T E AC H E R ’ S G U I D E
• Chess was a popular game played during the Middle A ge s , and the ch e s s
pieces re p resent diffe rent members of medieval society — the king,
queen, knight and rook re p resent the nobility; the bishop re p resents the
C h u rch; and the pawn represents the peasant cl a s s . P rovide students with
a short explanation of the game of ch e s s , its origins and its purpose,
i n cluding an explanation of the pieces and their moves. Hand out chessb o a rds and let students play. M a ny students may be playing for the fi rst
time, so dividing into small teams is a good idea. Discuss with students
h ow the rules of chess re flect the social stru c t u re of the Middle Ages.
TEACHER ’S G UIDE
T E AC H E R ’ S G U I D E
Suggested Print Resources
• B e ckett, We n dy. The Duke and the Peasant: Life in the Middle A ge s .
Prestel, New York, NY; 1997.
• Hinds, Kathryn. Life in the Middle A ges: The Countryside. B e n ch m a rk
Books, New York, NY; 2000.
• Langley,Andrew. Medieval Life. DK Publishing, New York, NY; 2004.
• Weatherly, Myra. William Marshal: Medieval England’s Greatest Knight.
M. Reynolds, Greensboro, NC; 2001.
• Women often didn’t participate in the main relationships that shaped
society during the Middle A ge s . So what was the role of medieval
women in society? Encourage students to read selections fro m
O u t ra geous Women of the Middle A ge s by Vi cki León (Wi l ey, 1998).
How did these women defy the social structure of the times?
• M e rchants of the Middle Ages bought and sold goods, and often generated a great deal of money and power in medieval cities. Learn more
about these entrepreneurs by reading Kathryn Hinds’ Life in the Middle
A ge s : The City ( B e n ch m a rk Books, 2000) or visiting the fo l l owing we b
site: emuseum.mankato.msus.edu/history/middleages/merch a n t . h t m l .
Fo l l owing this re s e a rch, discuss with students how the increase in
revenue for merchants may have influenced medieval social structure.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
IN THE MIDDLE AGES
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Suggested Internet Resources
Periodically, Internet Resources are updated on our web site at
www.LibraryVideo.com
T
his guide is a supplement designed for teachers
to use when presenting pro grams in the video
series Life in the Middle Ages.
COMPLETE LIST OF TITLES
• THE DOCTOR
• A HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES
• THE KNIGHT
• THE MERCHANT
• www.camelotintl.com/village/street.html
This Web site about medieval life presents information about the different groups of people who lived during the Middle Ages, including lords,
knights, women, peasants and entertainers.
Before Viewing: G i ve students an introduction
• THE MONK
• THE NOBLE
• THE SERF
• SOCIAL STRUCTURE
to the pro gram by re l aying aspects of the summary
to them. Select pre - v i ewing discussion questions
and vo c abulary to provide a focus for students
when they view the program.
IN THE MIDDLE AGES
After Viewing: R ev i ew the pro gram and vo c ab u-
• emuseum.mankato.msus.edu/history/middleages/
Minnesota State University sponsors this Web site that provides an
overview of the social groups of the Middle Ages. Students can gain
insight into the lives of medieval nobles, merchants, peasants and religious people.
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
• www.essentialnormanconquest.com/home.html
“The Essential Norman Conquest” is an interactive web site that provides a wealth of information about the Battle of Hastings. Students can
access a detailed time line and maps of the battle.
Teacher’s Guide and Program Copyright 2002 by Schlessinger Media, a
division of Library Video Company
P.O. Box 580, Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
Executive Producers:Andrew Schlessinger & Tracy Mitchell
Programs produced and directed by Tremendous! Entertainment, Inc.
All rights reserved.
11/04
5
Grades 4–8
Kristen Lovett Casel, M.S.
Curriculum Specialist,
Schlessinger Media
• Students can compare the diffe rent social classes of the Middle A ges by
re s e a rching the lives of nobl e s , merchants, peasants and serfs, and cre a ting a Venn diagram that compares the fo o d , clothing, housing, wo rk ,
recreation and education of two of these groups.
lary, and use the fo l l ow-up questions and activities
to inspire continued discussion. Encourage students
to re s e a rch the topic further with the Internet and
print resources provided.
800-843-3620
D6848
Program Summary
lord of the manor — A member of the nobility who was responsible fo r
M e d i eval society consisted of multiple types of relationships that prov i d e d
organization and structure.The key playe rs in the social structure of the
Middle A ges we re the lords, vassals and serfs. One type of relationship that
flourished during this time was called a feudal relationship. In this type of
agreement, lords offered vassals a fief, or something of value, in exchange for
service, u s u a l ly military in nature .Vassals became swo rn fo l l owers of a lord
during a cere m o ny called homage, which formalized the feudal relationship.
Another relationship that was common during this time was forged between
a serf and a lord of the manor. In the context of this arra n gement, serfs
wo rked the lord’s land on a manor, and, in ex ch a n ge , l o rds offe red serfs protection and land for them to grow their own food.
the functioning of a manor.
Vocabulary
social structure — The pattern of organization of people in a given society.
Middle Ages — Also known as the medieval period, the time period that
stre t ched roughly from the 5th to the 15th century.The term was coined to
describe the era in between the time of ancient Rome and the Renaissance.
