Feudal Society
Study Guide – Accommodated
· After the Viking raids, the people of western Europe wanted security and protection.
· To protect their property (which included people), the nobles raised their own armies.
· One of the social groups under feudalism – the government by landowning nobles – was the clergy, or religious leaders. Their duty was to teach Christianity and help the poor and the sick.
Land and Government
· During feudal times, power was based on the ownership of land.
· Kings began giving soldiers fiefs, or estates, as a reward for their service and loyalty.
· Nobles grew powerful and gained the right to collect taxes and to enforce law in the area they owned.
· Around 900, the nobles took on the duty of protecting their lands and people from the Vikings
· In return, the peasants gave them their lands and promised to work for them in the fields.
· Feudalism was based on ties of loyalty and duty among nobles.
· In the ceremony known as the act of homage, vassals promised to serve the lord and help him in battle.
· Their most important duty was to help the lord in battle by bringing their own army.
· Vassals agreed to pay a ransom for the lord in exchange for his release if he was captured in battle.
The Nobility
· From the 800sto the 1000s, nobles and their families lived in wooden houses surrounded by palisades, or high wooden fences built for protection.
· By the 1100s, nobles were living in huge stone houses called castles.
· In the middle of the castle was located the keep. The great hall and the living quarters of the noble’s household were found here.
· Noblewomen were known as ladies. They help their husbands run the estate, defended the castle when the men were away, raised children , train young girls in household duties and care for the poor and sick on her husband’s fief.
Knighthood
· Knights were expected to follow certain rules known as the code of chivalry.
· These rules stated that the knight was to obey his lord, show bravery, respect women, honor the Church, help the poor, be honest and fight fairly.
· Pages helped the knights of the castle care for their war horses.
· A squire’s duty was to go into battle with his knight. A squire became a knight in a special ceremony known as dubbing.
· Knights trained for war by fighting each other in tournaments.
· The most popular event was the joust.
· Two armored knights on horseback carrying dull lances charged at each other trying to knock the opponent to the ground.
The Manor
· The land was divided into farming communities called manors. They were found on fiefs and owned by nobles.
· The seneschal looked after the noble’s fiefs by visiting them regularly.
· The bailiff made sure the peasants worked hard in the fields.
· Serfs were a noble’s property.
· They could not own their own property or marry without the noble’s permission. They could only gain their freedom by running from the fief and escaping to the towns.
· They did not have to serve in the lord’s army.