History: Ch. 6.2

What was the role of a vassal (a noble)?

A vassal was a noble who served a lord of higher rank. In return, the lord protected the vassal. The tie between a lord and his vassal was made known in a public ceremony. Feudalism was based on bonds of loyalty and duty among nobles. A vassal showed his loyalty by serving in his lord's army. In return for the vassal's military service, a lord granted his vassal land. The land granted to a vassal was known as a "fief." Vassals governed the people who lived on the fiefs. These vassals were "knights", or warriors in armor who fought on horseback.

What were guilds, and why were they important?

As trade increased, towns grew and craftspeople organized guilds, or business groups.Medieval guilds were one of the first organizations that working people created to IMPROVED THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING. Guilds set prices for the products their members produced and specified people's work hours and the standards they had to meet in their work.

How did guilds change the way goods were made and sold?

Craft guilds set standard for quality in products. They decided how goods were to be made and set prices. Guilds also decided who could join a trade and the process they had to follow. A person could become an apprentice around the age of 10 and learned from a master craftsman who provided room but no wages. After five to seven years, the apprentice had to produce a masterpiece, and then he became a journeyman and worked for wages.

Explain the shift of power from kings to nobles during the Middle Ages.

During the Middle Ages, nobles were the most powerful people in Europe. Great lords had much more wealth and land than ordinary knights. However, their belief in the feudal system united lords and knights in defending their society.

What was life like in a feudal society?

KNIGHTS followed a CODE of CHIVALRY and lived in castles, while peasants lived in simple houses and worked hard all year long. NOBLEMAN WENT TO WAR, WOMEN RAN MANOR CASTLE AT CENTER OF MANOR PEASANT HUTS WERE SMALL MANORS HAD THEIR OWN CHURCH, FIELDS, PASTURES, BARNS, AND STABLES.

What was the code of chivalry?

Knights followed the code of chivalry which became the guide to good behavior. Many of today's ideas about manners come from the code of chivalry. A knight was expected to obey his lord, to be brave, to show respect to women of noble birth, to honor the church, and to help people. A knight was expected to be honest and fight fairly against his enemy.

Describe the system of crop rotation used in the later Middle Ages, and explain how it increased the amount of food being grown.

PEASANTS LEARN TO GROW MORE FOOD BY ROTATING CROPS ON THREE FIELDS INSTEAD OF TWO. The ROTATION KEPT THE SOIL FERTILE. ONE FIELD WAS PLANTED IN FALL AND ANOTHER IN SPRING. THE THIRD FIELD WAS LEFT UNPLANTED. The three-field system meant that only on-third rather than one-half, of the land was unused at any time. As a result, more crops could be grown. GREATER FOOD PRODUCTION ALLOWED THE POPULATION TO EXPAND.

What was the manorial (manor) system?

The LANDS ON THE FIEF of the Middle Ages were called manors. LORDS RULED PEASANTS WORKED, SOME WERE SERFS -BOUND TO HARD WORK A medieval manor usually consisted of the lord's manor house or castle, the surrounding fields, and a peasant village. While minor knights or nobles would own only one manor, more powerful lords might own several. A powerful lord would spend time at each of his manors during the year. The lords ruled the manor, and peasants worked the land. Some peasants were freemen, who paid fees to the noble for the right to farm the land. They had rights under the law and could move wherever they wished. Lords had a duty to protect their serfs, providing safety to group their crops.

How were cities governed?

Towns were often located on land owned by lords so towns were under their control. However, townspeople needed freedom to trade and wanted to make their own laws. In exchange for paying taxes, people in towns were granted certain basic rights by their lords. These included the right to buy and sell property and the freedom from having to serve in the army. Over time, medieval towns set up their own governments. Only males born in the city or had lived there a certain length of time were citizens. These citizens elected a city council. The council served as judges, city officials, and lawmakers. Candidates from the wealthiest families usually won the election.

Who were the knights?

Vassals, who were nobles who served lords of a higher rank, showed their loyalty by serving in their lord's army. The vassals were knights, or warriors in armor made from metal links and carried swords(lances) and shields. they rode horses and charged their enemies while holding a heavy spear. From A.D. 700s to the 1200s, armored knights on horseback were the most powerful soldiers in Europe.

How did farming improve?

During the Middle Ages, Europeans invented new technology that helped increase the amount of crops they could grow - a heavy WHEELED PLOW WITH AN IRON BLADE that turned over dense clay soil, and the HORSE COLLAR that permitted horses to pull a plow. Horses could pull plows much faster than oxen, allowing peasants to plant more crops and produce more food. Europeans also found new ways to harness water and wind power.Many rivers powered WATERMILLS that ground grain into flour. Where rivers were not available, WINDMILLS were used for grinding grains, pumping water, and cutting wood. THREE CROP ROTATIONS

How did the shift from a barter system to a money system change medieval Europe's economy?

During the Middle Ages, people bartered, or traded goods for other goods. As trade increased, demand for gold and silver coins rose. Slowly, people began using money again to purchase goods. Merchants set up banks to manage the use of money.

Why did feudalism develop in Europe?

