1. Medieval European society was organized into a feudal system following invasions in the 9th-11th centuries. Kings granted land to nobles who then protected peasants on that land. 2. The feudal system was based on a hierarchy of obligations where peasants pledged allegiance to local lords in exchange for protection, and lords pledged to the king in exchange for land. This created interlocking bonds of loyalty throughout society. 3. Medieval society was divided into estates of nobles, clergy, and workers. Nobles fought as knights and defended the people. Clergy prayed for spiritual salvation and managed church lands and monasteries. Peasants and craftsmen produced food and goods

1. UNIT 2 – FEUDAL SOCIETY
1- What were the second invasions?
2- What was the feudalism?
3- What was a fief?
4- How was medieval society organised?
5- Who were the nobles?
6- Who were the clergy?
7- How did peasants live?
Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne.
Feudal society
Sigurd story

2. KEY LANGUAGE
Pronunciation /t/ : after unvoiced sounds such as p, k, f, s, ch,
sh, x, th
Pronunciation /d/ : after voiced sounds such as b, g, j, m, n, l, r, th,
w, v, z
Pronunciation /id/ : t, d

3. Vocabulary
Feudalism: It’s the dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which the
nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service
Fief: Land granted to a noble by the king or a higher noble in exchange for
military service.
Serf: A member of the lowest feudal class obliged to work for a noble.
Vassal: A person who received land from the king or a higher noble in return
for homage and allegiance.
Court: A group of lawyers, clergy and soldiers that helped the king to govern.
Feudalismo: Sistema social dominante en la Europa medieval; en este
sistema la nobleza recibe tierras del rey a cambio de rendirle homenaje
Feudo: Tierra concedida a un noble por el rey o un noble de mayor rango a
cambio de jurarle fidelidad.
Siervo: Campesino ligado a un feudo, obligado a trabajar para el señor feudal
Vasallo: Noble que recibe tierras del rey o un noble de mayor rango a cambio de
homenaje y lealtad.
Corte: Grupo de juristas, miembros del alto clero y nobleza que aconsejaban al rey en
tareas de gobierno.

4. Vocabulary
Demesne: Part of the land on the fief that was used by the lord himself.
(DOMINIO)
Estate: Each one of the groups in which medieval society was divided: the
nobles, the clergy and the workers. (ESTAMENTO)
Knight: A man who received honor and land in exchange for serving a lord
as a soldier
Peasant: A poor person who made their living as a farmer or laborer
Dominio: Parte de las tierras del feudo que el señor feudal se reservaba
para sí y que trabajaban sus siervos como pago de rentas
Estamento: Cada uno de los grupos en los que se divide la sociedad
estamental: nobles, clero y trabajadores (la mayoría campesinos)
Caballero: Guerreros que luchaban a caballo y que recibían tierra o dinero
a cambio de prestar sus servicios.
Campesino: Grupo predominante de la sociedad medieval que
trabajaba las tierras de los señores feudales.

5. 1- What were the second invasions?
When? Who?Why?
From about 850 to 1100 Europe was divided and weak. Vikings, Hungarians and
Saracens.
Vikings
Magyars
Saracens
They created a climate of violence and insecurity in Europe.
From Scandinavia
Conquered British Isles, Northern France and southern Italy.
From the steppes of Asia
Theys settled in Eastern Europe (Kingdom of Hungary)
Muslims pirates from northern Africa
Attacked the Mediterranean coast

6. 1- What were the second invasions?
1- When and why were the second invasions?
2- Who were these new peoples?
3- Which lands did the Vikings conquer?
4- Where did the Magyars settle?
5- Who were the Saracens?
6- Which was the consequence of these invasions?
Activities

7. 2 – What was feudalism?The origin of
Feudalism
With the fall of the Carolingian Empire, Europe was divided into several
kingdoms
The kings were weak
Kings couldn’t protect the peasants
Peasants turned to nobles for protection
They had to work for the nobles
They became serfs

