Feudalism and Manor Life Chapter 9, Section 3

Feudalism Governs Knights and Nobles Feudalism - the agreement between knights and nobles (vassals and lords). Vassal - A knight who supports, or fights for, a lord (noble) in exchange for land. Knights - Warriors on horses.

The relationship between a lord and a vassal was very important. Lords had to: –Send help to their vassals if an enemy attacked. –Had to be fair to vassals - not cheat them or punish them for no reason. –The vassal could stop fighting for the lord if the lord broke his promises.

Create a question to be answered by your notes.

Lords built castles to protect their land. Early castles were made of wood, not stone and didn’t look like the ones in fairy tales.

If a vassal gained enough land he could become a lord. Vassals duties: –Fight with their lord in battle. –Give their lords money on special occasions; food and shelter when he came to visit.

Create a question to be answered by your notes.

Feudalism Spreads First created by the Franks, but spread to other kingdoms by the 1000s. Feudalism was brought to England by William the Conqueror.

William the Conqueror A French noble, duke of Normandy in France. Claimed that he deserved to be king of England. In 1066 he defeated the English king at the Battle of Hastings and declared that HE was now the king of England. He gave large estates to his knights to thank them for their help. This started feudalism.

Create a question to be answered by your notes.

The Manor System Knights were given land (called a “manor”) for their service, but they didn’t have time to farm it. Peasants needed to grow food to live, but didn’t own land. Knights allowed peasants to work on their land, and the peasants gave the knights food as payment.

Create a question to be answered by your notes.

Peasants, Serfs, and Other Workers -Lords kept some of their land for their own use. The rest was farmed by peasants and serfs. -Serfs – workers who were tied to the land. -Serfs were given their own bit of land and were protected from outlaws.

-Men did the farming. -Women made clothes, cooked, grew vegetables and gathered firewood. -Children took care of the farm animals. -Other workers lived on the manor and produced things that the peasants and lords needed – farm tools, furniture, etc.

Create a question to be answered by your notes.

Manor Lords -Controlled everything that happened on his land, made the rules. -Collected taxes from the people who lived on his manor. -Had servants and large houses. -Fought in wars.

Women in the Middle Ages -Had few rights. -Had to obey their husbands or fathers. -Peasant women worked hard. -Noblewomen ran the manor household and supervised servants, especially when their husbands were at war. -Some women joined the Church.

Create a question to be answered by your notes.

Eleanor of Aquitaine French noblewoman. -Ruled Aquitaine for the French king. -Later became queen of France when she married Louis VII. -Divorced Louis, married Henry II of England.

Towns and Trade Grow Most people lived on manors or farms. Around 1000 AD towns began to grow, become cities. 1. Better farm tools – plow, horse collar 4. More people = more trade 2. Farmers could plant deeper, faster, grow more food. 3. More food = more people 5. Trade routes spread across Europe, Asia and Africa 6. People left farms to work in the city. 7. Feudalism begins to fall apart

Create a question to be answered by your notes.