1. Governance in the Middle Ages
Feudalism & Manorialism

2. The Middle Ages 9th C. Europe
Began when the Western Roman empire fell in the 5th century & faded as the Renaissance took hold across Europe in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries.
It was violent & dangerous, with numerous wars & foreign invasions.
9th C. Europe

3. Video Clips
Dark Ages 1
Dark Ages 2
Dark Ages 3

5. From about 800 to 1000, western Europe was subjected to a series of invasions by Muslims on the Italian Peninsula,  Magyars in Germany and Italy, and the Vikings from the north

6. The Emergence of Feudalism
In the face of these attacks, the various kings & rulers throughout Western Europe were not powerful enough to protect their lands
Simultaneously, the wealthy nobles fought each other for greater territory and power.
The kings made a deal with the nobles, in which they gave nobles land & promised to protect them.
In return, the nobles promised to be loyal to the king & to supply him with armed warriors & other services.

7. Feudalism: Definition
a highly decentralized form of government that stressed alliances of mutual protection between monarchs & nobles with varying degrees of power.
It was based on giving land to nobles in exchange for loyalty & military aid.
political ties between lords & other lords

8. Feudalism: Important Concepts
To fully understand feudalism it is important to understand the following concepts:
Fief: a grant of land given from a lord to a vassal in return for an oath of loyalty & armed warriors (an estate}
Lord: a powerful land-owner who ruled over an area while maintaining allegiance to the king
Vassal: someone who lives on the lord’s land, providing loyalty in return for protection (lesser lords}
Feudal Contract: rules governing the relationship between lord & vassals, based on traditional practices

9. The Feudal Pyramid The structure of feudal society resembled a pyramid
Monarchs
Nobles
Knights
Peasants

10. CONSTRUCTING THE PYRAMID OR POWER

11. CONSTRUCTING THE PYRAMID OF POWER
SERFS AND FREEMEN

12. CONSTRUCTING THE PYRAMID OF POWER
LESSER NOBLES
(KNIGHTS)
LABOR
PROTECTION
SERFS AND FREEMEN

13. CONSTRUCTING THE PYRAMID OF POWER
POWERFUL
NOBLES
LAND AND
PROTECTION
LOYALTY AND
MILITARY SERVICE
LESSER NOBLES
(KNIGHTS)
LABOR
PROTECTION
SERFS AND FREEMEN

14. CONSTRUCTING THE PYRAMID OF POWER
KING
LOYALTY AND
SERVICE
LAND
POWERFUL
NOBLES
LAND AND
PROTECTION
LOYALTY AND
MILITARY SERVICE
LESSER NOBLES
(KNIGHTS)
LABOR
PROTECTION
SERFS AND FREEMEN

15. Social Classes
In the feudal system, status determined a person’s power & prestige
Those who fought (nobles & knights)
Those who prayed (men / women of the church)
Those who worked (the peasants)
These social classes were usually inherited

16. Social Classes
In Europe in the Middle Ages, the vast majority of people were peasants.
Most peasants were serfs, meaning that they could not lawfully leave the place where they were born.
Though bound to the land, serfs were not slaves.
Their lords could not sell or buy them. But what their labour produced belonged to the lord

17. Manorialism: Definition
Closely connected with feudalism was manorialism
Economic system that supported feudalism (A system of agricultural production)
Provided lords & peasants with food, shelter, & protection

18. Manorialism: Important Concepts
To fully understand manorialism it is important to understand the following concepts:
A manor: it might include a village or several villages & the surrounding land administered by a lord
Serfs: Peasants who were tied to the lord’s land on the manor
Demesne: a portion of manor land that a lord reserved for his own use

19. Life on a Manor
Due to invasions, each manor was largely self-sufficient, growing or producing all of the basic items needed for food, clothing, and shelter.
To meet these needs, the manor had buildings devoted to special purposes, such as the mill for grinding grain, the bake house for making bread, and the blacksmith shop for fashioning metal goods.
Notice that one of the fields has been left fallow, or unplanted, so that the soil can replenish its nutrients

22. The Emergence of Feudalism

23. Feudalism: Decline
Changing warfare made armoured knights almost useless
Longbows knocked Knights from their horses
Heavy armour hampered Knights fighting on the ground
Cannons destroyed castle walls
A larger tax base allowed for the emergence of standing armies