Before you leave class, you must complete the following:

List one of each: What benefits do you think a medieval manor provided to the serfs who lived there? What were the drawbacks

Europeans developed feudalism, a political and military system of protective alliances and relationships

The rights and duties of feudal relationships helped shape today’s forms of representative government.

After the treaty of Verdun, Charlemagne’s three feuding grandsons broke the kingdom up even further.

Part of this territory also became a battleground as new waves of invaders attacked Europe.

The political turmoil and constant warfare led to the rise of feudalism- a military and political system based on land ownership and personal loyalty.

lord fief vassal knight serf manor tithe

Why do these NFL teams take the names of European invaders from 1000 years ago?

Vikings set sail from Scandinavia, a wintry, wooded region in Northern Europe.

The Vikings are also known as Norsemen.

They took pride in violent names like Eric Bloodaxe and Thorfinn Skullsplitter

Modern-day Scandinavia

Tuesday is named for the Norse god Tyr, the Norse equivalent of the Roman god Mars, the Spanish word Martes is based on Tyr as well.

Wednesday is named for the Norse god Woden.

Thursday is named for the Norse god Thor

Friday is named for the Norse goddess Frigg.

A Viking ship, known as a Prow, held 300 warriors who took turns rowing the ships 72 oars

Vikings were traders, farmers and outstanding explorers. Leif Ericson likely reached North America 500 years before Columbus

As Vikings accepted Christianity, they stopped raiding monasteries.

A warming trend in Europe’s climate made farming easier in Scandinavia.

As agriculture increased, the seafaring life of a Viking became less necessary.

The Magyars are a group of nomadic peoples who were superb horseback riders. The Magyars swept across the Danube and invaded Western Europe.

The Magyars captured people to sell as slaves.

They overran Northern Italy and reached as far west as the Rhineland and Burgundy

The Magyars came from present day Hungary.The Hungarians today speak the language of Magyar.

Muslims controlled the Mediterranean Sea and disrupted trade.

The Muslims plundered Europe during the 800s and 900s.

They attacked Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts and as far inland as Switzerland

In 911 Rollo the Viking and King Charles the Simple of France made peace.

This marked the beginning of the end of the Viking invasions in Western Europe.

Feudalism is based on mutual obligations.In exchange for military protection, a lord or landowner granted land which was called a fief.

The person receiving the fief was called a vassal

At the peak of the pyramid is the King.

The next step are the vassals and church officials

They were followed by knights, mounted warriors who pledged to defend their lord’s land in exchange for fiefs

The peasants who worked the fields were at the bottom of the pyramid

In the feudal system, status defined a person’s prestige and power.

There were three groupsThose who fought (nobles and

knights)Those who prayed (Church Officials)Those who worked (peasants)

Serfs were people who could not lawfully leave the place they were born.

They were not slaves, they could not be bought or sold.

The wealth of the feudal lords came from the labor of peasants

The manor was the lord’s estate.

The lord provided the serfs with housing and fields, in return the serfs worked the fields.

Men and women alike worked in the fields.

Peasants pay a high price for life on a manor

They pay tax on all grain ground in the lord’s mill.

Peasants also paid a marriage tax. Peasant families had to pay a tax to the

church known as a tithe. A tithe represented one-tenth of their

income