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Weslee Mok
Professor Rodriguez
History 7A
27 April 2017

Virtual Field Trip: Feudal Society/Manor

Feudal life in Medieval Europe is commonly known to have a rigid caste system that
clearly laid out where the king and nobles ruled unlawfully over their lands while those deemed
commoners or peasants had to pay the price of living on said property. The Middle Ages began
from the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and started around the fifth century up until the
fifteenth, as it promised a change that melded with the Renaissance later on. During these times
of feudalism, inhabitants typically lived together in small communities or extravagant manors
that promised them protection. These manors were owned by a lord, and these serfs or servants
would work diligently to maintain any goods that the lord and the manor demanded in return for
their housing, the actual physical housing was drastically different for peasants and nobles, the
peasants given small, cramped thatch-roof houses that barely had enough rooms to house a
family.

This era also had a focus on religion; an abundance of monasteries were being established during
this time while the only legitimate church in Europe was the Catholic Church, some of these vital
religious events included many pilgrimages made to holy shrines and cathedrals during the
Middle Ages. Religion was made so drastically important because the church was directly
connected to the royalty and nobility, it was equal in sense that they worked with the current
monarch as a council and were major role players in the government.

While class systems and religion dominated the Middle Ages, the development of art and music
was considered critical to medieval religious life and later secular life, as singing was important
for church services and dramas performed outside of the church focused on topics about the Old
Testament and about Christ. It spread religion to people in a manner that was not reserved solely
for the nobility, but the commoners and peasants as well, making it an important aspect to all of
the feudal system during this era. As these features of the Middle Ages developed, they began
losing the strict hold they had on status and instead focused on commerce and trade; peasants
became farmers that grew fruitful and profitable crops, merchants rapidly popping up with goods
to the villagers that soon demanded far more luxury items.

The townspeople began to regain a balance from the rigid feudal system, separating themselves
into different working categories that did not separate them by their status, but rather their skill
and contribution to the town. These two ideas influenced early US history greatly because of
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how it depended on this type of exchange in order to develop its own society and economy and
how they understood that being led by a certain monarch or religious sect was stifling and not
what they would want for their own people. Without trade and commerce, early colonial America
would have been unable to build foundations such as housing and cities, without funds to do so,
as well as any specific goods and items needed to sustain life in these areas. The idea that if they
were to depend on a single leader that represented nobility to lead them all was unwelcome and
that they wanted to work together to develop their new land.

http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/feudal.html

Thought Questions:

1. Why do you think the Catholic Church would had helped struggling peasants more if the
peasants were able to have a voice and work with the high church officials?

2. What are your opinions on the fact that religion was the staple muse for art and music? Do you
think it would be enjoyed differently because of an individuals status?