What is Feudalism?

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What is Feudalism?

• A form of government
• Landowning nobles had the power
• Based on loyalty and oaths
• Created a class system

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Lords and Vassals

• Lords gave land called a fief to a vassal
• Lords protected a vassal
• Vassals served the lord
• Vassals created armies for the lord
• Vassals protected and fought for the lord
• Vassals gave the lord crops and goods from his
  land

This chart shows the complexity of the feudal
system. A lord could also be a vassal! A vassal
could have more than one lord! Some vassals had
more power than their lord!
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• Warriors on horseback
• Person trained 14 years to become a knight
• Used sword, lance, mace, and wore heavy armor
• This is a joust one way knights trained to fight

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• When a lord gave land to a vassal it was called a
  fief
• The knight then developed a farming community
  known as the MANOR or ESTATE

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• Manors (land) had everything a noble needed
• Peasants did all the work on the manor
• Grew food, made clothes, chopped wood, fix
  buildings, cooked etc
• SERFS were the lowest kind of peasant. They had
  little freedoms

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