8. 2 – What was feudalism?Feudalism: a
new social
system
The king
PEASANTS: they belonged to a fief
(mainly)
Nobles
Nobles of lower rank
Chain of personal ties
The nobles accepted the king’s supremacy (paid
homage); in exchange for a fief.
“Primus inter pares”

9. 2 – What was feudalism?
They (THE
NOBLES) paid
homage
A chain of personal ties was formed,. This chain linked the king with the nobles.
Feudalism: a
new social
system
*The king, the nobles and the knights
*
*
A fief

10. 2 – What was feudalism?Homage
ceremony
The noble kneels in front of his king and he swears fidelity to
him(he became a vassal); in exchange, he will receive a fief.

11. 2 – What was feudalism?
Feudalism: a
new social
system
1- Explain the origin of feudalism using the connectors on page 6
2- Describe the chain of personal ties that formed Feudalism
3- Activities 1 and 2 , page 20.

12. 2 – What was feudalism?The origin of
Feudalism
With the fall of the Carolingian Empire, Europe was divided into several
kingdoms
The kings were weak
Kings couldn’t protect the peasants
Peasants turned to nobles for protection
They had to work for the nobles
They became serfs
and
consequently
thus
in exchange
Finally, consequently, thus
At first, initially

13. 2 – What was feudalism?
They (THE
NOBLES) paid
homage
A chain of personal ties was formed,. This chain linked the king with the nobles.
Feudalism: a
new social
system
*The king, the nobles and the knights
*
*
A fief

14. 2 – What was feudalism?
The powers
of the king
and his court
The king’s power was very limited
The king’s army was small
He could not collect taxes on his vassals lands
WHY?
When his kingdom was in danger, the king
called on the nobles for help.
His income came from his fiefs
and from some towns.
In specials circumstances the king received help from the Church and important nobles
Court’s decisions only affected the king’s lands (not the nobles’ lands)
Court
Help the king to govern
It was formed by a group of lawyers, clergy and
nobles

15. FEUDALISM IN FRANCE
The peers of
France
This position was held by the greatest,
highest-ranking members of the French
nobility.
They were twelve: six from the nobility
and six from the Clergy

16. 2 – What was feudalism?
The powers
of the king
and his court Activities
1- Activity 1 page 21
2- What was the Court?
3- Why do you think the king was so weak?

17. 3- What was a fief?
A fief
Land received by nobles in exchange for swearing allegiance to
the king.
A fief had
A castle
Villages
Agricultural land and pasture
Forests
Demesne: Land on the manor which was used by the lord himself
The Lord also rented plots of land to the peasants
They paid in money, products or work
The Lord also took money from taxes or tolls
Mill, oven, press Bridges or lands

18. The lords took tolls or taxes from the merchants who
crossed their bridges and their land.
The lord decided when the peasants could hunt there or collect firewood.
3- What was a fief?

19. 3- What was a fief?
Activities
1- What was a fief?
2- What did a fief have?
3- What was the demesne?
4- From which sources did the lord obtain his income?

20. 3- What was a fief?

21. 4- How was medieval society organized?
Divided into three groups ESTATES
Nobles
Clergy
Workers
NOBLES CLERGY WORKERS
Knights and families
To defend population
Monks and priests
To pray for spiritual
salvation
Peasants, craftsmen and
merchants
To produce and work for the society
PRIVILEGED ESTATES
They didn’t pay taxes
They didn’t do manual work
They held the most important positions in government

22. estates
clergy
privileged
knights
monks
merchantscraftsmen
peasants
taxes
government

23. 4- How was medieval society organized?
1- How was the medieval society organized?
2- Who were the nobles? Which was their duty?
3- Who were the clergy? Which was their duty?
4- Who were the workers? Which was their duty?
5- What does “privileged estate” mean?
6- Activities 1 and 2; page 23

24. 4- How was medieval society organized?

