1. Feudalism was the political and military
system of the Middle Ages.

2. In the feudal system, the king was weak. He needed soldiers
In the feudal system, the king was weak. He needed soldiers. He exchanged land for soldiers.

3. To increase the size of his army, he
gave land to lords. In turn, the lords
provided the king with soldiers.

4. Of course, lords could now give some
of their land to lesser lords to increase
the size of their armies.

5. In feudalism, land was power!

6. Without a strong central government,
local leaders made decisions. Lords
were very powerful.

7. Oh, and don’t forget the poor serf.
In dangerous times, he needed
protection. He agreed to give up his
freedom, to never leave his lord’s land,
and work for the lord in exchange for
protection.

8. Yes, land and soldiers are key
characteristics of a feudal system. In
These dangerous times, people live on
the lord’s land.

9. A fief is all of the lord’s land and the
manor is part of a fief. A manor is the land where the people lived and worked.

10. A manor is self-sufficient. It produces
all that the people need. In dangerous
times, people are afraid to travel and
trade.

11. While feudalism offered people
protection in dangerous times, it also
restricted people. The feudal system
was a fixed class system.

12. Birth determined social class. A person
was born a serf or a lord. Social
mobility did not exist.