3.3 Feudal system -TEACH-

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

AGE 3: The Time of monks and knights

3.3 Feudalism

clerics

aristocrats / nobles

peasants

boeren

geestelijken

edelen

0

1. The Feudal System: Land for Loyalty

In the Early Middle Ages, kings were rich in land but very poor in money. Because there was almost no trade, they could not collect many taxes to pay for a professional army. However, to protect their kingdom from enemies, the king needed an army of brave knights. These knights were expensive because they needed fast horses, strong metal armor, and sharp weapons. To solve this problem, the king used a special arrangement called the Feudal System. The king (the Liege Lord) gave a piece of land, called a fief, to a powerful nobleman. This nobleman then became a vassal.

In exchange for this land, the vassal made a very serious promise. He promised to be loyal to the king and to fight for him whenever there was a war. This agreement was a personal contract sealed with a special ceremony and an oath of loyalty. The vassal could even divide his land again and give parts of it to his own knights, becoming a lord to them. This created a long chain of loyalty from the king down to the lowest knight. It was a way to organize the government and the army without using money.

ai generated image of an "oath of fealty (loyalty)" between the monarch and his vassal. 

A

A

First make a note in your notebook.

Lesson 3.3:Feudalism

• The three estates (de drie standen)
• Estate : a group to which you belonged from birth.

• There were 3 estates:
• 1st estate: CLERGY (geestelijkheid)
•           Who? everybody who worked for the Catholic Church (= clerics)
•           For example: monks, priests, bishops, the pope
•           Task: PRAY for the people

First make a note in your notebook.

• 
  
• 2nd estate: NOBILITY  / ARISTOCRACY (de adel)
•           who? rich land owners
•           for example: a count (graaf), a duke (hertog), the king
•           task: PROTECT the people

• 3rd estate: PEASANTS (de boeren)
•           who? everybody else
•           for example: peasants, craftsmen, merchants, soldiers...
•           task: WORK (mainly provide all the food)
• NOTE: About 95% of the population belonged to the 3rd estate.

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

MONARCH

(KING/EMPEROR)

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

MONARCH

(KING/EMPEROR)

HIGH NOBLES

(DUKE, COUNT)

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

MONARCH

(KING/EMPEROR)

 HIGH NOBLES

(DUKE, COUNT)

A PIECE OF LAND (FIEF) ON LEASE

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

MONARCH

(KING/EMPEROR)

HIGH NOBLES

(DUKE, COUNT)

A PIECE OF LAND (FIEF) ON LEASE

LOYALTY / ADVISE / MILITARY SERVICE

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

MONARCH

(KING/EMPEROR)

HIGH NOBLES

(DUKE, COUNT)

LOWER NOBLES & KNIGHTS

A PIECE OF LAND (FIEF) ON LEASE

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

LOYALTY / ADVISE / MILITARY SERVICE

MONARCH

(KING/EMPEROR)

HIGH NOBLES

(DUKE, COUNT)

LOWER NOBLES & KNIGHTS

A PIECE OF LAND (FIEF) ON LEASE

PART

 OF THEIR FIEF 

ON LEASE

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

LOYALTY / ADVISE / MILITARY SERVICE

MONARCH

(KING/EMPEROR)

HIGH NOBLES

(DUKE, COUNT)

LOWER NOBLES & KNIGHTS

A PIECE OF LAND (FIEF) ON LEASE

PART

 OF THEIR FIEF 

ON LEASE

LOYALTY /  

MILITARY SERVICE

LOYALTY / ADVISE / MILITARY SERVICE

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

MONARCH

(KING/EMPEROR)

HIGH NOBLES

(DUKE, COUNT)

LOWER NOBLES & KNIGHTS

PEASANTS / SERFS

A PIECE OF LAND (FIEF) ON LEASE

PART

 OF THEIR FIEF 

ON LEASE

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

LOYALTY / ADVISE / MILITARY SERVICE

LOYALTY /  

MILITARY SERVICE

MONARCH

(KING/EMPEROR)

HIGH NOBLES

(DUKE, COUNT)

LOWER NOBLES & KNIGHTS

PEASANTS / SERFS

A PIECE OF LAND (FIEF) ON LEASE

PART

 OF THEIR FIEF 

ON LEASE

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

PROTECTION

LOYALTY / ADVISE / MILITARY SERVICE

LOYALTY /  

MILITARY SERVICE

MONARCH

(KING/EMPEROR)

HIGH NOBLES

(DUKE, COUNT)

LOWER NOBLES & KNIGHTS

PEASANTS / SERFS

A PIECE OF LAND (FIEF) ON LEASE

PART

 OF THEIR FIEF 

ON LEASE

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

PROTECTION

LOYALTY

FOOD & SERVICES

LOYALTY / ADVISE / MILITARY SERVICE

LOYALTY /  

MILITARY SERVICE

First make a note in your notebook.

