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WHAT IS FEUDALISM?
The political, economic and social system that predominated in Western Europe between the 9th and 14th centuries.
FEUDALISM: ORIGINS AND CAUSES
The fall of the Roman Empire because of the Germanic invasions
+
The lack of security in the borders
Many asked for protection to powerful people
FEUDALISM: ORIGINS AND CAUSES
Charlemagne encouraged FEALTY (=vasallaje) between his nobles. That implied two things:
1. The vassal offered services to the lord.
2. In exchange, the lord must maintain economically to the vassal.
ACTIVITY
Translate into Spanish the following text:
Feudalism was the medieval model of government. Feudal society is a military hierarchy in which a ruler or lord offers mounted fighters a fief (beneficium), a unit of land to control in exchange for a military service.
FEUDALISM: ORIGINS AND CAUSES
• To maintain economically a vassal, the lord gave him a piece of land.
• This piece of land is called FIEF.
• The fief consisted of a rural estate composed of extensive areas of arable land, pastures and forests where people hunted and obtained firewood and other products (fruit, timber, medicinal plants, honey, etc.)
The fief
• The fief was divided into two parts:
– Demesne: land exploited directly by the lord. It consisted of farmland, pastures and wood. It was farmed by serfs.
– Tenements: plots of land the lord gave to free peasants in exchange for rent, services or a part of the harvest.
THE SECOND ASSAULT TO CHRISTIAN EUROPE
• During the 9th-11th centuries there was a second wave of invasions to Europe. The invaders were…
THE SECOND INVASIONS…
• …helped to spread the political, social and economical system of feudalism throughout Western Europe.
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM
• Eventually, the fief became hereditary…
• … and a ceremony was established:
The commitment between the vassal and the lord was sealed with an act of homage.
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM
• The vassal swore fealty (=loyalty) to his lord, and swore to provide him with military help (troops) and advice.
• The lord swore to protect his vassal and provide him with resources he needed to make a living: a fief.
• It is very important not to forget that this agreement was between FREE MEN.
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM
• Gradually, a pyramidal system was created. For example, a noble could be a vassal of a king and, at the same time, he could be the lord of another noble.
• That made the kings weak. Can you see why?
THE FEUDAL SOCIETY
• At the same time, the feudal lords exercised their authority over the peasants who worked on the fief.
THE FEUDAL SOCIETY
• The feudal society sets up in close groups. You belong to a group by birth.
• Those groups are the ESTATES OF THE REALM. There were two kinds of estates:
– PRIVILEGED ESTATE: nobility and clergy.
– NON-PRIVILEGED ESTATE: all the people who were not members of the clergy or nobility belonged to this group. They were peasants, crafstmen, traders…
THE FEUDAL SOCIETY
• The PRIVILEGED ESTATE justifies this organization thanks to the THEORY OF THE THREE ORDERS:
PRIVILEGED ESTATE: NOBILITY
Nobles dedicated their time to fighting wars, hunting and leisure. There were two different groups within this estate:
1. Higher nobility – dukes, marquises, counts, etc. They were vassals of the king and lords of other vassals. They lived in castles, collected taxes and administered justice in their fiefs.
PRIVILEGED ESTATE: NOBILITY 2. Lower nobility: knights, who possessed
nothing except their weapons and their horse. They were vassals of the feudal lord. .
ACTIVITY • Use the following link to tag the parts of an armour
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Components_of_medieval_armour
PRIVILEGED ESTATE: CLERGY
• Clergy: a group of persons dedicated to a religion.
• There were two kinds of clergy:
1. Secular clergy: priests who depended on a bishop.
2. Regular clergy: members of a religious order who lived in a monastery.
PRIVILEGED ESTATE: CLERGY
• Within the clergy, there were two different groups:
Higher clergy: bishops and abbots, who generally belonged to noble families. They were feudal lords.
Lower clergy: the rest of the clergy: priests, monks, nuns…
NON-PRIVILEGED ESTATE: PEASANTRY
• They represented about 90% of the population.
• All peasants had to pay a TITHE to the Church.
• Peasants could be free or serfs.
• Free peasants cultivated the tenements.
• Serfs could not leave the fief. Most of them worked on the demesne lands.
THE FEUDAL ECONOMY
• The economy was mainly based on agriculture and livestock.
• Trade almost disappeared. Communications were cut off because of the frequent wars.
• Agriculture was based on the two-year crop rotation.
• At the end of the 10th century, they began to use watermills and windmills.
THE FEUDAL ECONOMY
• The lords exploited the peasants thanks to the control of the MANOR. In Spanish, manor means señorío.
• This is the key of the feudal system!
ACTIVITY
• According to the explanation of manor, try to give an explanation of the following term:
MANORIALISM
THE FEUDAL ECONOMY
• The lord exercised his authority in two ways:
–Territorial (Señorío territorial): Peasants worked the land. They also paid taxes (in kind, money or labor).
–Jurisdictional (Señorío jurisdiccional): The lord has judicial power, political power and economic power (collecting taxes).
ACTIVITY
• Draw a plan of your own manor. Do not forget to include all its elements.
• Draw your own castle, tagging its main parts.
THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION
• Religion during Middle Ages played a very important role, affecting directly to:
– DAILY LIFE
– SOCIETY ORGANIZATION
– POLITICS
– CULTURE
– ART
THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION
• The leaders of the Catholic Church (popes, bishops) supported kings and emperors.
• THINK ABOUT THAT: Do that sound logic to you?
The monastery: The first monasteries were founded during the 5th century. A monastery is under the authority of an abbot/abbess
ACTIVITY
Go to the next link and locate the main parts in a monastery:
http://www.berkshirehistory.com/kids/abbey_plan.html
THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION
The life of monks/nuns are determined by three rules:
1. Poverty.
2. Obedience.
3. Chastity.
ACTIVITY
• Investigate about the first three crusades:
– Why did they happen?
– Which were the consequences of the Crusades?
– Why do these attacks receive the name of “crusade”?