Feudalism & The Manor
This decentralized system of land ownership and protection developed in Europe during the early Middle Ages.
What is Feudalism?
This official document changed who controlled a city by granting townspeople the right to govern themselves independently of a feudal lord.
What is a Town Charter?
Saint Francis of Assisi believed that this was a reflection of God and should be treated with deep respect and love.
What is the natural world (or nature/animals)?
The highest rank a craftsman could achieve, allowing them to open their own shop and train others.
What is a Master?
On a manor, the lord was in control, but in a town, control was held by these citizens (often thanks to a Town Charter).
Who are the townspeople / mayor / guilds?
Under the "Feudal Contract," a vassal owed this primary duty in exchange for land from a lord.
What is military service / loyalty?
These associations were formed to protect local craftsmen, regulate prices, and maintain the quality of goods.
What are guilds?
This scholar argued that "Natural Law" was universal and given by God, while "Human-Made Law" was created by societies.
Who is Thomas Aquinas?
This was the strict code of conduct and honor that medieval knights were expected to follow.
What is Chivalry?
While life on a manor offered very little of this for serfs, towns offered a much higher level of it for citizens.
What is personal freedom?
Because it produced nearly everything its residents needed to survive without outside trade, the medieval manor was described using this term.
What is "self-sufficient"?
This is the first step in the path of a craftsman, usually involving a young person learning the trade from a master without receiving daily pay.
What is an Apprentice?
This architectural style is famous for its visual impact of extreme height, large stained glass windows, and engineering features like flying buttresses.
What is Gothic architecture?
This term refers to the lord's estate, which was the heart of the medieval economy and included the village, fields, and the lord's house.
What is a Manor?
The primary job on a manor was farming, while the primary jobs in a town were focused on these skilled laborers.
Who are craftsmen / merchants / artisans?
This was the specific name for the estate or piece of land granted by a lord to a vassal.
What is a fief?
After finishing their training, a craftsman reached this middle stage, earning daily wages while working on their "masterpiece."
What is a Journeyman?
The Church updated the original code of Chivalry by adding the virtues of defending the Church and protecting this specific group of people.
Who are the weak / the poor (or women and children)?
These religious men and women lived in isolated communities where they dedicated their lives to prayer, work, and preserving knowledge.
Who are Monks and Nuns?
While Monasteries served as places to preserve knowledge in isolation, these other orders served society by preaching directly to the public in towns.
What are Mendicant Orders?
The manor system heavily restricted the personal freedom of this group of peasants, who were permanently bound to the land.
Who are the serfs?
While a manor's economy relied almost entirely on agriculture, a medieval town's economy was primarily based on these two things.
What are trade and commerce (or crafts)?
Unlike monks and nuns who lived isolated in monasteries, these types of religious orders (like the Franciscans) traveled around towns to preach and help the poor.
What are Mendicant Orders?
In the feudal hierarchy, this is the general term for anyone who received land from a higher-ranking noble in exchange for loyalty.
What is a Vassal/Lord?
Thomas Aquinas compared Human-Made law to this type of law, which he believed was universally given by God to govern all things.
What is Natural Law?