Europe’s Middle Ages After
King Charlemagne
Let’s Review…
Rise of the Franks
Under the
leadership of
Charlemagne
What remained after Rome
fell?
After the fall of Rome, barbarians had
taken over. Not much from Rome’s
glory days were left. There was no
central government or system of
defense. Times were dark and
dangerous. There was still:
Christianity
Germanic tribes converted and began to
grow in power.
Created monasteries
–
The only places that kept literacy alive.
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was a king who wanted to
restore Rome’s glory.
His Goals: Stop barbarian invasions and
spread Christianity
For his spread of the Christian faith, two
forces were needed:
– Spiritual – already existed as the Western
Church
– Secular – the political authority to rule
A New Chance for Empire
Under his rule, the empire survived many
attacks. However, after his death things were
different…
Charlemagne’s grandsons
Mess It Up
After his death, they fought over
the land and eventually split it up
into sections. His empire quickly
fell apart.
Lack of a single leader or
administration and the need for
protection from invaders led to a
new form of government…
Feudalism
Europeans Under Constant
Attack
Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims raided Europe.
There was a need for order and protection.
Average people were not safe! Remember,
there is no government or soldiers right now.
Lords (aka the land owners) defended the
peasants. In return, the peasants worked the
land for the lords.
Let’s find out how this
Feudalism thing worked…
Feudalism
Overview: Feudalism developed out
of peoples' need for protection
against invaders, and landowners'
need for defense. It was a system in
which powerful lords commanded the
obedience of less powerful nobles.
People received protection in
exchange for services or for turning
over total ownership of their land to
larger landowners. Hierarchies
developed: less powerful nobles
became vassals (persons under the
protection of a feudal ruler) of the
more powerful lords.
Feudalism Vocabulary





lord—landowner, governed manor & castle – near
total authority within fief… He was in charge!
Fief (fife)—land granted to a vassal or knight to
oversee/ live on/ take care of
vassal—wealthy landowner who runs the fief for
the lord
knights—mounted horsemen who pledge to
defend their lord's lands in exchange for fiefs,
armored cavalry
serfs—bound to the land, could not leave it and all
their labor produced belonged to the lord
Feudalism
Political and
economic
system/
agreement
dependent on
land ownership
and personal
loyalty.
how Feudalism worked…
Fifes or plots of land were given out for
“services and loyalty” to nobles
Nobles gave out the right to work the land to
serfs
No central government (like a democracy,
monarchy,etc). Each manor had it’s own
hierarchy or levels of power and ran
independently. Peasants were loyal to the
lord they worked for. In exchange, they were
also taken care of.
Castles
Roles of Feudalism
A manor was the area of land (fief) over
which a lord had control.
Serfs owed their lord three days of work each
week; such as farming, tending animals,
maintain the manor.
Also paid to grind grain, get married, or
anything else that required the lord’s approval.
As we mentioned, the Lord’s role was to
govern/ run the manor, provide housing,
farmland, and protection.
Roles of Feudalism
Knights
Knights were the
warrior class in
charge of defending
the manor.
Armed and armored.
Chivalry was their
code of conduct.
– Loyal
– Brave
– Courteous
Constructing the Pyramid of
Feudal Power
KING
LOYALTY LOYALTY
AND
AND
SERVICE SERVICE
LANDD
POWERFUL
NOBLES
LAND AND
PROTECTION
LOYALTY
AND
LOYALTY
AND
MILITARY
SERVICE
MILITARY
SERVICE
LESSER NOBLES
(KNIGHTS)
LABOR
LABOR
PROTECTION
SERFS AND PEASANTS (FREEMEN)
18
Serfs pay to grind their grain at
the mill…
Water mill- Outside how it workshttp://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=old+water
+mill&&view=detail&mid=448D593D6842D750F
B83448D593D6842D750FB83&FORM=VRDGA
R
Water mill- inside how it workshttp://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mill+to+gr
ind+grain+into+flour&&view=detail&mid=05A3B
BB61F7F2699A17405A3BBB61F7F2699A174&
FORM=VRDGAR
Manor System- What it looked like…
Video Clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6vum
9IsDp8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQq6O
eiEfrg