Notes on Medieval Europe and Japan
02.01 Travel Journal
1. How did manorialism develop in Medieval Europe?
• Some people moved to countryside and focused on agriculture.
• Small, independent economies arose, centered on large agricultural manors.
• system controlled by powerful warrior landlords, built small armies to protect manor.
• Landlords also leased out land in exchange for loyalty.
2. How did the idea of feudalism emerge as an historical construct?
•
3. What role does each of the social orders play in the feudal system?
King • top of social hierarchical system.
• had ultimate control over their land and could grant land to others
Nobles • received grants of land from kings.
• use land to generate income and provide money, in form of taxes, to king.
Knights • warrior class.
• fought king’s wars and sometimes rewarded with land of own
4. How do the different types of serfs compare to each other?
• Some serfs were freemen who rented land from a lord as tenants.
o paid for the use of the lord’s land
o otherwise were not bound to the land or obligated to any other duties
• majority of serfs were villains
o received a small parcel of land but did not own it
o legal status was roughly equivalent to that of a slave
• sharecroppers
o owing most of their produce to lord as a fee for use of the land
5. What options did a second son have for a career in medieval society?
• had to find their own ways to gain land
• military
• squires, assisting knights
• apprenticeship. Boys would train and often live with a master of a trade, such as a carpenter, blacksmith, or cobbler
6. In what ways were women’s positions in medieval society tied to the fate of men?
• A single woman’s position was tied to her father’s; a married woman’s position was tied to her husband’s.
1. How did manorialism develop in Medieval Europe?
• Some people moved to countryside and focused on agriculture.
• Small, independent economies arose, centered on large agricultural manors.
• system controlled by powerful warrior landlords, built small armies to protect manor.
• Landlords also leased out land in exchange for loyalty.
2. How did the idea of feudalism emerge as an historical construct?
•
3. What role does each of the social orders play in the feudal system?
King • top of social hierarchical system.
• had ultimate control over their land and could grant land to others
Nobles • received grants of land from kings.
• use land to generate income and provide money, in form of taxes, to king.
Knights • warrior class.
• fought king’s wars and sometimes rewarded with land of own
4. How do the different types of serfs compare to each other?
• Some serfs were freemen who rented land from a lord as tenants.
o paid for the use of the lord’s land
o otherwise were not bound to the land or obligated to any other duties
• majority of serfs were villains
o received a small parcel of land but did not own it
o legal status was roughly equivalent to that of a slave
• sharecroppers
o owing most of their produce to lord as a fee for use of the land
5. What options did a second son have for a career in medieval society?
• had to find their own ways to gain land
• military
• squires, assisting knights
• apprenticeship. Boys would train and often live with a master of a trade, such as a carpenter, blacksmith, or cobbler
6. In what ways were women’s positions in medieval society tied to the fate of men?
• A single woman’s position was tied to her father’s; a married woman’s position was tied to her husband’s.