Feudalism and Code of Chivalry
By: Hannah Stroh, Nikki Gowdy, and Abby Middleton
Feudalism
Feudalism was developed by William the Conqueror and the Normans. It was the Primary Political system of the Middle Ages. King William couldn’t keep the people from rebelling. He also had trouble taking care of all the land. These are 2 major problems that led to the development of the Feudal System. He gave land to his main people for exchange of their services. Due to the rulers having more and more difficulty defending their subjects, people turned to local landed aristocrats or nobles to protect them. In order to survive it became important to to find a powerful lord who was able to provide protection in exchange for service. This led to a new social and political system called feudalism.
Types of Men Within the Feudal System
King
Lords
The lord was the ruler of a certain area who had many rights and duties as that ruler. He was very close to the king and had to appear by the king's side in his court and at war.
Knights
They were one of the types of fighting men during the middle ages. He wore multiple layers of armor and was considered the strongest of fighters. Knights were also very wealthy which was important because it was very expensive to be a knight.
Serfs
They had no land but were forced to work for the lords in return for protection from the knights.
The Feudal System
Code of Chivalry
Chivalry was influenced by the Catholic Church during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. From this came the idea of a civilized behavior, also known as chivalry. Chivalry was a code of ethics that knights were supposed to uphold. Chivalry also meant that the knights should not fight for the materialistic things but for the glory. In addition to their oath to defend the Church and people who were unable to defend themselves the knights were expected to treat captives as honored guest instead of putting them in dungeons.
The Code of Chivalry included:
1. Be trustworthy, 2. Be holy, 3. Be helpful, 4. Be reverent, 5. Be respectful
The Code of Chivalry was a moral system that was not just about the combat but it introduced ideas of knighthood like bravery, courtesy, honor and gallantry towards women.
A code of Chivalry was in a song called “The Song of Roland” in the early 11th Century also when William the Conqueror ruled.
Essential Questions
2. What affect did feudalism have on the European society?