Feudalism: Individual Assignment

Learning Target: I can describe the main features of feudalism, explain the roles of different groups, and compare feudalism with another social
or political system.
Standard: SS.912.W.1.3: Interpret and evaluate primary and secondary sources.
I Can Statement: I can explain how feudalism worked and how it shaped medieval society.

Name: Class/Period:

Instructions: Complete this assignment on your own. Watch the video carefully and jot down notes. Follow the steps below. You have 20
minutes total.

Step 1 – Watch & Note (0–3 min)

Watch the video and list key terms or concepts you hear:
In the previous system, land exchanges were carried They were seeking to The change in feudalism led to the gathering of more
out, but most of the land belonged to the king negotiate to receive military professional soldiers and the creation of a pyramid
aid
that divided from slaves to commoners.
Step 2 – Explain (3–5 min)
What is feudalism? Why did it develop? Write a short answer below:

Feudalism was the predominant social, political, and economic system in medieval Europe, based on land

ownership (the fief) and the relationship of vassalage between lords and vassals. In this decentralized system,

nobles owned the land and peasants worked it, giving part of the harvest in exchange for protection and the right

to cultivate plots. Power was fragmented among a network of vassals and lords, with the king or emperor at the

top, and land, military force, and religion as the fundamental pillars of the social order.
 Feudalism developed in Europe after the disintegration of the Roman and Carolingian Empires, due to instability

and constant invasions by barbarian peoples, Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims. To address this insecurity, feudal

lords offered military protection and control of the land in exchange for the loyalty (vassalage) of other nobles

Step – labor
and3the RoleofAnalysis
serfs. This(5–10
decentralized
min) system provided order and social structure in a context of political and
Fill out the chart for each role.
economic crisis.
Role What They Get (Privileges/Benefits) What They Owe (Duties/Obligations) Power/Agency Vulnerabilities/Disadvantages
King control of the land (although administer justice, be the military The real political power was The main vulnerabilities of kings
delegated to lords), received leader who commanded the hosts decentralized and exercised during feudalism were fragmented
military support (hosts) and of his vassals, and protect his autonomously by the feudal lords and weak power, military
financial support (taxes and aid) subjects in their fiefs, who administered dependence on feudal lords, the
from their vassals, and could justice, collected taxes and lack of centralized authority that
impart justice and advice in their maintained their own armies. made direct control of territories
courts. and the enforcement of laws
impossible, and the absence of a
direct relationship with subjects,
who were under the lords' rule,
which prevented the consolidation
of a strong and unified
monarchical power.

Lord/Noble During feudalism, nobles enjoyed Nobles in feudalism had duties In feudalism, nobles held power The main vulnerabilities or
economic, political, and military that included military service to and agency over their fiefs, acting disadvantages of nobles in
privileges such as land ownership, the king, especially in times of as judges, administrators, and feudalism were the military
the collection of taxes and rents war, and the administration of military leaders within their obsolescence of the feudal
from peasants, a monopoly on their lands, which involved territories. They wielded the structure, which was poorly
offices and participation in war, as keeping the peace, administering power of command (ban power) adapted to new warfare
well as the right to administer justice, collecting taxes, and that allowed them to govern, technologies and large nations;
justice and use facilities such as protecting the peasants and serfs collect taxes, and exercise the excessive power of their
mills and forests. living on their fiefs. They also had authority over their vassals and vassals, who could challenge or
to keep an oath of loyalty and serfs. This power was in exchange even dismantle the king's power;
obedience to their lord or king, for swearing loyalty, providing and their dependence on land and
who had granted them the lands. military support, and paying serfs, which meant that inefficient
tribute to the king, although in agricultural methods and low
practice they enjoyed productivity limited economic
considerable autonomy. growth and generated shortages
and famines.
Peasant/Serf Peasants and serfs enjoyed limited The main duties of peasants or Peasants and serfs in feudalism The vulnerabilities and
but essential benefits under serfs in feudalism were physical had limited power and agency, disadvantages of serfs in
feudalism, primarily the right to labor on the lord's land (corvee), defined by their dependence on feudalism included a lack of
farm the land and earn a living, payment of censuses, taxes and the feudal lord and the obligations freedom and mobility, complete
and their lord's protection against monopoly rights, provision of they had in exchange for dependence on the land and the
criminals and in times of famine. In services (tolls, maintenance of the protection. Serfs had minimal lord, labor exploitation with heavy
return, they were required to work fief) and obedience and fidelity to freedom, tied to the land, unable to and prolonged labor,
for the lord, pay tribute in kind or the lord, in exchange for leave the fief or marry without expropriation of their production
money, and were tied to the land, protection and the right to permission, and performing and constant payments, the
unable to leave it without cultivate their own plots for their compulsory labor for the lord. Free impossibility of hereditary social
permission. subsistence. peasants had more autonomy, mobility, and the absence of
could own land and make political rights or access to justice
decisions, but were still required in the event of abuse.
to pay rent and perform services. Furthermore, they were subject to
physical punishment and a life of
poverty, with very limited food and
amenities.
 Step 4 – Compare Systems (10–15 min)
Pick ONE: Compare feudalism to modern democracy or capitalism, OR compare feudalism to another historical system. Use these questions:
How is power/wealth distributed? Who has control? What obligations vs. rights exist?

Feudalism is a decentralized sociopolitical system based on land ownership and serfdom, where production is agrarian and the ruling class is the nobility
and the clergy, contrasting with capitalism, a capitalist economic system of industrialization, wage labor and social mobility, and with modern democracy,
which is a political system based on universal suffrage and representation.

Step 5 – Reflection (15–20 min)

Write 2–3 sentences explaining what surprised you most about feudalism and why:

Lo que más sorprende del feudalismo es su descentralización del poder y el sistema jerárquico de lealtades y servicios, donde la propiedad de la tierra y la protección eran la
base de todas las relaciones. Esto contrastaba con la organización centralizada de los imperios previos, creando una sociedad fragmentada pero interconectada por los lazos
de vasallaje, que generaron una sociedad muy desigual dominada por la nobleza y el clero.