Feudal Europe

Background of Europe

From the ninth to the early eleventh centuries, invasions of the Magyars from the east, Muslims from the south, and Vikings from the north struck western Europe.

Background of EuropeBy the ninth century,

many knights and nobles held estates (fiefsfiefs) granted by greater lords in return for military and other service. This feudal system (from the medieval Latin feodum or feudum, fee or fief) enabled a cash-poor but land-rich lord to support a military force.

Society in EuropeShortly after the time of Julius Caesar, the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus described the "Germans" as a tribal society of free peasant warriors, who cultivated their own lands or left them to fight.

Agricultural Society in Europe

About 500 years later, a characteristic European village had a cluster of houses in the middle, surrounded by rudely cultivated fields comprising individually owned farmlands.

                   

         

Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris

Agricultural Society in Europe

Meadows, woods, and wasteland were used by the entire community. Oxen and plow were passed from one field to another, and harvesting was a cooperative effort.

Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris

Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris

Feudalism in Europe

For safety and for defense, people in the Middle Ages formed small communities around a central lord or master. Most people lived on a manor, which consisted of the castle, the church, the village, and the surrounding farm land.

Agricultural Society in Europe

A manor required roughly 900 to 2000 acres of arable (farm) land and the same amount of other prescribed lands, such as wetlands, woodlots, and pasture.

Agricultural Society in EuropeTypically, the manor was a self-contained community. On it was the large home of the holder of the fief-a military or church vassal of rank, sometimes given the title lord; if the lord did not live at the manor, it was left in the care of his steward. A parish church was frequently included, and the manor might make up the entire parish.

Agricultural Society in Europe

One or more villages might be located on the manor, and village peasants were the actual farmers. Under the direction of an overseer, they produced the crops, raised the meat and draft animals, paid taxes in services such as forced labor on the lord's lands and other properties or forced military service.

Feudalism in Europe These

manors were isolated,

with occasional visits from peddlers,

pilgrims on their way to the Crusades, or soldiers from other fiefdoms.

Feudalism in EuropeIn this "feudal" system, the

king awarded land grants or "fiefs" to his most important nobles, his barons, and his bishops, in return for their contribution of soldiers for the king's armies.

Feudalism in EuropeAt the lowest echelon of society were the peasants, also called "serfs" or "villeins." In exchange for living and working on his land, known as the "demesne," the lord offered his peasants protection.

The Magna CartaNobles divided their land

among the lesser nobility, who became their servants or "vassals." Many of these vassals became so powerful that the kings had difficulty controlling them. By 1100, certain barons had castles and courts that rivaled the king's; they could be serious threats if they did not like the King.

The Magna CartaIn 1215, the English barons formed an alliance that forced King John to sign the Magna Carta. While it gave no rights to ordinary people, the Magna the Magna Carta did limit the king's Carta did limit the king's powers of taxation and powers of taxation and require trials before require trials before punishmentpunishment. It was the first time that an English monarch came under the control of the law.

KnightsEuropean warriors of the early Middle Ages used both indigenous forms of military equipment and arms and armor derived from late Roman types. One of the most widely used types of helmet was the Spangenhelm.

KnightsBody armor was usually either a short-sleeved mail shirt (byrnie), made up of interlocking iron rings, or a garment of overlapping scales of iron, bronze, or horn.

KnightsShields were oval or round and made of light, tough wood covered with leather. A hole in the center of each shield was bridged by a hand grip inside and a shield boss outside. Weapons were the spear, sword, ax, and the bow and arrow.

KnightsThe equipment of

a \ knight: his war

horse, bridle, saddle, spurs, hauberk (a long-sleeved mail shirt, sometimes with a hood, or coif, helmet, shield, lance, and sword.

KnightsBy the fourteenth

century, the improved crossbow was able to pierce shields and mail armor. To counter this, knights first wore a poncho-like coat with small rectangular plates riveted to it, while articulated plate armor was developed for the legs, arms, and hands.

The knight wore a helmet and an outfit of interlaced metal rings called mail that was eventually replaced with plated armor. A knight's typical weapons were lances, swards, maces and battle-axes, and they rode onhorseback.

Knights

by about 1420, full head to toe plate armor was in use, completing the image of the knight in shining armor.

The Code of Chivalry, the code intended to keep the same honor

in Knighthood as there was among the

Samurai, stated that a knight must protect women and the feeble, fighting against injustice and evil, along with a sworn faith for the Christian faith.

Role of Religion in Europe The Catholic Church

was the only church in Europe during the Middle Ages. Church leaders such as bishops and archbishops sat on the king's council and played leading roles in government. So, church and state were combined.

Role of Religion in Europe

Bishops, who were often wealthy and came from noble families, ruled over groups of parishes called a "diocese." Parish priests, on the other hand, came from humbler backgrounds and often had little education.

Role of Religion in Europe Christians in the

Middle Ages expressed and strengthened their faith both through public rituals, such as celebration of the Eucharist, and through personal devotions conducted in a private chapel or simply a corner of one's home.

Religion in Europe Individuals sought

to deepen their faith through study, meditation, and prayer, which might be guided

by psalters or private

prayer books.

Role of Religion in Europe Monasteries in the Middle Ages were based on the rules set down by St. Benedict in the sixth century. The monks became known as Benedictines and took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Role of Religion in Europe

Daily tasks were often carried out in silence. Monks and their female counterparts, nuns, who lived in convents, provided for the less-fortunate members of the community. Monasteries and nunneries were safe havens for pilgrims and other travelers.

Role of Religion in Europe

Monks focused on moderation, obedience to the monastery's leader (the abbot), and a prescribed program of prayer, work, and study.

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Bibliography•http://www.boglewood.com/timeline/attila.html•http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/COSTUME3_INDEX.HTML•http://www.romanhistorybooksandmore.freeservers.com/p_aug_a.htm•http://www.rc.kyushu-u.ac.jp/~michel/serv/eujap/maps/munster/index.html•http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/kannon-photo-tour.shtml•http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/3377/indjapan.html