The Early Middle Ages Section 3

The Feudal and Manorial Systems

Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• The Feudal System
• Quick Facts: Feudal Obligations
• The Manorial System
• Daily Life in the Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages Section 3

The Feudal and Manorial Systems

Main Idea
In Europe during the Middle Ages, the feudal and manorial
systems governed life and required people to perform certain
duties and obligations.

Reading Focus
•What duties and obligations were central to the feudal system?
•How did the manorial system govern the medieval economy?
•What was daily life like for people on a manor?
The Early Middle Ages Section 3

The Feudal System

Knights like William Marshal did not exist at the beginning of the
Middle Ages but began to emerge as the period progressed.

Origins of Feudalism Knights and Lords

•Feudalism originated partly as
result of Viking, Magyar,
Muslim invasions
•Kings unable to defend their
lands, lands of their nobles
•Nobles had to find way to
defend own lands
•Built castles, often on hills
•Not elaborate structures; built
of wood, used as place of
shelter in case of attack
•Nobles needed trained soldiers
to defend castles
•Knights most important, highly
skilled soldiers
•Mounted knights in heavy
armor best defenders
•Being a knight expensive; had
to maintain weapons, armor,
horses
•Knights demanded payment for
services
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Fiefs and Vassals

Knights were usually paid for their services with

land
• Land given to knight for service was called a fief
– Anyone accepting fief was called a vassal
– Person from whom he accepted fief was his lord
• Historians call system of exchanging land for service the
feudal system, or feudalism
–
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Feudal Obligations
Oath of Fealty
•Lords, vassals in feudal system had duties to fulfill to one another
•Knight’s chief duty as vassal to provide military service to his lord
•Had to promise to remain loyal; promise called oath of fealty

Financial Obligations
•Knight had certain financial obligations to lord
•Knight obligated to pay ransom for lord’s release if captured in battle
•Gave money to lord on special occasions, such as knighting of son

Lord’s Obligations
•Lord had to treat knights fairly, not demanding too much time, money
•Had to protect knight if attacked by enemies
•Had to act as judge in disputes between knights
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The Early Middle Ages
A Complicated System
Lord and Vassal
•Europe’s feudal system
incredibly complex
•Person could be both lord,
vassal
•Some knights with large fiefs
gave small pieces of land to
other knights, created many
levels of obligations
•One knight could serve many
lords; no prohibition against
knight accepting fiefs from more
than one noble
Section 3
Fealty to King
•Almost everyone in system
served more than one lord
•Theoretically, everyone
supposed to be loyal to the king
•In practice, not everyone loyal
•Some powerful nobles as strong
as kings they were supposed to
serve, ignored duties as
vassals
•Feudal rules specific to time,
place; could change over time;
England’s rules not same as
France’s rules
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Summarize

How did the feudal system work?

Answer(s): lord gave land to knight in return for

protection and loyalty
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The Manorial System

The feudal system was a political and social system. A related system
governed medieval economics. This system was called the manorial
system because it was built around large estates called manors.
Lords, Peasants, Serfdom Free People
• and Serfs •Most peasants on •Manors had some
•Manors owned by farm were serfs, tied free people who
wealthy lords, knights to manor rented land from lord

•Peasants farmed •Not slaves, could not •Others included

manor fields be sold away from landowning peasants,
manor skilled workers like
•Were given blacksmiths, millers
protection, plots of •But could not leave,
land to cultivate for marry without lord’s •Also had a priest for
selves permission spiritual needs
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A Typical Manor
•Most of manor’s land occupied by fields for crops, pastures for
animals
•Middle Ages farmers learned that leaving field empty for year
improved soil
•In time, practice developed into three-field crop rotation system

Rotation Small Village

•One field planted in spring for fall
harvest
•Another field planted in winter for
spring harvest
•Third field remained unplanted for
year
•Each manor included fortified house
for noble family, village for
peasants, serfs
•Goal to make manor self-sufficient
•Typical manor also included church,
mill, blacksmith
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Analyze

How did lords and peasants benefit from the

manorial system?

Answer(s): lords' farmlands were taken care of,

produced food; peasants were provided protection
from invaders
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Daily Life in the Middle Ages

Life in a Castle
•Life in Middle Ages not easy, did not have comforts we have today
•Early castles built for defense not comfort
•Few windows, stuffy in summer, cold in winter, dark always

Space
•Nobles had to share space with others, including soldiers, servants
•Private rooms very rare
•Main room the hall, large room for dining, entertaining

Bedrooms
•In early castles, noble family bedrooms separated from main area by sheets
•Later castles had separate bedrooms; latrines near bedrooms
•Wooden bathtub outside in warm weather, inside near fireplace in winter
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Life in a Village
Despite discomforts, life in a castle was preferable to life in a village.
The typical village family lived in a small wooden one-room house. The
roof was made of straw, the floor of dirt, and the furniture of rough
wood. Open holes in the walls served as windows.

Bedrooms
•Most families slept on beds of straw
on floor
•All shared one room with each other,
animals
•Most glad to have animals to provide
extra heat in cold winters
Meals
•Peasant families cooked meals over
open fire in middle of floor
•Typical meal: brown bread, cheese,
vegetables, occasionally meat
•No chimneys, house often full of
smoke; fires common

The family rose before dawn. Men went to work in the fields; women
did chores. During harvest, the entire family worked in the field all day.
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Contrast

How was life in a castle different from life in

a village?

Answer(s): castle life more comfortable, people

did not have to work in the fields; village life was
very difficult, no comforts, whole family had to
work continually