UNIT 6 FEUDAL EUROPE FEUDALISM The political economic

UNIT 6 FEUDAL EUROPE

FEUDALISM The political, economic and social system that predominated in Western Europe between the 9 th and 13 th centuries. Mª Victoria Landa

CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE DISINTEGRATION Mª Victoria Landa

ORIGIN CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE DISINTEGRATION CARLOMAGNO La situación de inestabilidad provocada FOREING INVADERS VIKINGS MAGYARS MUSLIMS Mª Victoria Landa

Vikings Magyars Muslims

1. THE FEUDAL SYSTEM �Carolingian Empire disintegration + invasions = Crisis in Europe and weakness of monarchs. �Feudalism appeared: It was a system in which a free person was dependent on another and became his vassal. In the act of homage: ◦ The vassal swore loyalty to his lord. ◦ The lord swore to protect his vassal.

2. DAILY LIFE IN THE FIEF �In Middle Ages, daily life was around the fief. �Fief: A rural estate composed of the castle, extensive areas of arable land, pastures and forests. �The fief’s economy was self-sufficient: The inhabitants consumed what they produced, without the need to obtain products from outside the estate.

�The estate was divided into two parts: ◦ Demesne: Land directly exploited by the lord, but farmed by serfs. ◦ Tenements: Plots of land that the lord gave to free peasants in exchange for rent or a part of the harvest.

3. ECONOMY �The economy was based on agriculture and livestock and was organised around the fiefs. �Trade almost disappeared and communications were cut off because of the frequent wars.

Farming techniques Roman wooden plough Two-year crop rotation

4. SOCIETY �Feudal society was organised into estates of the realm. There were two types of estates: ◦ Privileged estates: The nobility and the clergy. They were a minority and were subject to different laws from the rest of the population. �Nobles dedicated their time to fighting wars. �Clergy dedicated their time to praying. ◦ Non-privileged estates: All the people who were not members of the nobility or clergy. Peasants (90% of total population), craftsmen, traders, . . .

5. RELIGION �During the Middle Ages, religion played a very important role in all aspects of life. ◦ The crusades: Military expeditions formed by Christians, whose objective was to recover the Holy Land, which was conquered by the Muslims. ◦ The pilgrimages: Trips to places considered to be holy by Christians.

Map of the Crusades Way of Saint James

6. ROMANESQUE ART �Romanesque Art is the characteristic artistic style of Christian Europe, from the end of the 10 th century until the beginning of the 13 th century. �This is the artistic style of the feudal society, so we find it in rural areas: Castles and monasteries. �The monastic orders and the pilgrim routes helped it to spread throughout Europe. �The main type of Art is Architecture.

Architecture � The predominant buildings: Religious buildings. � Material: Stone. � The churches usually had a basilica plan (Roman influence) or a latin-cross plan. � They fires. used different types of vault, in order to prevent ◦ The most important ones are: barrel vaults and groin vaults. ◦ Semicircular arches were used too. � So, they need thick walls and reinforced on the outside with buttresses. � The main support was the pillar or pier. There were columns with sculpted capitals.

Sculpture �Sculptures tended to be adapted to the architectural frame. �Sculpture had a didactic purpose: To teach the Christian beliefs, so the most common themes were religious ones (the Pantocrator surrounded by the Evangelists) �They also made free-standing sculptures: Christ on the cross or the Virgin with Child. �Figures were represented with isocefalia and hierarchical perspective. �Figures were rigid, static and inexpressive.

Painting �Mural painting in churches, done in fresco, was the most common. �They also had a didactic purpose, with religious themes. �Colours were plain and the scenes had no depth. �Figures were rigid and inexpressive.