronger KingdomsThe monarchs of England, France, Spain, and Russia form
stronger kingdoms, which eventually develop into nation-states.

The Crusades and the Hundred Years’ War- The Crusades and
the Hundred Years’ War had a strong cultural and political impact
on Europe.

In today’s Europe, castles can be
seen rising above the landscape
of many towns. Why do you
think people built castles during
the Middle Ages? What do you
think the land around castles was
used for? Why do you think
people stopped building castles?
(5 minutes)

Work with a
neighbor and
compare your
answer with theirs.
What things are
the same and what
things are
different? (3
minutes)

Feudalism was based on a system of a lord granting land
to a vassal in return for services.

Feudalism produced a social system divided into four
classes: kings, nobles and church officials, knights, and
peasants.

Knights followed a code of behavior called chivalry.

Peasants worked the land for their lord and had few
rights
.
Video- Welcome to Medieval Europe
Key Term
Middle Ages- The
Middle Ages are the
period in Europe
between the fall of the
Roman Empire and the
beginning of the
Renaissance. During
this time, Europe was
divided into smaller
kingdoms.

The Middle Ages in Europe
lasted from about 400 CE
to 1500 CE.

This period can be divided
into three sections: the
Early Middle Ages, the
High Middle Ages, and the
Late Middle Ages.

During the Middle Ages,
Europe was divided into
smaller kingdoms.

Secular and religious
authorities struggled for
control and influence
within these states.

The fall of the Roman Empire
in 476 CE had a great impact
on Europe.

The Roman Empire had
provided cultural unity
throughout Europe as well as
protection against outside
forces.

Without the empire, stability
was lost.

Many of the advances in
technology and culture
that occurred during the
Roman Empire halted
during the Middle Ages
and Europe divided into
numerous small
kingdoms.

During the 800s CE, the ruler
Charlemagne managed to
reunite many of these
kingdoms into an empire.

However, after his death,
the empire again
fragmented into smaller
kingdoms.
Key Term
Charlemagne- One of
Europe's most
successful monarchs
who managed to
reunite much of Europe
after the fall of the
Roman Empire.
However, after his
death, the empire again
fragmented into smaller
kingdoms.

Each of these kingdoms
was divided into smaller
sections, called fiefs.

In the Early Middle Ages,
most kings did not have
much control over their
kingdoms over time this
changed.
Key Term
Fief- Land
granted by a
lord to a vassal
in exchange for
loyalty and
service.

Soon after the death of
Charlemagne a political and military
system called feudalism developed.

Within this system, lords owned
huge amounts of land.

A lord could be any nobleman,
member of a high-ranking class
that owned a fief and allowed a
person to use part of it.

Vassals received a portion of the
crops that these peasants
produced.

Vassal promised to be loyal to
and fight for his lord.

Because of this, vassals often
kept an army composed of
professional soldiers called
knights.

Individuals who agreed to
use a portion of a lord’s
land were known as vassals.

Ownership of the land
remained with the lord, but
he allowed the vassal to tax
the peasants on the land
and keep the proceeds.

Feudalism gave rise to
a hierarchical social
system that that
consisted of four
classes: king, nobles
and church officials,
knights, and peasants.
Key Term
Feudalism- A political
system in which nobles
are granted the use of
lands that legally
belong to their king, in
exchange for their
loyalty, military service,
and protection of the
people who live on the
land.

Within Medieval Europe an
economic system called
manorialism developed.

In this system, the central focus
of each fief was the lord’s
manor house.

Some lords developed the
manor house into a castle,
which was often surrounded by
thick stone walls for protection.

The land surrounding the castle
was used for farm buildings,
peasant houses, a grain mill,
orchards, and gardens.

The peasants did most of the work
that was needed on the manor.

In return for their work, the lord
provided protection for the
peasants by maintaining an army.
Video- Feudalism: Life in a Castle

Many peasants who worked on
manors were serfs.

Serfs were not slaves, because
they could not be bought or sold.

