Notes From Today

• The Feudal Compact

• Feudalism is a term used by historians to describe the governmental system and the relationships between landowners and warriors.
• Warriors, known as knights, would pledge his allegiance to a lord, who would in turn give that knight land
• The lord would grant a fief (property) to the knight, who would then become the lord's vassal (servant)- this was called the "feudal compact"
• The vassal mush fight for the lord when he needs it and attend his court once a month

• Homage and Knighthood

• A vassal was required to pay homage to his lord, usually this meant kneeling down and taking the lord's hands in his while speaking an oath of loyalty
• Men were apprenticed to older knights before they could become a full knight themselves
• When a knight died, his fief would revert to his son, though his lord would be protector of that son if he was underage, or if it was a daughter

• The Feudalization of the Church

• Some clergy were known to fight as knights themselves

• Feudal States

• Barons were lords of large territories who usually paid homage to a king
• Often a baron's army could outnumber that of a king, which kept a check on the king's power

• The Manorial Estate

• Medieval society was divided into three "estates": the clergy, the nobility, and the common people
• Usually the peasantry farmed on large plantations known as "manors" which were owned by a lord or a lady of a nobility (or a member of the clergy)
• Iron plows and water-powered grinding mills helped with agricultural production, by the yield was still minuscule by today's standards
• To maintain the health of the soil, the "three-field system" was used where two fields were planed (one in fall, one in spring) and one field was left to reconstitute its fertility- then they were rotated
• Villages spring up on and around manors with small cottages for the peasants and a large manor house for the lord and lady

• The People of the Manor

• The lord oversaw major agricultural issues but delegated everyday overseeing to his stewards or bailiffs
• The lady of the house ran household operations, oversaw servants, entertained guests, and ran the manor when her husband was away
• Most peasants were serfs, meaning they were bound to the land and to their lords for "labor services" a few days each week
• The surfs were responsible for the "internal colonization" of Europe, that is that cultivating and settling of previously uninhabited land

• The Growth of Trade

• The agricultural book after 1000 allowed for the establishment of many towns across Europe
• Farm produce and animals were sold in towns and people with wealth bought their luxury items there
• Items like spices and silks came overland from port cities like Venice and Genoa, who received the good from eastern capitals like Constantinople
• Europeans extorted wool, linen, horses, weaponry, and slaves, to name a few
• England and the Low Countries were particularly known for their trade in wool and cloth

• The Location and Appearance of Towns

• Most medieval towns were surrounded by fortified walls
• Residences also sprang up outside the walls in the suburbs
• Towns were dominated by a main church and a central marketplace
• Buildings for the craft guilds and the wealthiest families would also be in the center of the town

• The Life of Townspeople

• Though townspeople were free, unlike serfs, they still had a hierarch: merchants at the top, then skilled craftsmen and artisans, then unskilled laborers and apprentices

• The Guilds

• Merchants, craftsmen, and artisans formed their own groups called guilds which regulated their trade and protected its members
• Craftsmen were classified as masters, journeymen, and apprentices
• One became a master after spending years learning as an apprentice, working as a paid journeyman for a number of years, and completing his "masterpiece"