Feudal Society

Under the feudal system, everyone had a well-defined place in society.

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Feudalism• Feudalism was a loosely organized system of rule in

which powerful local lords divided their landholdings among lesser lords.

• In exchange, lesser lords, or vassals, pledged service and loyalty to the greater lord.

• Fief-land given to the vassal.

Serfs were bound to the land. They were not slaves, yet they were not free.

Serfs made up the majority of the population in medieval society.

So how do these people live?

• Most people in the middle ages lived on a manor or a lord’s estate.

• Including: Lord and his family, his knights and foot soldiers, and his serfs.

Middle Ages: 500-1500

• Knights– warriors on horseback

searching for glory on battlefield so a higher noble would grant them a fief and make them a vassal

– follow code of chivalry• Code that required

knights to be brave, loyal, and treat women with respect

• Only applies to nobles

Middle Ages: 500-1500

• Knights – serve God and lord– provided protection for lords and estates– skill with weapons

• Code of Chivalry– brave– loyal– courteous– respectful– honorable– truthfulness

Knighthood

• Page– age 7-14– serve women of the manor– learn manners– religion, reading, writing, poetry, singing, lute playing

• Squire– age 14-21– serve lord and knights– maintain lord’s armor and equipment– maintain stables and groomed horses– learn hunting, hawking, chess

• Knight

Knighthood

• Sponsor– not usually father (may be another relative)– present knight with armaments – squire could not become knight without sponsor– not all squires were sponsored to become knights

• Vigil of Arms– night before becoming knight, dedicated to prayer and fasting– wear white and red

• white = purity• red = willingness to shed blood for lord

• Accolade– kneel before lord and give him sword

Life in the Middle Ages: 500-1500

• Tournaments– entertainment for all– 3 to 4 days– various forms of

competition• all aspects of warfare• knights show off fighting

skills– form of military training– winners claimed horses

& armor of losers• or demanded ransom

– celebrations of marriages or diplomatic events

Middle Ages: 500-1500

• Serfs – common people bound

to the land– worked for a noble in

return for protection

– peasant of lowest class– society based on their

labor on land– no power

Middle Ages: 500-1500Women

– inferior to men– taught to be meek and obedient to fathers and

husbands– peasants worked in fields– noblewomen ran estates when husbands absent

– women with land had same rights as men– upon husband’s death, entitled to 1/3– forfeited lands and rights to husband upon marriage

– single, hair loose– married, cover hair (sign of modesty)

Life in the Middle Ages: 500-1500

• Peasant homes– cold, damp, dark

(warmer and lighter outside)

– rarely more than 1-2 rooms

– windows• very small openings,

for security• wooden shutters

– thatched roofs– easily destroyed– sleep with animals

Life in the Middle Ages: 500-1500

• Clothing– woolen– linen undergarments– signs of wealth

• brighter colors• better materials

– decorated with silver and gold

• lined with fur• longer jacket length• lavish jewelry

– leather– buttons for decoration– clothes tied on

• Medieval hats

Hygiene• Had soap• Decline of cities led to a

decline in access to running water and public baths

• Public baths appeared again in the later Middle Ages during the growth of cities.

• The wealthy could afford bath tubs– Some castles had bathing

rooms and a person whose job was just to get baths ready for the family.

Hygiene

• Poor could not afford bathtubs – Had wooden barrels– Full immersion rare

• Labor to get and heat the water– Usually used a bucket, soap, and a cloth– Yearly bathing is an extreme exaggeration (probably

started because the poor rarely fully immersed themselves and because of poor bathing customs of the Renaissance).

• Had soap but no deodorant, shampoo, or toothpaste.

Life in the Middle Ages: 500-1500• Health

– no adequate health care system– limited medical knowledge– poor hygienic conditions– almost impossible to cure diseases– bloodletting popular cure– early surgery done by barbers with no anesthesia– medical treatment mainly for wealthy– doctors mostly in cities and courts– herbal remedies

(some earthworms, urine, animal excrement)

• Medieval medicine

Leprosy

Life in the Middle Ages: 500-1500

• Entertainment– music critical aspect of religious and secular life– public worship in form of drama

• stories from Bible• costumes and musical instruments• outside churches or in marketplaces

• Medieval music

Life in the Middle Ages: 500-1500• Hunting

– entertainment for nobility– important activity

Homes of the WealthyCastles

Medieval Castles

• First appear in Europe in 9th Century– introduced to England

by Normans in 11th Century

• Important role in medieval warfare

• Early castles were motte & bailey

(wood)

Medieval Castles

• Nobles built castles to control and defend their land– Residence for the noble but also for defense– base from which to wield power

• nobles fought for power and territory

– military architecture– simple wooden → complex stone structures

Medieval Castles

• No standard plans – each one is unique– similar defenses– same named structure parts

• Improvements & reinforcements made as methods of warfare advanced

• Warfare dominated by the siege

Monarchs, Nobles, and the Church

During feudal times, monarchs in Europe stood at the head of society but had limited power. Nobles and the Church had as much—or more—power than the monarchs.

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