However, serfs did not have the
freedom to leave the manor. So
in this way, they were bound to
their lord’s estate.
Key Term
Manorialism- An
economic system
based on the manor
and lands including a
village and
surrounding land
which were
administered by a
lord.
Key Term
Serf- A person who
was allowed to
have a house and a
plot of land in
return for paying
rent to his or her
lord.
Reading Handout- The Workers of Feudalism

During the High Middle Ages,
the economy of Europe began
to get stronger.

Farms yielded more crops,
more people became
prosperous, and the population
grew significantly.

Soon a merchant class began
to arise.

Trade routes developed along
rivers, and roads and towns
sprang up along these routes.

These towns were also
populated by peasants who,
because of the improved
economic conditions, were able
to save money and leave their
manors.

This movement of peasants from
manors to towns caused the system
of manorialism to break apart, and
feudalism to weaken.

The economic recovery also made
kings wealthier. Kings hired
powerful armies, gained control
over their lords, and established
control over large areas.

During the Late Middle Ages
many kingdoms continued to
increase in size and power and
eventually formed into nationstates

During the Late Middle Ages, four
powerful kingdoms developed into
nation-states—England, France,
Spain, and Russia.

During the High Middle Ages, many kings obtained more money,
enabling them to form a strong army, gain more power over lords,
and expand their kingdoms.

Kings gained in power until nobles and church officials forced King
John to sign the Magna Carta.

The Magna Carta has become of model for people who want to
establish a democratic government. Also, the strong kingdoms
established by medieval monarchs developed into modern nations,
such as Great Britain, France, Spain, and Russia.
Reading Handout- The Year 1066

During the Early Middle Ages,
two tribes dominated the
kingdom of England—the
Angles and the Saxons.

In 1066, William of Normandy
and his forces defeated the
Angles and Saxons at the Battle
of Hastings.

William became king of England.

As king set up a strong central
government and established an
advisory council to assist him with
governing.

Later, Henry II set up the English
system of common law—laws that
applied equally throughout
England, including to the nobles.

After the death of Henry II,
Richard I, called Richard the
Lion-Hearted, became King of
England.

He proved to be an ineffective
ruler spending most of his
time away from England
fighting in the Crusades.

After Richard’s death, his
brother John gained the
throne.

King John angered the nobles
with a series of laws and
decrees that the nobles
believed were unfair.

In 1215 CE John was forced to
sign a document called the
Magna Carta.
Key Term
Magna Carta- A
document that
granted a list of
rights to nobles and
limited royal power.
The common
person, gained few
rights from this
document.

The Magna Carta granted a list of
rights to the nobles, thereby
limiting royal power.

The common person, though,
gained few rights from this
document.

Even so, the Magna Carta later
became a model for people who
demanded democratic rights for all.
Video- The Magna Carta

In the Early Middle Ages—
specifically, the early 900s—
French nobles chose Hugh
Capet as their king, thus
establishing the Capetian
dynasty.

This line of kings gradually
expanded and strengthened the
French kingdom.

The High Middle Ages saw the
beginnings of the kingdom of
Spain.

In 1469, Prince Ferdinand of
Aragon and Princess Isabella
of Castile married, thereby
uniting the powerful kingdoms
into one Spanish kingdom.

Ferdinand and Isabella viewed
Muslims and Jews as a threat
to their crown and, as a result,
welcomed the Inquisition in
Spain.

The Inquisition, meant to
stamp out non-Christian and
nonorthodox practice and
beliefs, was carried out across
Europe.

In the Spanish kingdom
the Inquisition was the
worst in Europe Muslims
and Jews, as well as
ordinary Spanish
Christians, were accused,
tried, tortured, banished,
and killed.
Key Term
The InquisitionAn attempt by
the Catholic
Church to fight
heresy.
Key Term
Heresy - The
holding of beliefs
that contradicted
the teachings of
the Church

During the 900s,
Russia consisted of a
group of principalities
that were each
independently ruled by
a prince.

Weakened by civil war, Russia
fell to Mongol invaders led by
Genghis Khan in the 1200s.

