Feudalism in Europe: Lords, Vikings, and Knights

1. Chapter 13 Section 2 Feudalism in Europe

2. Lord • A noble – member of the landholding upper class in Medieval society. • Born into position of power.

3. fief • Land or something of value that could produce income (like the right to collect certain taxes). • A fief was given to a vassal by a lord, in return the vassal, or lesser lord, would owe payment to the Lord – usually in the form of 40 days military service & a supply of men-at-arms.

4. Vikings • Norse raiders from Scandinavia and Denmark. • The Vikings started raiding Western European settlements in the late 8th century and continued through the 11th century. • Their raids helped the Feudal System to develop because people needed strong local protection from the lightning raids of the Vikings. • Fantastic shipbuilders, seafarers, traders, and explorers. • Viking ships were fast, lightweight, and could travel the ocean or up rivers in just 3 feet of water! • 1st Europeans to sail to the North America – Leif Ericson, about ~1000 A.D.

5. Knight • A Mounted Warrior of Noble Birth. • Position was based on birthright / blood, although some warriors were granted knighthood due to an act of great bravery on the battlefield. • Most powerful soldier on the Medieval battlefield – fought on a Warhorse. • Training started at age 7 as a page, at age 14 a page became a squire who served a knight in battle. By age 21 a Squire may be knighted (but not all squires became knights – you earned it).

6. Vassal • A lesser lord who has sworn an oath of loyalty (fealty) to a higher lord. • Could be a knight or lower ranking noble.

7. Feudalism • A system of decentralized government based on land ownership, heredity (blood lines), and oaths of loyalty. • It was the primary system that governed Western Europe from about 800-1300 A.D.

8. Serf • A low class commoner, agricultural worker, who worked their lords land (a fief) in exchange for protection (like from Vikings). • A serf was tied to the land and was not free to move from it – although restricted, they were not slaves and could not be bought or sold.

9. Manor • The self-sufficient economic unit of the middle ages. • A Manor consisted of everything a small community might need from a Mill to grind flour, a Smith to make tools, farm fields and a common pasture, a Church, and the Manor house – a fortified defensive position where the “village” could seek safety in times of attack.

10. Tithe • A Church tax – it was common for Christians to pay at least 10% of their income to the Church. This income was supposed to be used by the church to care for those less fortunate – like feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and education.

11. 3. What groups invaded Europe in the 800s? • The Muslims (Moors from Spain) • The Magyars (Another Muslim group who invaded eastern Europe). • The Vikings.

12. 4. What obligations did a peasant have to the lord of the manor? • A few days/week labor and a share of the crop (crops were the taxes). Serfs were different than peasants! A serf was tied to the land and was not free to move off the land (a peasant was free to move). BUT a Lord had to protect the Serfs plus provide housing and land to farm. In return a serf tended to the lord’s land, animals, and other duties of the estate. A peasant has no such security/guarantee.

13. 5. What were the 3 social classes of the feudal period? • Those who fought (nobles & knights). • Those who prayed (clergy – priests, monks, nuns). • Those who worked (peasants& serfs).

14. 6. How were the Vikings different from earlier groups that invaded Europe? • The Vikings were raiders – they did not stay (at least not at first – earlier groups like the Goths, Angles, and Saxons were looking for lands to settle). • The wordViking means to Raid. • Eventually the Vikings would stay on lands they invaded and would assimilate into the Feudal system becoming Lords and vassals themselves (ex: William the Conqueror). Kings would make power Viking leaders their vassals rather than enemies.

15. 7. How was the Manor self-sufficient? • Economically it produced everything that a person of that time might need from farm tools, to leather goods, to clothing, and FOOD. • Militarily it was protected by the fortified manor house (sometimes as large as a Castle) and could withstand attack or long siege.