Chapter 13

1. Chapter 13 Section 2 Feudalism in Europe

2. New invasions Trouble Western Europe • Invasion completely destroyed the Carolingian Empire • Muslims seized Sicily and raided Italy eventually sacking Rome • Magyars terrorized Germany and Italy • From the north the most dreaded attackers of all - Vikings Vikings: Raiders, Traders, and Explorers • Vikings sail from a cold, wooded region Scandinavia • Called Northmen or Norsemen

3. Worshiped warlike gods • Carried out raids with terrifying speed • Viking warships were awesome - help up to 300 warriors • Not only warriors but traders, farmers, and outstanding explorers • Viking explorer, Leif Ericson most likely reached North America are 1000 • About that time Viking terror in Europe faded away • They gradually accepted Christianity and began creating agricultural settlements in Iceland and Greenland

4. Magyars and Muslims • As Viking attacks declined the Magyars began attacking from the east • Superb horseback riders • Invaded western Europe around 800 – not there to conquer land but sell conquered ppl into slavery • Muslims began attacking from the East • Tried to conquer and settle Europe 600’s -700 • 800’s – 900 their goal was to plunder • These attacks caused widespread disorder • Most Europeans lived in constant danger, central authority proved useless • Began looking to local rulers for security

5. Feudalism Structures Society • Viking Chief Rollo and Charles the Simple, King of France, former enemies met in a peace ceremony • Charles granted Rollo French territory, and Rollo swore a pledge of loyalty in return A new Social Order • 850 – 950, worst years of invading attacks • Ruler and Warriors made agreement all over Europe • System of governing and landowning called feudalism had emerged in Europe

6. Based on mutual obligations • Exchange for military protection and other services, a lord, granted land called a fief • The person receiving a fief was called a vassal The Feudal Pyramid • Peak was the King • Next – powerful vassals – wealthy landowners like nobles and bishops • Beneath Vassals were knights • Knights – mounted warriors who pledged to defend their lords land in exchange for fiefs • Base – landless peasants who toiled the fields

7. In practice the feudal system did not work so simply • Relationships between lords and vassals were never clear cut • Feudal pyramid became complex tangle with conflicting loyalties – each using them to their own advantage Social Classes Are Well Defined • Status determined a person prestige and power • Social class was usually inherited • Vast majority of people were peasants – most peasants were serf • Serfs could not lawfully leave the place they were born

8. Manors: The Economic Side of Feudalism • Manor – the lords estate • Manor system was a basic economic agreement • Rested on a set of rights and obligations between a lord and his serf • Lord provided the serf with housing, strips of farmland, and protection from bandits • Serfstended the lords lands, cared for his animals, performed other tasks to maintain the estate

9. A Self Contained World • A lords manor usually consisted of a manor house, a church and workshops • 15 to 30 families lived on the manor • Fields, pastures and forests surrounded the village • Streams and ponds provided fish, an important food source

10. The Harshness of Manor Life • Peasants paid a high price for living on the lords land • Taxes on all grain ground at the mill, tax on marriage • Trying to dodge these taxes was treaded as a crime • Paid a tithe, or church tax, 10% of their income • Serfs lived in small huts with dirt floors, bringing in pigs to warm the house at night and sleeping on a pile of straw

11. Chapter 13 Section 3 The Age of Chivalry

12. Warriors on Horseback • Mounted soldiers became valuable during Charlemagne reign • Charles Martel observed the Muslim cavalry • He organized Frankish troops of armored horsemen, or knights The Warrior’s Role in Feudal Society • 11th century, western Europe was a battleground of warring nobles • Lords raised private armies, rewarding knights with fiefs • Fiefs allowed knights to devote their lives to war • Obligation was to serve 40 days in battle a year

13. Knighthood and Chivalry • Knights were expected to display courage in battle and loyalty to their lord • Chivalry – a complex set of ideals, demanded a knight fight bravely in defense of his three masters • Earthly feudal lord • Heavenly Lord • His chosen lady

14. War Games and Glory • Knights took part in mock battles called tournaments • Trumpets blared, lords and ladies cheered • Tournaments were fierce and bloody competitions Brutal reality of Warfare • Castles dominated the countryside in Western Europe • Castle was home of the lord and lady, their family, knights and servants • Also a fortress designed for defense

15. Attacking armies used various strategies to force the defenders to surrender • Defenders poured boiling water, hot oil, or molten led on enemy soldiers The literature of Chivalry • Themes of medieval literature downplayed the brutality of warfare • Songs and poems about a knights undying love for a lady were also popular

16. Epic Poetry • Epic retold stored about legendary heroes of the middle ages like King Arthur and Charlemagne • The Song of Roland – one of the earliest and most famous medieval poems • Praises French soldiers who perished fighting a Muslim invasion

17. Love Poems and Songs • A knights duty to his lady was just as important than the duty to his lord • Troubadours – poet- musicians at the castles and courts in Europe • Composed short verses and songs about the joys and sorrows of romantic love

18. The Shifting Roles of Women • Church viewed women as inferior • The idea of romantic love placed noblewomen on a pedestal • A true knight pledged to protect all women • As feudalism developed the women’s role declined • Most women were poor and powerless • Confined to performing endless labor, bearing children and taking care of the family

19. Women in Power • In the feudal system a noblewomen could inherit an estate from her husband • Send knights to war and act as a military commander if her husband was away Women’s Failing Status • As the middle ages progressed, noblewomen had less power • Eleanor of Aquitaine was an exception • As queen of England she would rule when her husband Henry II was away and even later for her sons