Early Middle Ages-

Feudalism500 to

1000 A.D.

New Invasions in Western EuropeInvasions by the Vikings, Magyars, Angles, and Saxons disrupted the social, economic, and political order of Europe.

•Were expert sailors and ferocious fighters that originated in Scandinavia and looted and burned communities from Ireland to Russia.

VikingsAreas of Settlement

• Scandinavian countries include: Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark.

•They were nomadic people that overran Central Asia and then blundered parts of Germany and France.

Magyars

•After 50 years they were turned back and settled into what is present day Hungary.

Hungary

•Angles and Saxons were Germanic tribes that invaded England (Angles Land).

Angles and Saxons

•These invasions disrupted trade, towns declined, and the feudal system was strengthened.

Influences of these invasions:

•Manors with castles provided protection from invaders, reinforcing the feudal system.

• The decline of Roman influence in Western Europe left people with little protection against invasions, so they entered into feudal agreements with landholding lords who promised them protection.

Feudalism in Europe

•A new Social Order. Based on a rigid class system.

Feudal Society During The Middle Ages

King

Lords

KnightsVassals

Serfs (peasants)

•Feudalism was based on mutual obligations. In exchange for military protection and other services, a lord, or landowner, granted land called a fief. •The lords were seen to have the power. Kings were a figure head with very little power or control over the people.

•The person receiving this land, fief, is a vassal. A vassal in return would pledge his loyalty and service to the lord.

•Knights were mounted warriors who pledged to defend their lords’ lands in exchange for a fief.

• Serfs were peasants. They were bound to the land. The serfs worked the land for the protection of the lords. Most of the population were peasants.

•Manors were the lords’ estates. It was the basic economic system.

Manorial System During the Middle Ages

•Manors were a self-sufficient community. Everything one needed was obtained within the manor. From crops, clothing, fuel, to a water source.