middle ages

Middle Ages

Reviews King Clovis, of the Franks, captured provinces of Gaul. Converted to Christianity, made an alliance with the

pope

Reviews Cont. Islam began to spread in 600s. Charles Martel

rallied Frankish warriors Battle of Tours in 732 - Christian warriors won.

Stopped expansion of Muslims but Muslims remained a threat.

Reviews Cont. 768, Charlemagne (grandson of

Martel) became king of the Franks

799, Pope Leo II asked Charlemagne to help against rebellious nobles in Rome -> Charlemagne sent delegation to arrest Leo’s opponent.

Christmas Day 800, Pope crowned Charlemagne Emperors of the Romans.

Feudalism A loosely organized system of rule in which

powerful local lords divided their landholdings among lesser lords (vassals) in exchange for service and loyalty.

Feudal contract- powerful lord granted his vassal a fief (estate). 40 days of military service each year and payments

http://regentsprep.org/Regents/global/themes/politicalsystems/images/hierarchy.gif

Knight Many nobles trained during

boyhood to become a knight At age 7, a boy sent away to the

castle of his father’s lord & trained to be a knight

At age 15, he becomes a squire Once finished training, dubbed a

knight in public ceremony. “In the name of God, Saint

Michael, & Saint George, I dub thee knight; be brave and loyal.”

Noblewomen While father or husband is away,

“lady of the manor” took over his duties.

Supervised vassals, managed household, & performed necessary agricultural & medical tasks. Some even go to war to defend estates.

Sometimes inherited fiefs Widow retained her land (used as

dowry) Young daughters of nobles trained to

spin, weave, and some to read and write.

Code of Chivalry Required knights to be

brave, loyal, true to their words.

Fight fairly in war Treat prisoners kindly Protect the weak

(peasants & noblewomen)

Rules applied to nobles and not commoners.

Troubadour Wandering

musicians. Sang about the

brave deeds of knights and their devotion to their lady loves.

Manor Economic System Manor - a lord’s estate.

Most included one or more villages and the surrounding lands

Peasants lived & worked on the manor (called serfs & bound to the land)

Serfs could not be sold but were not free. Serfs could not be forced off either ->

guaranteed employment

Manor cont. Peasants had to ask

permission to marry, pay lord a fee when inherit father’s land. Often were paid in grain, honey, eggs, or chickens.

Peasants had the right to farm some land for themselves & protection from lords.

Peasants Life Harsh Work from sun up to sun down. Poor diet - bread with

vegetables (usually cabbage, turnips,& onions). Rarely meat.

Few peasants lived past 35 years.

Children were required to help.

http://z.about.com/d/countrymusic/1/0/N/P/H/troubadour_prev.jpg

http://letsparty.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/medieval-knight-costume-1.jpg

http://www.zeitlerweb.com/img/1485women.jpg http://www.interiordesign.net/articles/blog/

1850000585/20080908/americangothic.jpg