1. Feudal Europe emerged after the fall of the Carolingian Empire in 843. As central authority weakened, kings granted lands and privileges to nobles in exchange for military support against external threats like the Vikings and Muslims. This led to the rise of a hierarchical feudal system. 2. In feudal society, kings represented divine authority but relied on nobles and warriors. Nobles held lands from the king in exchange for loyalty and military service. Peasants lived and worked on these fiefdoms, either as free peasants who paid taxes/rent or serfs bound to the land. 3. Romanesque art flourished from the 11th-13th centuries, with churches and mon

1. 2. FEUDAL EUROPE

2. 1. THE BIRTH OF FEUDAL EUROPE
CHARLEMAGNE : 800  Carolingian Empire: Strong power
843  Treaty of Verdun: Divides Empire
Weak power
Europe Attacked by  Hungarians
Vikings
Muslims
Kings need help from nobles
Give help for privileges
Swear loyalty  Vassals
Receive lands  Fiefdoms
Become feudal lords

3. ROMAN EMPIRE 27 BC – 476 AD

4. GERMANIC INVASIONS – 5th century

5. GERMANIC KINGDOMS – 5th-8th centuries

6. BIZANTINE EMPIRE
476 – 1453

7. Viking attacks and travels – 7th-11th centuries

8. MUSLIM EXPANSION
7th – 8th centuries

9. Al-Andalus (711-1492)

10. Agricultural and urban crisis
Population and trade go down

11. Carolingian Empire – 8th – 9th centuries
Charlemagne reunifies the germanic kingdoms and
spreads Christianism

12. Treaty of Verdun
843

13. Disintegration
of the
Carolingian
Empire
Xth century

14. Act of Homage Ceremony

16. FEUDAL SOCIETY
PRIVILEGED
NON
PRIVILEGED

19. 2. THE FEUDAL NOBILITY
2.1. THE KING AND HIS VASSALS
- Monarchs represent God on Earth
- No fix residence  Royal Court moves constantly
The king’s responsibilities
- Govern people and mantain unified kingdom
- Leading nobles and armies in war
- Raising taxes (wars, ceremonies)
- Judge legal disputes
Helped by
2.2. THE WARRIOR NOBLES (knights and feudal lords)
-Trained for war from childhood  Pages  Squires  Knights
Knights
- Defend their territory and help the king and feudal lords
- Gain land and riches through war
- Enjoy privileges
- Live in castles
Royal Council (Curia Regis)

23. A MEDIEVAL CASTLE

25. 3. PEASANTS IN THE FEUDAL WORLD
3.1. LIFE ON A FIEFDOM (Property given by a king or noble to a feudal lord)
Divided into
Lord’s demesne: Best lands, castle, serfs
Holdings: Lands for free peasants in
exchange for: Taxes / Work
- Subsistence economy  No surplus  No trade
Due to poor techniques and tools
- Small villages and isolated houses
- Low comfort and hygienic conditions
3.2. PEASANTS ON THE FIEFDOM (Majority of population)
1. FREE PEASANTS  Own land  They can leave it or sell it
Pay taxes  Rent or work for the lord
Allowed to marry
2. SERFS  Don’t own land. Not free to leave the fiefdom

26. A MEDIEVAL MANOR

28. 4. MEDIEVAL MONASTERIES
4.1. THE RURALISATION OF THE CHURCH
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Pope, archbishops, bishops, abbots, monks, nuns
Go to countryside to evangelise peasants
Controls and supervises private life
Establish obligations: Praying, mass, confession, fasting
4.2. LIFE IN THE MONASTERIES
Monastery: Lands and buildings
Serfs and peasants work on lands
Monks duties and work Belong to different orders  Subject to Monastic rules
Strict discipline
Preserve and copy books
Teach reading and writing
Farming, praying, singing

29. THE FIRST MONASTERIES, 4th TO 6th CENTURY

30. EXPANSION OF THE BENEDICTINE ORDER (CLUNY)

31. CLUNIAC AND CISTERCIAN MONASTERIES

32. St. Benedict
of Nursia
Founder of
the
Benedictine
order
6th c.

33. Cluny

36. A MEDIEVAL MONASTERY

37. PARTS OF A MONASTERY

39. Church

41. Cloister

43. Bell tower

44. Crypt

45. Chapter house

46. Chapter house

47. Refectory

48. THE CRUSADES
HOLY LAND  Area where Christ lived  Pilgrimage
Muslim territory during the Middle Ages
Turks restrict access in the 11th century
1095  Pope Urban II called to Holy War (1st Crusade)
- Liberate Holy Land
- Eternal Salvation
More Crusades followed in the 12th and 13th century

51. 5. ROMANESQUE ART
Europe, 11th-13th centuries
Mainly religious (Due to social importance of church)
Boosted by: Religious orders + Pilgrimage
Bizantine and pre-romanesque influence
5.1. ARCHITECTURE  Churches and cathedrals
General features: Stout buildings (not very high), warm and intimate atmosphere
Attempt to build like the Romans did (Romanesque)
Materials  Stone, wood
Elements  Plan: latin cross floor plan
Supporting: thick walls, big pillars, buttresses
Supported: semi-circular (round) arch, barrel vault, groin vault, domes
Decoration: small windows, decorated strips, great importance of
sculpture (capitals, cloisters, doors, portals)
Other features: Bell towers, portals, cloisters…

52. ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE
General features

53. Deeply religious art, rural areas

54. Churches and monasteries are the main
buildings Expansion of monasteries

55. Boosted by Orders and Pilgrimage
Unified European Style

57. Tries to re-create Roman architecture
Pre-Romanesque and bizantine influence

58. Visigothic architecture 5th-6th centuries

59. Asturian architecture 9th century

60. Carolingian architecture 9th century

61. 11th century
Big cathedrals and
churches rise up
thanks to the urban
development

62. Small windows and
stout buildings

63. Austerity and intimacy
Stone and scarce lighting  Praying

65. The romanic churches become the frame for
the rest of the arts

66. LATIN CROSS PLAN

67. MATERIALS

68. MATERIALS
Stone
(Marble and brick only
in Italy)

69. Stone

70. SUPPORTING ELEMENTS

71. Pillars

72. Pillars

73. Pillars

74. Columns

75. Thick walls – Small openings

80. Buttresses

82. Wall decoration

83. SUPPORTED ELEMENTS

84. Round arch

85. Round arches

86. Barrel vault

87. Groin vault

90. Domes

93. Construction system sample

95. DECORATION AND OTHER ELEMENTS

96. Portals

97. Portals

98. Portals

100. Friezes

102. Decorated
Capitals

104. Bell tower

105. PARTS OF A
ROMANESQUE
CHURCH
Latin cross plant
(Ancient Christian
Basilica)

106. 3 naves – 3 apses

107. 1 nave – 1 apse + 4 apsidioles

108. Transept

109. Choir

110. Apse

113. ROMANESQUE CHURCHES AND CATHEDRALS

114. San Martín de Frómista, Spain

116. San Caprasio, Spain

117. San Clemente de Tahull, Spain

120. San Juan de la Peña, Spain

121. Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

122. Sainte Foy de Conques, France

124. Saint Sernin de Toulouse, France

126. Saint Pierre de Poitiers, France

127. San Miniato al Monte, Italy