Feudal Europe2nd ESO

Maira Gil Camarón

How was medieval society organised?A period of instability

9th-10th centuries: invasions in western Europe destroyed villages, bridges and roads, sacked monasteries and terrorised the populations: Vikings, Muslims and Hungarians

The monarchs were unable to protect the people, collect taxes or maintain a stable army they relied on the nobles in a system of relationships called vassalageThe peasants needed permanent protection: they got it from nobles with private armies. In return for protection, the peasants had to pay rent and taxes, and work on the nobles’ land, and fell into serfdom. This situation made the nobles very powerful, even more than the king

Vassalage, the basis of FeudalismAlthough the nobles were often more powerful than the king they still recognised the king as the ruler of the country and they paid homage to him:

The homage: the ceremony in which a noble promised to be loyal and obedient to the king or to a more powerful noble. The person who promised to be loyal was called the vassal of the other person. Sometimes kings paid homage to other kings. In this case, they often paid a tax called a tribute. Even alter had paid homage, nobles often rebelled against the king

The investiture: the king gave a fiefdom to a vassal

Many nobles became feudal lords and passed the position on to their children they could transfer part of his fiefdom to lesser nobles (knights) so that they could govern them and maintain a small army

A stratified societyFeudal society: unequalAt the top, the king, and their subjects were grouped into estates closed social groups into which people were born and remained for lifePrivileged: nobility and clergy (a minority). They owned the most of the land and did not work or pay taxes Non-privileged: peasants and artisans (the majority). They had to work and support the other estates. They had no rights and paid taxes to the lord and to their lords

Orders and their roles:Nobles had to fight to protect the others

Clergy had to pray for the salvation of the othersPeasants had to work to provide food for the others

The feudal monarchySanctity and heritage / The king’s powers

Feudal Europe was divided into numerous kingdoms and independent states governed by sacred kings: a king was king by the grace of God. Their authority was (in theory) very broad: they led the army, legislated and judged. But, in practice, they were merely the “first among equals” because the great nobles and clergy acted with a high degree of independence.The kings governed with the help of the Curia Regis (or Royal Council), an assembly of nobles and clergy who advised then on major issues. In terms of administration, the kingdoms were divided into counties ruled by counts, and duchies governed by dukes.

Kings and emperorsThe kings were crowned by the bishops but the emperor was crowned by the Pope in the 10th century, Otto I of Germany (Holy Roman Empire) was crowned as emperor by the Pope European Christianity had two representatives, the emperor to provide military defence and the Pope to provide spiritual authorityThe Holy Roman Empire continued for many centuries, but the emperor’s authority and the title of emperor ended up becoming an honorary title, with little real power.

The privileged: the NobilityThe nobility: Knights and Ladies

They had to fight to protect the others, so their most important activity was training for battle taking part in joust and tournaments. The king could summoned them to war and they had to go with their troopsThey also went hunting on horseback and practised falconryLadies were responsible for the servants and domestic matters

The privileged: the clergyChurch regulation of social life

The church was the most important building during the Feudalism it marked the rhythm of the daily life, announced mass, warning…The Church organised the ceremonies in the life of the humans (baptism, marriage, funeral) and festivities (Christmas, Easter…)Christians had certain religious obligations: pray every day, go to mass on Sunday, fast during Lent… and they had to practise charity and make a pilgrimage to holy sites (Rome, Jerusalem, Compostela…)

A rich and influential institutionThe Church: the most influential institution in Medieval Europe great riches and clergymen held privileged positions and enjoyed high standard of livingThe Church owned land and buildings (monasteries, convents, churches) and received a tithe from peasants living on its land and donations from its parishionersThe Church helped the poor, cared for the sick and taught in monastery schools

The organisation of the ChurchClergy: men and women who dedicated their lives to the Church. At the top was the Pope, who lived in Rome.

Secular clergy: priests and bishops who attended the believers in their churches

Regular clergy: monks and nuns dedicated to prayer monasteries in the countryside or convents in cities

Not all members enjoyed the same standard of living:High clergy (cardinals, bishops, abbots…) had the same

privileges than the noblesLower clergy (parish priests, monks…) lives similar lives to the

peasants

A fiefdom: lord and peasantsMedieval Europe was an agrarian world where wealth was based on land ownership fiefdoms or manors were large territories belonging to the king or granted by him to the nobility/clergy in exchange for their services. They were not private property, they were entailed property: they could be inherited by the lord’s descendants but not sold.Manors consisted of two parts:The demesne or domain was the best land that the lord reserved for himself. The castle and the communal pastures and forest were located on this landDependent holdings: plots of land that the lord provided to serfs or free peasants, and which they farmed and built their houses on, in exchange for their labour and taxes

The lord lived from manorial rents

The land under the control of the lord: fiefdom. The lord gave plots/land (holdings) to peasants in exchange for labour and taxes (manorial rents)The peasant had to work a period of time on the lord land’s (personal services), give them part of the harvest and contribute towards the maintenance of the castle and services. They have to pay to use the oven, the mill, the blacksmith’s… (monopoly rights)In addition to his economic rights, the lords enjoyed jurisdictional power and rights the lord would issue orders, impart justice, collect taxes… The lord had complete authority over the fiefdom and had to guarantee the protection of the peasants in case of war.

Peasants worked the land

Peasants: 90% of the populationFree peasants or villains they owned their own lands (allods) and were not legally bound to a lord. They had the right to get married, leave the fiefdom, learn a trade…Serfs they worked the lord’s land and had no personal freedom. They could not leave the fiefdom, get married or leave inheritance without the permission of the lordThey all lived in small villages or on isolated farms and had the right to collect firewood from the forest and graze their livestock on the pastures

WORKING THE FIELDSTo avoid depleting the soil, peasants rotated their crops. First they used a two-crop system, then a three-crop system. In both cases, part of the land was left fallow:First year: fertilisers were not available, so one plot of land was left fallow for the soil to recoverSecond year: the plot of fallow land was cultivated, while the other was left to recoverThe main crops were cereals, pulses, grapevines and olives. In gardens, vegetables and fruit trees