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# Lesson 2: Feudalism and the Rise of Towns ## Essential Question: What are the characteristics that define a culture? **IT MATTERS BECAUSE** The organization of society in medieval Europe affected nearly every aspect of people's lives. ### The Feudal Order **GUIDING QUESTION:** How did Europea...

# Lesson 2: Feudalism and the Rise of Towns ## Essential Question: What are the characteristics that define a culture? **IT MATTERS BECAUSE** The organization of society in medieval Europe affected nearly every aspect of people's lives. ### The Feudal Order **GUIDING QUESTION:** How did Europeans try to bring order to their society after the fall of Charlemagne's empire? After the fall of Charlemagne's empire, strong governments collapsed in Western Europe. Kings lost much of their power. Local land-owning nobles became increasingly important in political affairs. They raised armies and collected taxes, imposing laws on the people living on their land. When invaders swept through Europe, people turned to the nobles for protection. Nobles governed and protected the people in return for services, such as fighting in the noble's army or farming the land. This resulted in a new political and social order known as feudalism. By 1000, Europe's kingdoms were divided into hundreds of feudal territories. Most of these territories were small, with a noble's castle as the center of each territory. ### Lords, Vassals, and Knights Feudalism was based on ties of loyalty and duty among members of the nobility. Nobles were both lords and vassals. A lord was a high-ranking noble with power over others. A vassal was a lower-ranking noble who served a lord. In return, the lord protected the vassal. The tie binding a lord and his vassal was made in a public ceremony. The vassal took an oath and placed his hands between those of his lord, swearing to keep faith and loyalty to the lord against all others: > "Sir, I enter your homage [service] and faith and become your man by mouth and hands [that is, by taking the oath and placing his hands between those of the lord), and I swear and promise to keep faith and loyalty to you against all others." -from A Source Book for Medieval History, 1905 A vassal helped his lord in battle. In exchange for the vassal's military service, a lord gave the vassal land, a property called a fief. Many lower-ranking vassals were known as knights. They were armed warriors who fought on horseback. In early medieval times, warriors in Western Europe mostly fought on foot. Around the 700s, knights in Western Europe started using stirrups. Stirrups allowed armored warriors to sit on a horse and attack while holding a lance, or long and heavy spear. ### Nobles and Knights in Medieval Society During the Middle Ages, nobles were the most powerful people in Europe. Great lords often had more land and wealth than ordinary knights; however, a shared belief in the feudal order united lords and knights in defending their society. Knights followed the code of chivalry. These rules stated that a knight was to be brave, obey his lord, respect women of noble birth, honor the Church, and help people. Many of today's ideas about manners come from the code of chivalry. **(Diagram of Social Hierarchy included):** The image shows a hierarchical structure similar to a pyramid. The top is occupied by kings and queens. The next layer includes lords and ladies. Below that, there are knights. At the base or bottom are the peasants and serfs. **(Images included):** The image includes illustrations of people in medieval clothing, castles, and knights on horseback. **Content Vocabulary:** * **feudalism:** political order under feudalism * **nobles:** lords, ladies, and knights * **political order:** a system of organization and governance.