Basic Feudal Facts
Who was at the top of feudal society?
The king or queen.
Which two estates were ‘privileged’ and didn’t pay taxes or perform manual labour?
The nobility and the clergy.
Name one defensive feature of a castle.
e.g., moat, drawbridge, portcullis, rampart
What would a peasant pay when travelling through a lord’s bridge?
A toll (pontage).
What role did the clerg y play in society besides religious duties?
They educated, looked after souls, and often ran institutions.
What is a fief?
A piece of land given by a lord to a vassal.
What was the ceremony called when a vassal pledged loyalty to a lord?
Homage.
Why were castles often built on hills or near water?
For better defence and natural protection.
What were manors (mansos) in the feudal system?
Plots of land peasants worked for rent or services.
What responsibility did noblewomen often have?
Managing households, educating children, taking charge when husbands were away.
What did a vassal promise in return for a fief?
Loyalty and military service.
Who enforced justice, collected taxes and had authority on the fief?
The feudal lord.
What did peasants in the castle’s domain sometimes provide during a siege?
Food, water, or labour.
What did a lord provide a vassal besides land?
Military protection, economic aid, justice.
What might happen if a vassal no longer recognised the monarch’s authority?
Fighting could break out; lord’s land might be taken by force.
What term describes peasants who could not leave the land they worked?
Serfs.
What was the demesne (reserva señorial)?
The portion of the estate the lord kept for his own use.
What was the main purpose of tournaments among the nobility?
Training for war and entertainment.
What imbalance is shown by peasants working the land while nobles and clergy were privileged?
The system benefitted those at the top more than those at the bottom.
How did the system of fiefs link local power to the monarchy?
Lords were bound to each other and to the king by obligations, creating a network of ties.
Name the three estates in medieval society.
The nobility, the clergy, the commoners.
What phrase describes the system of mutual obligations linking nobles to a monarch?
Network of feudal ties.
In general, what life condition did many people inside a castle share?
It was often monotonous, dark, and damp.
Explain why the feudal system could be described as ‘fragile’.
Because power was localised, monarchs depended on nobles, and loyalties could shift (leading to rebellion or war).
Compare medieval social mobility with modern society.
(Open-ended: e.g., Very limited in medieval times; today there is more possibility of movement across classes.)