The High Middle Ages and
Feudalism
Political Situation
The Muslim World
Caliphate divided: internal fighting.
The Turks, the most important group → took control
and created independent states, governed by a
sultan.
New Clifhates
Fatimid Caliphate (Egypt)
Almoravid Caliphate (North Africa)
10th-13th: attacks from Christians
13th: invaded by the Mongols
THE CHRISTIAN WORLD
THE REST OF THE WORLD
Byzantine Empire: attacks from the turks.
Christian Kingdoms
Carolingian Empire
Holy Roman Empire
Less territory, less power held by the emperor
expansion
1139 Kingdom of Portugal became independent
Amohads
Zaragoza conquered in 1118
Al-Andalus +
North of Africa, capital in Sevilla.
Africa
America
Thanks to trade, new kingoms in the Sahel zone
Asia
They converted to Islam and their lands were
incorporated into the Muslim trade routes.
Mongols in Central Asia
invaded China, Muslim
Caliphate and Eastern Europe
Chinese Empire, India, Indochina.
Central America:
Toltec and Mayan
South America:
Inca
The feudal system
FEUDALISM:
political, social and economic system
established in the Christian kingdoms
characterised
monarchs' loss of power,
relationships based on personal loyalty
economy
based
small self-sufficient areas of land called fiefdoms.
The origins of feudalism
Monarchs didn't have resources to help their subjects
In the beginning:
Division of the Carolingian Empire
Europe suffered
attacks and villages and cities were sacked.
ask the nobles for help.
monarch divided the lands among the
nobles (as a reward)
this way the king was weak, so the
nobles managed to:
Power became hereditary
Absolute power over the inhabitants of their lands
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Serfs:
Power of the nobility
increased:
Fiefdom
was the
land owned by the feudal lord.
were the peasants that
lived and worked in the
fiefdom.
Deny military aid
Armies to extend their
domains
feudal wars.
Insecurity
nobility built
castles + people looking for
protection
Vassalage relationships
Vassal:
Person who voluntarily promised his loyalty to
someone more powerful than himself in return for them
protecting and pofiding for him
The vassal swore his loyalty in an official act known as
commendation ceremony. It consisted of:
●The vassal knelt before his lord,
put his hands together and swore
his loyalty, promising giving him
military aid and advise.
●The lord took the vassal's hand
in his and kissed them, signifying
his acceptance and promising to
protect and provide for his
vassal.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIEFDOM
Village:
Places of comunal use:
Demesne:
Castle:
situated up high or next to a river . House of the lord and his family + vassals +
servants.
the lord's land. Cultivated by his serfs. Forests
also belonged to him
situated near to the castle. Main building was the
church. Farmers and peasants lived together with the
animals. Taverns. Traders.
bridges, mills, forge, furnace.
Economy
Agriculture:
cereal crops + vegetables + pulses. Wine + Beer.
Products obtained from animals: milk, eggs, cheese, honey.
Livestock:
Meat was rarely consumed but they
obtained wool and leather from animals. Also used for transport
or in war .
SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY
Agriculture techniques:
Irrigation techniques
Mouldboard plough
Three-year crop rotation
Manure as fertiliser Increase of production → population grew
Society
Nobility
Higher:
dominant
group. In charge of defending the
society.
Lower:
Clergy
dukes, marquisis and
counts.
knight
Upper
in charge of
praying to guarantee salvation.
Lower
bishops and abbots.
Peasants:
priests and monks.
Serfs:
they worked for the rest
of the society.
Free peasants, craftsmen and
traders
attached to the fief.
The Church
Two branches of the clergy:
Organisation of the Church
Pope
leader of the Christians in the
West. When he died, cardinals
appointed his successor.
Secular clergy:
Regular clergy:
bishops and priests. In
charge of ceremonies and religious
education.
abbots, monks and
nuns. Had to follow rules applied to their
order. Two types:
Religious orders:
Military orders:
devoted their time to
praying and working in the monastery.
praying + fighting to
spread Christianity.
The political power of the Church
Church and political power were very close
The Pope could excommunicate
whoever he wanted, even monarchs. It condemned the
victim to hell, so it became a way of threatening people.
monarchs appointed bishops & bishops attended cortes or parliament.
The economic power of the Church
Monarchs and nobles gave lands and fiefs to the Church to
win its favour or obtain salvation
Church became the
main land owner and benefited from an exclusive tax: the
tithe: a tenth of agricultural production, which peasants had
to pay.
Culture and the Church
Responible for education---}spreading religious beliefs:
Responsible of spreading
culture
copying ancient
texts .
Fear of hell
Hope for the mediation of
saints and the Virgin Mary
→ pilgrimages.
Fear of the end of the
world
LIFE IN A FIEFDOM
The life of the privileged estates
The life of the unprivileged estate
The nobles spent their time hunting and training to use weapons and handle horses.
Both men and women learned to read and write and received a cultural education.
The dames (noblewomen) were not generally involved in political matters and were in
charge of the servants. They did not go outside much, as they wanted their skin to remain
pale because dark skin was associated with the women who worked the land.
The chaplain who lived in the castle prayed and looked after the chapel.
The clothes worn by the privileged estates were mainly made of linen, velvet and silk in
bright colours, especially red. They were carefully made and decorated with embroidery.
They also wore jewellery. The chaplain wore specific clothing.
In the castle, the nobles attended banquets or feasts, at which they ate large amounts of
meat with their hands. Occasionally they participated in tournaments, which were simulated
battles.
The unprivileged estate worked from sunrise to sunset. Before they went to bed, they
gathered around a fire to warm themselves, talk and tell stories. They did not know how to
read or write and passed their culture on orally.
The female peasants looked after the children, in addition to working the land with the men.
They wore clothes made of wool and cotton, which were grey or brown and coarsely made.
They made simple meals, such as soups, stews and bread, from agricultural products.
Occasionally, they held simple celebrations for weddings and births, at which they ate some
meat.