The Middle Ages: Feudalism and the Manorial System

I. THE MIDDLE AGES: Western Europe after the fall

of Rome

A. The _________________half of the Roman Empire

became the __________________ Empire

1. The Byzantine Empire became a center for trade and

______________-______________ _______________

B. The Western half fell to the various ________________

_______________, who created their own kingdoms out
of the former Roman territory

1. Europe was plunged into an era called the ____________ _________ (also known as the “_________
_________” or “Medieval” era) from 500 to 1300

2. Western Europe was plagued by ___________ __________ between the Germanic “barbarian” kingdoms

a. The warring between kingdoms __________________ trade, causing business to collapse; European
cities were ____________ by war and/or left in ____________ ruin

b. City dwellers fled to the countryside to survive and Western Europe became mostly _____________

c. The warfare made life __________________ and difficult for Europeans; as a result, the finer things in
life, such as higher ________________, became less important; literacy decreased among Western
Europeans and few people could ________or write (aside from priests and rich people); the ruling
Germans had no written language

d. Greco-Roman culture was mostly _________________ in Western Europe

e. Europe lost its common language; ______________ mixed with German dialects and evolved into
_________ _________________, such as Spanish, French, and ________________

2. Without the _____________ of the Roman Empire, Europe became divided into a series of Germanic
kingdoms
 a. Germanic people lived in __________ __________________ led by chiefs and his loyal warriors;
family ties and _______________ ________________ (face-to-face) were more important than citizenship to a
state or loyalty to a king that they had never even met

b. Rather than living by written law (like the Romans), the Germans were guided by ________________
__________ and tradition

3. The Spread of Christianity during the Middle Ages

a. During the early Middle Ages, the Germanic kingdoms were slowly _________________ to Christianity

b. The Catholic Pope became involved in _______________ (non-religious) issues like road repair, aiding
the poor, and ________________Christian ___________ expand their power

4. The _______________ were the largest and ___________

__________________ of the Germanic kingdoms in the early Middle Ages

a. Frankish kings _____________ with the Catholic Church and expanded their
power

b. In the year 771, _______________ (“Charles the Great”) became king of the
Franks

c. Charlemagne was the greatest ______________ _______ because he did something no other Medieval
king was able to do: create an _____________ ______________

i. Charlemagne __________________ the Frankish Empire

ii. Throughout the Frankish Empire, Charlemagne spread ____________________

iii. He valued learning and ____________ ________________ in his empire

iv. He created schools to ____________ future priests

d. After Charlemagne’s _____________ in 814, his Frankish Empire lost power and was
_______________; this was the last ____________________ to provide unity in Medieval Europe; that
opportunity died with Charlemagne

5. From 800 to 1000, a ________________ major wave of _________________ struck Europe; the first wave
of attacks was by Germanic barbarians that took over Western Rome
 a. This second wave of invasions was led by the ______________, the ________________, and the
_____________; these invasions caused widespread ___________ and ____________________

b. Western Europe’s kings could _____ _______________ against these invaders; people stopped looking to
kings for ___________________

II. FEUDALISM AND THE MANORIAL SYSTEM

A. The way that people got __________________ from outside invaders was by turning to local lords and
__________________ instead of the nation’s king; this began a new political and social system called
_______________

a. Feudalism is based on __________ ownership and _________________

b. Landowning ___________ offer pieces of land (called a “___________”) to knights

c. In exchange, _______________ offer lords their _____________ and a promise to ___________ the lord and
his land

B. FEUDAL POWER STRUCTURE

1. LORDS: Lords (also called ____________) were the

_________- _________ __________________; they had
inherited titles (such as “Duke,” “Earl,” “Sir”) and held the
_________ ____________ in feudal society

a. The most powerful lords had ____________ __________

who worked for them; these less powerful lords were called
______________

2. KINGS: In the feudal system, ____________ were the highest-ranking lords and had wealth and land, but
actually did ________ ___________ the ultimate _______________

a. In the Middle Ages, power was spread out and __________ among _______________ lords, not
concentrated with a single monarch

3. KNIGHTS: Knights were specially trained soldiers and _________________ ___________________ who
protected the lords and peasants in exchange for land

4. PEASANTS: Some peasants were ______________; they were not slaves who could be bought and sold, but
they were ________ ____________, either
 a. They had to ________, do all types of physical labor in ___________to their lords, and could not leave the
land freely

b. In return for their service, the serfs could farm a few ____________ for themselves and were given
protection from outside invaders (such as _______________)

C. MANORIAL SYSTEM: During the Middle Ages, the manorial system was the way in which people
_______________

a. The lord’s land was called a ______________

b. In exchange, peasants __________ the lord by working his land and providing a portion of the _______ they
produced

c. Manors were _________-_____________communities; everything that was needed was _____________on

the manor

d. However, peasant life was hard: the days were filled by tough physical labor, they ________ __________ to
use the lord’s mill (to make bread for themselves), and had to get the lord’s permission for most things, including
getting _______

e. Peasant life was also _____________: the average life expectancy of common folk in the Middle Ages was
only _____ ___________ _________

D. CASTLES: Lords built _______________ to protect their territory from outside invasions

a. Both the attackers and the defenders of a castle would use the most modern ___________________ of the
time to fight each other