In the Feudal System:

• the person above you was your lord ( = leenheer)
• the person below you was your vassal (= leenman)

• So from the bottom upwards, everybody was loyal to   the monarch.

First make a note in your notebook.

Free Peasants ( vrije boeren) & Serf Peasants / serfs (horige boeren)

• They are both farmers. 
• The difference:

• Free peasants have their own farmland. But they must pay taxes to their lord
• Serfs are not-free peasants. They belong to the manor and they must work for the lord 

manor house

The place where the lord lived and from where he ruled the village. 

Many times the manor was fortified by walls. Sometimes the manor was built on top of a small hill and surrounded by a palissade. 

The manor farm consisted of the manor (= fortified farmhouse / castle) + some land with orchards, farming fields and work places around it. 

mill

The mill was where people grounded wheat and grain. 

It was owned by the lord.

Serf peasants could use the mill to grind their grain, but of course they had to pay the lord for this. The payment was not money, but a percentage of the produce of the peasant.

farm

The houses the peasants (= farmers) lived in were not as nice as the manor house. They were thatched roofed

The palissade surrounds the manor farm. If the domain is attacked the peasants can find shelter within the walls of the manor farm.

Peasants worked on farm land for the lord in exchange for protection and land.

church

The church is where holy events took place (weddings, sermons, funerals). The church is also where the sick would be taken care of.

Sometimes the lord used this place to speak justice. He could hand out punishments to criminals.

A Shepard worked with the livestock in the fields. This would help produce food and cloth for the village

orchard

the manor's orchard. 

servile duties

This meant that serfs needed to work for the lord two or three days a week. They worked the lord's fields, or built and repaired his palissade.

The Manor

a fief 

the manor

free peasants

serf peasants

manor house

the domain 

A

A

Feudal System

Manor System

First make a note in your notebook.

The Manor System:

• = a deal between the serfs and their lord.

• The manor = the land on which the lord and the serfs lived.

manor house

The place where the lord lived and from where he ruled the village. 

Many times the manor was fortified by walls. Sometimes the manor was built on top of a small hill and surrounded by a palissade. 

The manor farm consisted of the manor (= fortified farmhouse / castle) + some land with orchards, farming fields and work places around it. 

mill

The mill was where people grounded wheat and grain. 

It was owned by the lord.

Serf peasants could use the mill to grind their grain, but of course they had to pay the lord for this. The payment was not money, but a percentage of the produce of the peasant.

farm

The houses the peasants (= farmers) lived in were not as nice as the manor house. They were thatched roofed

The palissade surrounds the manor farm. If the domain is attacked the peasants can find shelter within the walls of the manor farm.

Peasants worked on farm land for the lord in exchange for protection and land.

church

The church is where holy events took place (weddings, sermons, funerals). The church is also where the sick would be taken care of.

Sometimes the lord used this place to speak justice. He could hand out punishments to criminals.

A Shepard worked with the livestock in the fields. This would help produce food and cloth for the village

orchard

the manor's orchard. 

servile duties

This meant that serfs needed to work for the lord two or three days a week. They worked the lord's fields, or built and repaired his palissade.

The Manor

A. where the lord lives

B. Domain: where the peasants live

The manor system:

a deal between the lord and his serfs

The Manor System

gives 

give

part of produce

allow use of land

protection

servile duties

The manor system:

a deal between the lord and his serfs

AGE 3: The Time of monks and knights

3.4 The Vikings

 In 834 the Dutch town of Dorestad (now Wijk bij Duurstede) was attacked, with many inhabitants being killed or taken as slaves.

Over time various Vikings families decided that the families wanted to continue living in the area that is now known as Normandy .

The Vikings brought their goods, such as animal skins and walrus ivory as far as Asia. 

 In 1002 Leif Erikson and his crew went ashore in Newfoundland (Canada) long before Christopher Columbus arrived in America in 1492..

The Vikings were:

explorers

traders

raiders

settlers