25. 5- Who were the nobles?
War was the nobles’ main activity
Nobles fought on horseback. Weapons
Lance
Shield
Mace
Sword
Steps you have to follow to become a knight
8 years
old
15years
old
20 years
old
You served as page to an important noble and learned to fight.
You became squire and served a knight
If you proved your worth, you were made knight at a special ceremony
A trial or mock fight in which the knights trained their skills to be
ready to go to the war.
They trained and also gained prestige at these competes.
Tournament

26. 5- Who were the nobles?
Noblemen Noblewomen
Their duty was to defend the people Their duty was to have children to
continue the family line.
They have to obey their husbands in
everything
They had a comfortable life
They had a comfortable life but they could
die in war
I think noblemen/noblewomen had a better life because…..

27. 5- Who were the nobles?
2- Explain the different steps you have to follow to become a
knight; use the connectors on page 6.
3- What was a tournament? Why were the tournaments useful for
the knights?
1- How did the knights fight? Which were their weapons?
4- Activity 2; page 24

28. 6- Who were the clergy?
Pope
Head of the Church
Ruled over the Papal State
He could excommunicate a king
Secular clergy Regular clergy
Bishops Diocese
Priests Parishes
Abbot
Religious order
Led the Order
Superiors Managed the monasteries
Friars, monks, nuns Lived in the
monasteries
Parishes and monasteries had their own lands, worked by peasants.
The Church

29. 6- Who were the clergy?
Religious orders
The Order of Saint Benedict was the most important order
in the Early Middle Ages (6th-10th c.)
The code of regulations observed by a religious orderRule
Examples
Some orders were closed
Some required that members beg to
collect money
Some imposed absolute poverty
Each order wore a different habit
Life in monasteries Prayer, meditation
Worked in the garden, looked after the poor and sick
Copied manuscripts by hand

30. 6- Who were the clergy?
1- Who is the Pope? Why was he so important in
Middle Ages?
2- Explain the way it was organized the Church.
5- Describe the life in a monastery.
3- What was the Order of Saint Benedict?
4- What was a religious order’s rule? Give three examples of rules
that monks had to obey.

31. 7-How did peasants live?
Serfs and
freemen90% PEASANTS
SERFS FREEMEN
Subjected to lord’s authority
No leave the fief
No get married without lord’s
permission.
No paid for their work
Serfdom waspassed from parents to
their children.
Can leave the fief
They work for the lord and paid rent
They paid a tithe to the Church.

32. 7-How did peasants live?
Everyday life
They lived in small villages
Houses made of mud and wood, with a little furniture;
people and animals shared the house.
Self sufficient
They grew food, made clothes and furniture, built
their houses.
Did the peasants have a comfortable life?
They did not live well: They rarely ate meet and fish;
disasters caused many deaths; a few people reached
the age of forty.

33. 7-How did peasants live?
The peasants’
work
Tools Basic, such as sickles, scythers, hoes and Roman ploughs
The whole family worked from sunrise to sunset.

34. 7-How did peasants live?
The peasants’
work
The peasants left half of their
land fallow so that it could
recover and become fertile
again.
Crops
Cereals
Vegetables
Grapes
Other fruits

35. 7-How did peasants live?
1- Which percentage of the population were peasants?
2-What kinds of peasants were there?
3- Which were the differences between serfs and
freemen?
4- Describe a house of a medieval peasant.
5- What does self-sufficient mean?
6- Did the peasants have a comfortable life?
7- What kind of tools did the peasants have?
8- Describe the two-year crop rotation.
9- Which were the main crops the peasants grew?
10- Activities 1, 2 and 3; page 27

36. Review

38. PYRAMID OF FEUDAL SOCIETY
Serfs
Freemen (mainly peasants)
Lower
nobility
Lower
clergy
Higher
nobility
Higher
clergy
King
Regular clergy
Secular clergy
Regular clergy
Secular clergy
Earls, Dukes,
marquises
Knights
Abbots
Bishops,
cardinals
Monks,
nuns, friars
Priests,
parishes

39. PYRAMID OF FEUDAL SOCIETY
____
________________
_______ _______
________ ________
_____
___________
___________
___________
__________
_________,
________,_______
_______
_______
_______,_____
_______,____
____,_______
_______,____
____