Feudalism developed in Europe in the Middle ages. NOBLES GOVERNED AND PROTECTED PEOPLE IN RETURN FOR SERVICES BONDS OF LOYALTY from vassal to lord, VASSAL was a NOBLE who served a lord of a higher rank, swore OATH of allegiance to lord, SERVED IN ARMY Lord granted vassal LAND called a FIEF KNIGHTS fought on HORSEBACK It was based on landowning, loyalty, and the power of armored knights on horseback. Charles Martel gave estates (large farms) to nobles willing to fight for him. When Charles Martel's grandson, Charlemagne's empire collapsed, Western Europe lost its last strong central government. Under feudalism, Europe was divided into thousands of territories held by nobles with the lands worked by serfs. Landowning nobles became more and more powerful. They gained the right to collect taxes and to impose laws on the people on their estates. when invaders attacked Europe, the peasants, or farmers, could not rely on kings. Instead, they looked to nobles for protection. During A.D. 800s, this shift of power from kings to nobles led to a new order known as feudalism. Under feudalism, landowning nobles governed and protected the people in return for services, such as fighting in a noble's army or farming the land. By A.D. 1000, the kingdoms of Europe were divided into thousands of feudal territories at the center of each was a noble's castle or fortress.

What was peasant (serfs) life like?

Knights (Vassals) followed a code of chivalry and lived in castles, while peasants lived in simple wood-frame houses with straw-thatched roofs and worked hard all year long. Poor serfs lived in a single-room house, and some serfs had cottages with a main room for cooking and eating and another room for sleeping. They harvested grain in August and September and in November slaughtered livestock and salted meat to keep for winter. In Febraury and March they planted oats, barley, peas, and beans. In early summer they weeded the fields, sheered the sheep, and grew small vegetable. They attended church on Catholic on more than 50 feast days and on Sundays. The village priest taught them the Christian belief. women worked the field and cared for children, prepared food, and baked daily bread in the communal oven. Peasants ate bread with vegetables, milk, nuts, and fruits. sometimes they ate eggs, or meat, and they often drank ale. Serfs worked long hours on the lord's land and preformed services for the lord. They spent three days working for the lord and the rest of the week growing food for themselves. They had to give a portion of their crops to their lord and pay him for the use of the village's mill, read oven, and winepress. Most peasants were serfs, and could not leave the manor, own property or marry without the lord's approval. Lords even had the right to try serfs in their own court. Serfs were not enslaved and the lords could not sell them or take away their land. It was not easy for serfs to gain their freedom. One way was to run away to the towns. If a serf remained in a town for more than one year, he was considered free. By the end of the Middle Ages, serfs were also allowed to buy their release.

What was medieval city life like?

Medieval cities had narrow, winding streets, wooden houses were crowded against one another, and the upper stores were built out over the street. Candles and fireplaces were used for light and heat. The cities were dirty and smelly. Wood fires in people's homes and shops filled the air with ashes and smoke. Poorer people could not afford wood and used coal which polluted the air even more. butchers and tanners dumped animal wastes into the rivers. City women ran their households, prepared meals, raised their children, and manage the family money. Often they helped their husbands in their trades and when take over the business if the husband died. Some women developed their own trades to make extra money. Many women became brewers, weavers, and hat makers. Under feudalism, Europe was divided into thousands of territories held by nobles with the lands worked by serfs. During the middle ages, nobles lived in large castles, while serfs lived in small wood cottages. As medieval trade increased, towns grew and craftspeople organized guilds. the rise of guilds created a middle class.

How did an increase in trade lead to the growth of towns and cities?

Trade encouraged manufacturing. People produce cloth, metalwork, shoes, glass (glass bloweres) and other goods right out of their house, Overtime, these craftsmen organized guilds, or business groups.By 1200, craftspeople organized guilds, or business groups - tanners, carpenters, bakers, etc. The rise of towns and guilds CREATED A NEW MIDDLE CLASS in medieval Europe. People in the middle class were not lords, vassals. or serfs. They did not own land, but they did have some wealth and freedom.

What happened to cities and towns when the Roman Empire collapsed?

With the collapse of the Roman Empire, almost all trade in Western Europe came to an end, law and order cam to an end. Money was no longer used. Bridges, roads fell in disrepair. Most people spent their lives in the village where they were born. by 1100, feudalism had made Europe safer, and new technology enabled people to produce more food and goods. Nobles repaired the roads, arrested bandits, and enforced the law. As a result, trade resumed. As trade increased, towns grew bigger, and several cities became wealthy from trade. The city of Venice and other Italian cities began trading with the Byzantine Empire and became the center of trade in the Mediterranean. The town of Flanders, which is today in Belgium became the center of trade in Northern Europe. This area was known for its woolen cloth. Merchants from England, Scandinavia, France and the Holy Roman Empire met in Flanders to trade their goods for wool. By 110, Flanders and Italy were exchanging goods regularly. to encourage trade, the counts in champagne in northern France held trade fairs. Northern Europeans exchanged furs, tin, honey, and wool for cloth and swords from northern Italy and silks, sugar, and spices from Asia.