Unit 3 Feudal society Unit 3 Feudal society

Unit 3. Feudal society.

Unit 3. Feudal society. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Feudal Europe. The fief (basic unit of the economy). Society and personal relationships. Everyday life. The Church. Romanesque art.

1. FEUDAL EUROPE. 1) Origins of feudalism. 2) Organisation of the territory.

1) ORIGINS OF FEUDALISM. § Feudalism = main political, social and economic system in Western Europe from 9 th to 13 th cent. § After the death of Charlemagne → instability and wars between his successors. § Invasions of Vikings (Normans), Muslims and Magyars → 2 nd invasions. § Kings incapable of defending territories and gave power to local noblemen. § Europe → divided into many different kingdoms with several common characteristics: o Feudalism, Christianity, Romanesque art, cultural poverty.

1) ORIGINS OF FEUDALISM. § § System based on: One person gave land/protection to someone else. The other had to fight/work for the protector. Noblemen swore allegiance to the crown and received land. Peasants sought for protection from nobles, they offered their lands and worked for them.

2) ORGANISATION OF THE TERRITORY. o After the division of Carolingian Empire, Europe was divided into many kingdoms. o King’s power came from God, but they were weak. o Nobles and senior ecclesiasts govern their territories with independence, like kings. o King gave power to the nobles who swore allegiance to the crown. o Royal Council (nobles and ecclesiastical authorities) gave advice to the king.

The geographical setting.

2. THE FIEF. Rural society based on agriculture. People lived in farms and villages. Land was divided into great estates or fiefs. FIEF (or manor) was a large area belonging to the king, nobles or the Church. § Divided into 2 parts: demesne and holdings. § §

2. THE FIEF. ü Demesne = part of the fief used by the lord. § Land that was kept by the owner (lord) for his own use. § It included: o Residence: castle or manor house. o Lands for cultivation and pastures. o Forest for hunting. ü Holdings = the rest of the fief. § Small plots of land rented to peasants. § They gave part of the harvest to the lord. § They had to work in the demesne. § They paid for using lord’s facilities: mill, oven, bridges, . . .

2. THE FIEF. § Fiefs were self-sufficient. § They produced everything necessary: tools, . . . § No trade. § Food production was low. § Rudimentary tools and techniques: – Roman plough, sickle, . . . – Two crop rotation system: • one season they plant. • next: fallow. Ploughing

3. SOCIETY AND PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS. 1) Social classes. 2) Obligations of the social classes.

1) SOCIAL CLASSES. § Society divided into classes or estates. § People belonged to the group they were born into, except the clergy. ü Privileged classes: – Nobility and clergy. – Highest positions in society. – They did not work and did not pay taxes. – Different laws. ü Non-privileged class: – Peasants: villains and serfs.

Dependence between social classes

2) OBLIGATIONS OF THE SOCIAL CLASSES. Ø The social classes were dependent on each other. A. The Feudal-vassal relationship. B. The lord-peasant relationship.

A. Feudal-vassal relationship. o o Ø King/higher noble (lord) ↔ noble (vassal) nobles swore allegiance (loyalty) to the king or a higher noble. They were called vassals. they were tied by bonds of vassalage and in exchange they were granted a fief. ceremony of vassalage: üHomage → the vassal promised loyalty and to serve and fight for the lord. üOath of fealty → the vassal received protection and a fief from the lord (king o higher noble). at the beginning, that relationship ended with the death of the vassal. Later it passed to the heir.

B. Lord-peasant relationship. Ø Lords of the fief: § § received the land, charged taxes, were in charge of justice, offered protection to the peasants. Ø Peasants: § § worked for the noble in the demesne, paid taxes, received protection, had permission to work the land

Remember: in feudal society.

4. EVERYDAY LIFE. 1) Peasants: Ø Most of population: 80 -90%. a) Villeins. b) Serfs. 2) Nobility: a) High nobility. b) Lower Nobility.

