Background Information for the Middle Ages

The term "Dark Ages" (referring to the Medieval period) has its roots in the Renaissance. Edward Given coined the term as a counter effect to the Roman Empire. The basic idea being that Rome was great, it fell, led to the dark ages (nothing was created, culture drowned rather than flourished), then, luckily mankind redeems themselves with the greatness of the Renaissance.

It wasn't until the 19th century that Romanticism reinvented the image of the Middle Ages. Now it is more acceptable to refer to the time period as either the "Medieval Period" or the "Middle Ages."

There are three parts to the Middle Ages - Early, High, and Late. However these are seen more as a continuous stream rather than a break. We will primarily look at the Late Middle Ages in this module as they set the stage for many important events in our future studies.

Feudalism.

The majority of Europe was organized according to feudalism. Feudalism began as an attempt to prevent future Viking raids on France. The Vikings would sail to France at least once a year as their low hulled boats allowed them to access rivers and sail right into the heart of the nation. Along the way they would pillage towns and villages, stealing food and goods, often setting fire to what remained. French King Charles the Simple offered a truce of sorts - giving Viking leader Rollo a large portion of France (Normandy) in exchange for fealty or loyalty. The idea was that they would no longer need to attack and steal if they could access the goods from land they owned, in turn they must pay a percentage in taxes and pledge loyalty to the French King.

Feudalism is a political & socioeconomic system that deals not only with the division of land, but also the expectations of those who inhabit it.

Here's the basic breakdown:

king has large amounts of land he can't take care of
king divides land among nobles
nobles (in exchange for land) pledge loyalty to king and agree to pay taxes and contribute to king's army

Now the nobles have large amounts of land.

nobles divide land among lesser nobles and knights in exchange for loyalty, commitment to army, and taxes
lesser nobles divide land among peasants in exchange for loyalty, army, & taxes.

Here's what it looks like:

Flow chart representing feudalism

Terms You Should Know:

Fief- land grant
Lord - giver of land (those who distribute land in exchange for taxes and army)
Vassal - acceptor of land
Serf - one who is tied to land. Serfs can not leave the land, will live and die there. Unlike slaves they cannot be bought and sold. However if the land is sold the serfs are included (they must work for whichever noble controls the land), are lowest level of Medieval society.
Feudal Dues - payments in exchange for using the land and its resources. Percentage of fish you catch in the noble's stream, payment for using wood from the noble's forest, etc. This is the main source of money for the nobility, also may be referred to as seigneurial rights

Manorialism

Manorialism is having and managing a manor/estate.

What you would find on the Manor:

Land - split into three fields (spring, winter, fallow/backup)
Peasants homes and gardens
Church
Lord's estate (has own chapel)

Each field divided into strips for:

lords needs (most)
peasants needs
church's needs (smallest)

Regardless of its purpose, all strips are farmed by peasants.

The Lord makes laws for the manor and is the ultimate authority on his land.

Manorialism only works if there is a stable government.

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.