Life after Rome: Early Medieval Society

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Life after Rome Early Medieval Society
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Objective

• Understand the manorial system as Europes early
  economic system

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What does Europe look like?
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A Different Kind of Change

• Barbarians destroy Roman developments
• Decline in education, art, trade, and cities
• Europe breaks into many small kingdoms
• Agriculture becomes the main source of food in
  society
• Manorial/Feudalism become the standard social and
  economic system

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Manor System

• Manor-large plots of land (estates)
• Owned by wealthy land owners (lords)
• Peasants, or common people, worked the manor

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How did the Manor System Work?

1. Manor System- Economic system for exchanging land
   use and protection for goods and services
2. Manor lands divided into sections
3. Peasants paid for their use of their land with
   goods and services
4. Peasants depended on the lord for protection

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What would you find on a Manor?

• Manor house-where the lord lived
• Mill-powered by water
• Peasant homes
• Church-center of religious worship and social
  gatherings

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Bailiff - A Bailiff was a person of some
importance who undertook the management of manors
Reeve - A Reeve was a manor official appointed
by the lord or elected by the peasants Millar -
Most manors had windmills or watermills. The
right to mill was in the gift of the Lord of The
Manor. Servants - Servants were house peasants
who worked in the lord's manor house, doing the
cooking, cleaning, laundering, and other
household chores Serf - Medieval Serfs were
peasants who worked his lord's land and paid him
certain dues in return for the use of land, the
possession but not the ownership of which was
heritable. Dues were usually in the form of labor
on the lord's land. Medieval Serfs were expected
to work for approximately 3 days each week on the
lord's land. Villein - A peasant or villein was
a low status tenant who worked as an agricultural
worker or laborer. A peasant or villein usually
cultivated 20-40 acres of land Cottager A low
class peasant with a cottage, but with little or
no land who generally worked as a simple laborer
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Interesting notes about the Manor System

• 1/3 of the crops grown go to the lord, 1/3 to the
  Church, the rest to the peasants.
• Many peasants were serfs. They were part of the
  manor property. They also lived with their farm
  animals
• Large manor house will be replaced by castles
• Manorial system lasts until the 12th century
  (1100s)

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The Feudal System
People believed he was chosen by God
Was given many decorated titles Duke
Earl Baron
Chivalry code of moral, religious, and Social
systems
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The King

• People believed he was chosen by God
• Ruled according to the traditions and customs of
  their tribes
• Sought help to control his kingdom through the
  feudal system.

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King Alfred the Great of England
King Henry V of England
King Henry VIII of England
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The lords

• Answered only to the kingswore an oath to be
  faithful to the king and provide military service
• Members of the Church were included in this class
• Was given many decorated titles
• Duke
• Earl
• Baron

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John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Most of the
those in the royal family were given titles like
Duke or Earl. Gaunt became one of the most
powerful Dukes in the history of England.
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The Knights

• Fought for the lords as part of deal with king
• Knights were bound by a code called Chivalry
• Chivalry code of moral, religious, and Social
  systems
• Doing whats right
• Being religious in the eyes of all

• Stories or legends emerge from the knights
• Arthurian legends
• Quest for Holy Grail
• The Knights Templar

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William Marshall was one of the greatest knights
of the Middle Ages
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Peasants and others

• The majority of the population in early medieval
  Europe
• Many were serfs who were tied to the land of the
  lord (Manor System)
• Life was extremely hard

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