Mon seigneur et protecteur Feudalism Seigneurialism in France I Feudalism is a term invented by historians to try to tell what happened before in the 9th century Also known as Vassalagism o Results of the last series of invasions o What is was and was not A dispute over definitions o Feudalism vassalage politics versus Manorialism economics II Generalities of Feudalism A set of reciprocal laws and regulations that is set up around the warrior nobility class Set up through the 9th 11th century o Lords Land owning people he was able to give part of the lands away to vassals Ex Bishops King Military people people who received land from the leaders before the Viking invasions The owners protected their land from attacking people and they were lucky not to be raided from these invaders The king at the time still has complete power and controls all the land but after the invasions the power changed to the land lords because they were the protectors of the land and had the power The king was still in power but no one listened to him outside of Paris The lord had complete control over any of the land he owned o Vassals These were the people who swore loyalty to king and they are the noble elite 50 or so families These elite groups have vassals and those vassals swear loyalty to these elite group The land lords at the time would give land to these vassals to swear loyalty to them this is known as commendation ceremony this allowed the lords to gain more power and military strength because vassals had the power to get soldiers and weapons o Fiefs Is the land given to vassals by the lords the lord of that vassal had complete control of that land and could do what he wanted without being challenged This land could be taken back by the original lord but this would be a loss of power for the lord For a vassal to get a fief they would have to do a Commendation ceremony it had two parts the first part Homage is the terms and contracts of what the people will give and want land they got for it The second part is the Fealty this is the showing that you submit to the lord like knighting ceremonies There is no passing down of the land through families and is unbreakable vow o Knights they were the warriors of the land they were vassals to the lords The word comes from Germany and it means slave They were paid by them getting places to live plus weapons and armor The knight lived with the vassals or lords and all they did was eat sleep and train III Serfs They were illiterate and the primary labor resource and had not political power Lived on the outer part of the land that the lord owned The villages were broken down into two parts semi public and semi private Semi Private was the serfs that were given small parts of land and in return he would give him a labor debt to the lord forever meaning even your children would work for that lord The problem with this was that they always grew wheat and rye so they could pay taxes but they had the right to plant anything they want The serfs would work the fields of the lord before touching any land of their own and they would work and plant the fields to the lord before doing anything to theirs This was because crops have certain dates they need to be planted and harvested to gain the best of the supplies The lords had vassals that would make sure that the serfs did everything according to plan The Semi Public was the community property this was the land that couldn t be farmed so it was given to the people to live on with cattle and other animals This land was put in place so that the serfs could supplement their pay but the problem that comes is the land fertilized because the cattle in penned up and not able to move around The serfs had Feudal Taxes and Fees that kept them under the control of the Lords of the land They paid these fees and taxes by what they grew so wheat grains livestock and other things Some taxes were marriage fees land fee Christmas tax harvest tax Easter tax and others There were annual fees and taxes plus other taxes and fees that that the serfs had to pay year round There was a bread oven fee at this time only lords could own bread ovens so any time a serf wanted to bake something they had to pay a fee to the lord The lords at the time had control over lots of land and the lords couldn t watch over all of them so lords implemented actions The serfs had a meeting at the start of the year and the lord would force them to appoint a tax collector for that year this allowed the lords to get what every serf really had The wealthy serfs of the community had to pay for any tax that weren t paid so they worked with the tax collectors so they wouldn t have to pay Rights and Expectations Serfs at the time were protected by the laws from the lords and if during times of famine the lords were expected to help feed the serfs and protect them during times of battle Now in return they had to pay back anything that was given to them and protect the lords if they were in battle The serfs were expected to stay in the area they were born in so that they could provide for the community and it wouldn t help to run away because that would increase the burden on the community and their family IV Other Developments castles at the time aren t like they are today They were just weak structures that were placed to intimidate the serfs and protect the lords With more time the castles change and evolve to stone buildings but to keep them working they had to be run and structured right Castellans were the roaming groups such as knights or other groups that went around attacking lords and vassals to gain power When castles start to be built the leadership class starts to want to be able to pass down the castles through their generation During this time there is a change in what fiefs are during the 11th and 12th century Primogeniture is the term that means only the oldest son of the lord could inherit the land of the father the second son went to the church and any other sons after that go nothing Also with Primogeniture women before this couldn t inherit anything from their father s estate now after this women were used to summit alliances or to keep fighting from happening This would allow the father to gain land or money when they gave their daughters away to be married Key Terms Feudalism Commendation ceremony Homage Fealty Castellans Primogeniture Seigneurialism