5.5 Feudalism and the Manorial system

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• Middelbare school
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5.5 Feudalism and the Manorial system

Video assignment

1. Watch the following movieclip closely

2. During the video, questions will appear that you need to answer

Good luck!

00:36

What is the name of this medieval sytem?

01:16

What do the lords give to their familymembers?

1. Money
2. Fiefs
3. Gold
4. Weapons

01:16

What do the familymembers give in return for these fiefs?

1. Money
2. Silver
3. Food
4. Loyalty

02:30

What is the name of the economical system in the Middle Ages?

1. The manorial system
2. The Golden Age
3. The industrial system
4. The political system

02:30

How are the people that work on the manors called?

1. Slaves
2. Lords
3. Vassals
4. Serfs

Learning goal:

After this lesson you will be able to explain what the manorial system and the feudal system is

Let's continue..

1. Read pages 115-117 in your textbook
2. Done reading? Look at the slides and check if you understand everything
3. If you have any questions, write them down.

Feudalism

• The king gave large areas of lands to his most important lords, the nobles, as a fief.
• The nobles now controlled the land as vassals to the king and were allowed to keep its produce.
• In return for the land, the vassal had to pledge his fealty to his lord. 
• If the vassals were not loyal, the king could take back his land at any time.
• Some vassals lived at the court of their lord, they became military specialists. They were called knights.
• In the 12th century it was considered an honour to become a knight.

Manors

• Many Christian lords also gave land to bishops and abbots.
• By the end of the 8th century, landowners started to manage their lands using the manorial system.
• A manor was a large piece of adjoining land made up out of two parts: a part on which the lord or vassal lived and a part on which farmers lived.
• The domain was surrounded by the land of the lord.  Further away were forests and barren lands, used to collect wood and develop into farmland.

Serfs

• Farmers depended entirely on their lord; they were called serfs. 
• Serfs were bound to the manor. They could not leave the manor to settle elsewhere without the permission of their lord.
• Serfs had many obligations. They had to give away a big part of their farming produce to the lord of the manor. Serfs also had to perform services for their lord.
• In return the serfs received protection and the right to farm on the lands, 
• Study source 5.37 in your textbook

Self-sufficient

• In many cases the manor was self-sufficient. This means that farmers produce everything they need themselves
• Many of the products that were needed as necessary were grown or made by the serfs.
• Trade took place on a very small scale; farmers sold their surplus on markets.

Manorial system

The Manorial system did not always consist of only two parts. In reality, there were many variations of the manorial system. 

Sometimes the land was split into many pieces, in that case the serfs depended less on their lords.  Sometimes the distance between the serfs and the domain was too great, it became impossible to work on the land of the lord. 

Besides manors, there were also places were free farmers lived. Free farmers did their work without involvement of a lord and focused mostly on livestock.

Famine

• Heavy weather and war violence led to crop failure.
• Greedy lords still demanded their payment of rent. This could cause a food shortage.
• If there were no reserves from previous harvests it would cause a famine.
• Charlemagne made a law that obliged the vassals to help the poor. 

Key words

Feudal system: medieval government system based on the bond between a lord and his vassal.

Fief: the land a lord lent to his vassal.

Nobles: the most important lords that served under a kind

Pledge fealty: to swear loyalty

Knights: vassals who became milirary specialists

Manorial system: system in which lords provided security to their serfs in return for their services.

Manor: large piece of adjoining land.

Domain: Large farmhouse where the lord lived.

Serfs: servants who depended entirely on their lord and were not allowed to leave the domain.

Self-sufficient: when people are able to produce everything they need themselves.

Pledge fealty; true or false?

Vassals had to:

True

False

A promise to stay loyal to the lord

Provide military services in times of war

Take care of the lord's children

Give the lord council when requested

Land of the lord; true or false?

The land of the lord had:

True

False

Workshops such as a mill or brewery

Forests and marshland

Fields where animals could graze

A shop where people could buy supplies

Obligations of a serf; true or false?

A serf had to:

True

False

Pay rent in kind or products

work the fields of the lord and tend to the animals

Cook the lord's dinner

build and repair buildings, weave clothes

Write down three things you have learned this lesson

Write down any questions you still have