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Feudalism

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Feudalism The social structure of the Middle Ages was organized round the system of Feudalism. Feudalism in practice meant that the country was not governed by the ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Feudalism


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Feudalism
  • The social structure of the Middle Ages was
    organized round the system of Feudalism.
  • Feudalism in practice meant that the country was
    not governed by the king but by individual lords,
    or barons, who administered their own estates,
    dispensed their own justice, minted their own
    money, levied taxes and tolls, and demanded
    military service from vassals.
  • Usually the lords could field greater armies than
    the king.
  • In theory the king was the chief feudal lord, but
    in reality the individual lords were supreme in
    their own territory.
  • Many kings were little more than figurehead
    rulers

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How it worksfeudalism
  • Feudalism was built upon a relationship of
    obligation and mutual service between vassals and
    lords.
  • A vassal held his land, or fief, as a grant from
    a lord.
  • When a vassal died, his heir was required to
    publicly renew his oath of faithfulness (fealty)
    to his lord.
  • This public oath was called "homage".

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KINGS
  • In theory the king was the chief feudal lord, but
    in reality the individual lords were supreme in
    their own territory.
  • Many kings were little more than figurehead
    rulers

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Lords
  • A Lord's Obligations
  • On the lord's side, he was obliged to protect
    the vassal, give military aid, and guard his
    children.
  • If a daughter inherited, the lord arranged her
    marriage.
  • If there were no heirs the lord disposed of the
    fief as he chose.

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Vassals
  • A Vassal's (Knight) Obligations
  • The vassal was required to attend the lord at
    his court, help administer justice, and
    contribute money if needed.
  • He had to answer a summons to battle, bringing
    an agreed upon number of fighting men.
  • As well, he must feed and house the lord and his
    company when they travelled across his land.

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Serfs
  • The Serf's Life.
  • Although not technically a slave, a serf was
    bound to a lord for life.
  • He could own no property and needed the lord's
    permission to marry.
  • Under no circumstance could a serf leave the land
    unless he chose to run away.
  • If he ran to a town and managed to stay there for
    a year and a day, he was a free man.
  • However, the serf did have rights.
  • He could not be displaced if the manor changed
    hands.
  • He could not be required to fight, and he was
    entitled to the protection of the lord.

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Heraldry
  • Knights needed a new form of identification
    during battle--other than their faces.
  • They started decorating their outer garments,
    flags and shields, eventually leading to
    heraldry, the creating of coats of arms.
  • This is where our picture of the medieval era
    comes from--decorative crests, symbolism, magical
    beasts.
  • Each color, pattern, and image stands for
    something different, allowing each knight to
    personalize his ID.
  • The crests came in helpful as nobles--many who
    couldn't even sign their own name--made seals out
    of them to use as their stamp of approval.

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Heraldry
  • Heraldry is still alive today many families,
    churches, and schools have their own coat of
    arms.
  • Today they are no longer needed but are retained
    for their symbolic and sentimental value.

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  • Here's how to make your own shield (Although
    there is more to a coat of arms then just the
    shield (the supporters, helm, crest, etc.)
  • it gets awfully confusing and detailed to do
    everything right, so we decided to just explain
    how to make the shield)
  • Start with a shield--it can be of many shapes,
    but stick with the basic one. 

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  • The background of a shield is called the "field"
  • Traditional heraldry used the following colors
    and metals
  • Colors
  • Gules -  Bright Red fire, nobleness, boldness,
    virility. Originally only princes could wear it
    because it also represented cruelty and
    supposedly princes were cruel to their enemies.
  • Azure -  Royal Blue or Sky Blue (not pastel) the
    sky, purity, justice, goodness, sincerity
  • Vert  - Emerald Green happiness, pleasure,
    youth, health
  • Purpure -  Royal Purple usually equated with red
    and its meanings
  • Sable -  Black sadness, melancholy. The lowest
    color--for the clergy who should avoid vanity and
    for widows and widowers.
  • Metals
  • Or -  Gold (yellow) The sun. Originally only
    princes could wear it
  • Argent -  Silver (white) The moon. Stood for
    purity, justice, childhood, hope,

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  • 2. Divide it
  • In half means marriage the left when facing the
    shield (or Dexter) the husband's arms and the
    right (or Sinister) the wife's. This is called
    impalement.

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Eldest child (well, it's supposed to be son, but
if you're a girl, we'll let you make a coat of
arms anyway)
  • 3. Show your rank in the family. Depending on
    which child you are, you put a different small
    design--called a cadency mark--in the middle of
    the upper part of the shield.
  • The head of the family's shield doesn't have any
    cadency marks.

Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh
Eighth
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  • In quarters (quartering).
  • The First quarter (upper left), and sometimes the
    Fourth (bottom right) are usually that of the
    bearer's parents.
  • The others are coats inherited by marriages to
    heiresses--who inherited it because the family
    had no male heirs to carry on the family name and
    coat.

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  • 4. Decorate
  • Animals and images of all sorts were used on
    shields (Animals are generally portrayed in
    profile) flowers, stars, mermaids, suns, lions,
    eagles, angels, unicorns, dragons, monsters of
    all kinds, and even partridges. They meant
    different things at different times to different
    people.
  • Decorate your shield with whatever you think
    best represents you.

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References
  • http//www.britainexpress.com/History/Feudalism_an
    d_Medieval_life.htm
  • http//library.thinkquest.org/3708/shield.htm
  • http//www.yourchildlearns.com/her_act.htm
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