Battle of Hastings — A battle that took place in 1066 to determine the
Church — The organization of believers in the Christian religion.
Pre-viewing Discussion
• Discuss with students what they think the term “social stru c t u re ” means.
Why do they think it would it be important to study the social structure of
a gi ven time period? What do they think social stru c t u re can tell them
about the life and times of the people they are studying?
• Encourage students to discuss our modern - d ay social stru c t u re. How is
society organized today? What relationships are common among people in
modern times?
• D u ring the Middle Ages, l o rds often sought military protection from other
members of the nobility by offering them land. Students can discuss what
this type of relationship can tell them about medieval times.
• Manors we re self-sufficient estates that we re wo rked by peasants called
serfs. Some medieval serfs we re born on a manor and never left the pro perty. E n c o u rage students to speculate about what this type of life might
have been like.
ruler of England.The English, led by Harold II, were defeated by the Normans,
led by William, Duke of Normandy.
Focus Questions
vassals — The sworn followers of a lord.A vassal was often the recipient of
1.Who was William the Conqueror?
a fief from his lord.
2. Define lords and va s s a l s . What was the relationship between these two
groups of people?
lord — The granter of a fief in exchange for service from a vassal.
Scriptures — Books of the Bible.
homage — The ceremony in which a man became a vassal of a lord.
feudal relationship — The agreement or arra n gement between lords and
3.What was a celebration of homage?
4.Why was it important to have land during the Middle Ages?
5.What was a fief? Provide some examples of fiefs.
vassals in which a fief was exchanged for service.
6. Give some examples of the services required of vassals.
fief — Something of value that was held, but not owned, by a person during
7.What happened if the feudal relationship was broken off?
the Middle Ages. People receiving a fief we re usually re q u i red to offer something to the lord , the gi ver of the fi e f.A fief could be anything of value —
land, public offices or church positions.
8. D e fine the role of nobl ewomen during the Middle A ge s .What we re their
primary responsibilities?
nun — A religious woman who takes vows of poverty and service.
merchants — People who buy and sell goods. Merchants can also be skilled
10.What is an effigy, and what might it tell us about medieval people?
craftsmen who make their own goods and sell them.
12. Describe the role of the serf on the medieval manor.
serfs — Men or women who we re the poorest members of medieval
13.What role did the Church play in medieval Europe?
society. Serfs were peasants who were bound to a lord’s lands and required to
work those lands in exchange for protection from the lord.
Follow-up Discussion
effigy — A re p resentation of a person. Some powerful people had effi gi e s
carved on their tombs during the Middle Ages.
manor — An estate owned by the nobility on which serfs wo rked and to
(Continued)
which they belonged.
2
9.Who was William Marshal? What was interesting about his vassalage?
11.What was a manor? Who lived on manors during the Middle Ages?
• Encourage students to compare medieval social structure with that of
today’s society. Students can discuss the similarities and diffe rences in the
structure of relationships that make up each of the societies, and how each
of the societies is organized.
(Continued)
3
• Relationships in medieval societies were forged among lords, vassals and
serfs.Ask students to discuss which of these groups benefited the most
from their relationships. Students should justify their answers.
• Students can discuss what the pros and cons of the medieval system of
relationships were. Do students feel that this social structure was fair? If
not, how could this social stru c t u re have been altered to become more
fair?
• Medieval lords and vassals we re pre d o m i n a n t ly male. Based upon what
students have learned about the Middle A ge s , discuss why women did
not often fill these roles in society.
Follow-up Activities
• To become vassals, medieval men swore oaths to their lords in an elaborate cere m o ny called homage. Share with students an actual example of
an oath from a medieval homage ceremony from the following web site:
www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/atton1.html. Students can imagine that
they attended one of these ceremonies, and they can write an eyew i tness account of what this ceremony would be like.
• Imagine with students that a lord and a vassal need to terminate their
feudal relationship because one side did not live up to his obl i g a t i o n s .
Students can write a dialog between the two parties, clearly explaining
the reason for the dissolution of the relationship and determining an
outcome. Students can even role-play these interactions for the class.
• In a feudal relationship, a vassal received a fief in exchange for providing
a service to his lord. Students can read an actual list of feudal obligations
re q u i red by a medieval lord at the fo l l owing web site:
www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/fulbert1.html. E n c o u rage students to
speculate about what obligations they would re q u i re of a vassal if they
re c e i ved one today and to draft a list of feudal obligations. Students
should also brainstorm about what they would offer to a vassal as a fief.
• Have students research the elements of a typical medieval manor, including the nobl e s ’ manor house, serfs’ homes and land divisions. Using this
i n fo rmation, students can design their own manor layout. (See
go.hrw.com/ndNSAPI.nd/gohrw_rls1/pKey wo rdResults?ST9%20Medieva
l%20Manor for an example of a layout of a manor.)
• Share with students the laws of William the Conqueror, presented at the
fo l l owing web site: www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/will1-lawsb.html.
E n c o u rage students to discuss what these laws tell about this warrior
and society during the Middle A ge s . C o m p a re these types of laws with
the laws we have today. How are they similar and diffe rent? W h i ch type
of laws would students prefer to follow? Why?
(Continued)
4