Mongol rule over Russia lasted
for more than 200 years.

In the late 1400s, Ivan III drove
the Mongols out of Russia,
beginning the slow process of
unifying the country.
Key Term
Genghis KhanLeader of the
Mongol empire.
Video- Wait For It...The Mongols!

This process culminated in
1547 with the rule of the
Grand Prince of Moscow,
Ivan IV, who became the
first monarch to rule all of
Russia.

This ruler came to be
called the tsar.

The Crusades—a series of military expeditions by
European Christians to gain control of the Holy Land.

The Crusades failed to achieve their goal, but had a strong
impact on the society of Europe and relations between
Christians and Muslims.

The Hundred Years’ War—a series of conflicts between the
English and French for control of France—raged on and off
from 1337 to 1453.

Large-scale warfare defined
Europe in two theaters: the
Crusades and the Hundred
Years’ War.

The Crusades involved land in
the Middle East. Both
Christians and Muslims
consider the land as a sacred
place or Holy Land.

The Crusades themselves were a
series of military campaigns by
Christian nations in Europe.

They were intended to stop the
expansion of Islamic nations and
reclaim Muslim-controlled lands
that were considered holy by
Christians.

Four major campaigns took place
from 1095 to 1212 CE.
Key Term
The Crusades - A
series of military
campaigns by Christian
nations in Europe over
Muslim-controlled
lands that were
considered holy by
Christians.

During the First
Crusade, the European
armies conquered
Jerusalem and other
areas in the Holy Land,
establishing four
Christian states.

In 1144, Seljuk Turks
captured one of these
states, and the Second
Crusade was launched to
recapture this state; it was
unsuccessful, with
European forces defeated
before they could even
reach the Holy Land.

The Third Crusade was
launched in response to
the Muslim conquest of
Jerusalem in 1187.

The Europeans won some
victories but were
outmaneuvered and they
failed to recapture
Jerusalem.

Later the Forth Crusades
would be launched and
would fail to drive the
Muslims from the Holy
Land, and the enterprise
was dropped once and
for all in 1212 CE.

Although the Crusaders
succeeded in controlling part of
the Holy Land for periods of
time, they failed in their goal of
permanently controlling the
region.

Also, their efforts caused bitter
feelings between Muslims and
Christians for centuries.

From 1337 to 1453 CE, the
Hundred Years’ War raged
between the French and
English over control of
France.

This conflict was not one long
war, but rather a series of
wars divided by various
broken treaties.
Video- Legacy of the Crusades

New weapons like the
longbow and cannons
helped England win
the battles of Crecy
and Agincourt during
the Hundred Years’
War.

Joan of Arc was a French
peasant girl who believed
she had religious visions.

These visions told her that
God had chosen the
French king, Charles VII, to
defeat the English and
drive them from France.

Joan went to the king of
France and eventually
convinced him of the
authenticity of these
visions through her
simplicity, passion, and
courage.

Joan soon gained
command of the French
army.

Inspired by Joan’s
leadership, the French
troops broke the English
siege of Orleans, and the
English fled.

Joan was wounded and
captured in a later battle,
and later sold to the
English, who convicted her
of heresy and witchcraft
and sentenced her to
death.

She was burned at the
stake in 1431.

After Joan’s death, French
troops employed the use
of cannons to fight the
longbows of the English
and were able to drive
them out of France by
1453, thereby ending the
Hundred Years’ War.
Key Term
Joan of Arc- Was a
French peasant girl who
believed she had
religious visions, during
which she heard the
voices of saints
instructing her to defeat
the English and drive
them from France.
Reading Handout- Joan of Arc

The Hundred Years’ War contributed to the
decline of feudalism, as castles were no
longer an effective defense against cannons.

The war strengthened the monarchs and
central governments in both England and
France.
Video- The Middle Ages

What has been the
“muddiest” point so far in
this lesson? That is, what
topic remains the least
clear to you? (4 minutes)

Work with a
neighbor and
compare your
muddiest point with
theirs. Compare
what things are the
same and what
things are different?
(3 minutes)