1) Peasants.

a) Villeins. § free people. § they could move outside the fief. § they received a portion of land → holdings. § worked in demesne. § low productivity: – old tools. – fallow: each year half of the land was left uncultivated. § large families. Sowing seeds

a) Villeins. § Taxes: Ø to the Lord: o part of the production. First in kind, later in money. o to use facilities: mill, oven, . . . Ø to the Church: o tithe= 1/10 of production for the Church.

b) Serfs. § Not free = semi-slaves. § They did not own land. § They worked in the demesne in exchange for clothes or food. § They couldn’t leave the fief without permission. § They couldn’t be killed or sold as slaves. § Children inherited their duties. Harvesting grapes

2) Nobility. b) Lower nobility. a) High nobility. § knights and people who § direct vassals of the owned horses and king. weapons. § differences depending on their power and wealth § dukes, counts, marquises, barons.

c) The castle. Ø Functions: o Residence of the lord. o Defence: fortress made of stone to protect people. o Usually built in a strategic position.

Parts of the castle. o o o § § ü Walled area: Thick walls and towers. Moat. Drawbridge. ü Inside: The keep: the highest, strongest and most secure place. Great hall.

Ø Moat: deep, wide trench surrounding the castle, usually filled with water. Ø Battlements: protective structures at the top of the wall. Ø Walkway: a path round the top of a castle. Ø Drawbridge: a platform that can be raised or lowered over a moat to permit entry. Ø The keep: the highest, strongest and most secure place. Ø Great hall: main room of the keep.

5. THE CHURCH. 1) Role (importance) of the Church. Ø Importance in: a. b. c. d. Politics. Economy. Society. Culture. 2) Daily life. a. Secular clergy. b. Regular clergy. c. High and low clergy.

1) Role (importance) of the Church. § § § God was the centre of life and society. Christian society. Church had a major role. Privileged estate. Church: influence on the political, economic, social and cultural life.

a. Politics. b. Economy. § Church intervened in political affairs. § Royal Council. § Peace of God: protection for clergymen, peasants, merchants → excommunication. § Truce of God: truce in battles on Sundays and religious holy days. § major landowner→ fiefs. § collected taxes. § tithe. § donations: money and lands.

c. Society. o great influence on society. o supervised moral behaviour. o assisted population. o founded hospitals and orphanages. o promoted pilgrimage routes. o provided resting places for pilgrims.

d. Culture. § Only people who could read and write § They copied manuscripts in the monasteries.

2) Daily life. a. Secular clergy: § Priests and their bishops. § They lived among the population. b. Regular clergy: § Monks and abbots. Nuns and abbesses. § They lived in monasteries. Communal life. § Monastery → self-sufficient. § Different orders: Benedictines, Cistercians, . . . § They took the vows of the order: poverty, chastity, obedience, . . . § “ora et labora”.

2) Daily life. c. Social differences: § Upper clergy: o bishops and abbots. sons of noble families. § Lower clergy: o priests and monks. free people from peasant families.

c. The monastery.

Santo Domingo de Silos.

6. ROMANESQUE ART. 1) Origin and characteristics. Between the middle of 11 th and the middle of 12 th c Religious art → objective: transmit message. Rural art → feudalism: rural world. First international artistic movement → same characteristics all over Europe. § Spread from France by the Benedictine order. § Architecture→ churches and monasteries. § § • §

2) Romanesque architecture. first impression → solidity and strength. thick walls of stone. few windows and dark interior. arch: semicircular. roofs: barrel vaults or groin vaults. weight supported by piers, columns and buttresses. plan: Latin cross with lateral aisles. o two naves that cross in the transept. o apse at the eastern end. § pilgrimage routes: ambulatory behind the altar. § towers. § § § §

Few and small windows Dark interior

Transept. Ambulatory: in churches along pilgrimage routes.

Apse.

Buttress: a structure built against the wall for reinforcement

3) Sculpture. § Purpose: to teach people (illiterates) principles of Christian religion. § Religious themes. § Stone sculptures: facades, portals and capitals. § Painted wood sculptures: decoration inside. § Figures → not natural → rigid/no movement. § Not realistic → symbolic.

Tympanum of Sainte-Foy

4) Painting. § Most of the remains are on the walls and vaults of the apses. § Figures in two dimensions (flat) and little detail in the background. § Plain and bright colours. § No movement or expression. § Miniatures and manuscripts were decorated with pictures.