Feudalism and the Manor
Economy
Chapter 7 Section 2
Pages 33-38
Read Page 33
1. Why do you think a squire might be knighted on the
battlefield rather than in the usual formal ceremony?
2. What was Feudalism?
3. The lesser lords were called? And pledged their loyalty
to whom?
Share your answer with your shoulder partner. (2 min.)
Read Page 34-35
Note: Aristocrats were a powerful social class in medieval
Europe.
4. What obligations did a vassal have to his lord?
5. Explain how feudalism provided stability in an uncertain
time?
Note: that knights were the military forces of the Middle
Ages.
6. Why were castles also important to medieval warfare?
Share your answer with your shoulder partner. (2 min.)
Pages 35 & 36
7. How did noblewomen contribute to this warrior
society?
8. What parts of Eleanor’s life do you find
surprising?
9. What does this tell you about medieval society?
10.Read defenses of a castle. Which facts are the
most impressive or most startling?
11.What do the many layers of defenses suggest
about medieval society?
Share your answer with your shoulder partner. (2 min.)
Read Page 36 & 37
12. Read the Biography on page 36. How did Eleanor
expand the usual role of medieval women?
13. Find the key term serf’s in the text and define its
meaning.
14. Why do you think serfdom was a central economic
system of the Middle Ages?
Share your answer with your shoulder partner. (2
min.)
Note: Notice that the lords had an obligation not
only to their vassals and their own lords, but also
to their serfs and other peasants.
15. What did peasants do for lords?
16. What did lords do for the peasants?
17. How did the manor system work?
Share your answer with your shoulder partner. (2 min.)