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The Manor System

 Peasant Life  Peasants had to pay many taxes to the lord.  Houses were very small and had dirt floors.  Average life expectancy was about 35 years.  Believed that God determined a person’s place in society.

 Knights  To defend their territories, lords raised private armies of knights.  In exchange for military service, knights were rewarded with land.  Knight’s began training at age 7.  Became a full Knight at age 21.  Pasted time by training for war.

 Knights & Warfare  Tournaments  Combined recreation with combat training.  Jousting  Knights guarded castles  The castle was designed for defense  Moats  Watch towers  Thick walls

 Literature of Chivalry  Medieval literature downplayed the brutality of knighthood and feudal warfare.  Troubadours were traveling poet-musicians.  King Arthur  The Song of Roland  Under the code of chivalry, a knight’s duty to his lady became as important as his duty to his lord.  The hero’s difficulties resulted from a conflict between these two obligations.

 Women’s Role in Feudal Society Women were viewed as inferior to men. Noblewomen – Ran the castle/manor while husband was away. – The lives of most noblewomen were limited. – Couldn’t inherit land. Peasant Women – Poor and powerless. – Performed essential work necessary to maintain life on the manor.

Feudalism - a political system in which a lord owned all the land while vassals and serfs farmed it. Noble- belonging to a hereditary class with high social or political status; aristocratic. Knight- a man who served his sovereign or lord as a mounted soldier in armor. Vassal- a person granted the use of land, in return for rendering homage, fealty, and usually military service or its equivalent to a lord Serf- a person required to render services to a lord, commonly attached to the lord's land. Chivalry- the rules and customs of medieval knighthood, including courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms.