Feudalism in Europe (13.2) – Flashcards

The Vikings, Muslims and Magyars invaded western Europe and made life difficult. People suffered and feared for their future. They turned to local leaders for help because there wasn't a strong, central government.

Feudalism (the Feudal system) is a political system based on an agreement between a Lord (landowner) and a Vassel (a person who received land from a lord). In exchange for land, (a fief) a vassal promised to help his lord in battle. It affected society because it divided society into three groups - nobles/knights, church, peasants.

a landowner

a person who received land from a lord

A fief is the land granted from a lord to a vassal.

The structure of a feudal society was like a pyramid. In Order: King Nobles & Bishops -- most wealthy and powerful vassals Knights -- mounted horsemen Landless peasants

They are determined by a person's prestige and power. They were classified into three groups: Those who fought - nobles and knights Those who prayed - men and women of church Those who worked - peasants (largest group called serfs - a serf cannot move away from their home)

The lord's land was called a manor. Manors became the centers of economic life. The lord gave peasants land, home and protection. The lord controlled their lives. The peasants worked the land to grow food for the lord, they cared for his animals, and other tasks.. Peasants lived together in small villages and they rarely traveled. Peasants paid taxes on grain ground in the lord's mill. They also tithed (game 10% of their income to the church). Peasants endured these poor conditions because God set their place in society.

Manorialism is the political, economic, and social system by which the peasants of medieval Europe were rendered dependent on their land and on their lord. Its basic unit was the manor, a self-sufficient landed estate, or fief, that was under the control of a lord who enjoyed a variety of rights over it and the peasants attached to it by means of serfdom. The manorial system was the most convenient device for organizing the estates of the aristocracy and the clergy in the Middle Ages in Europe, and it made feudalism possible.

A person donates 10% of their income to the church.

medieval peasant

mounted horsemen who pledged to defend their lords' lands in exchange for fiefs