Social Science 2Eso Libro Anaya English

SOCIAL SCIENCE- UNIT 3. FEUDAL SYSTEM (Isabel Álvarez)
Feudalism: was the main political, social and economic system in Western Europe during the 9th to 13th C.
Royal council: group of people thatadvised the king for making important decisions (Bishops, nobles, knights and abbots)
Feudal economy was based on agriculture.
Fief or manors: were large areas belonging to the king, nobles orclergy.
Divided into two parts: demesne and holdings.
Demesne: was the territory which the lord used. It included the residence (the castle or manor house), land for cultivation, pastures and alsowoods for hunting.
Holdings: were small plots of land that the lord rented to the peasants. In return the peasants had to give part of the harvest to the lord and work in the demesne.
The fiefs wereself-sufficient: they produced everything necessary to live.
They obtained food by cultivating land with rudimentary techniques.
Basic tools: Roman plough (arado romano), sickle (hoz), hoe (azada) andscythe (guadaña).
They produced fabrics for clothes, tools, domestic utensils.
Some facilities, such as the mill, the press and the bridges, belong to the lord and the peasants had to pay feudaltaxes to use them.
Little trade, sometimes travelling merchants visited the fiefs.

SOCIAL CLASSES
Privileged: no taxes, don’t work, special laws, highest positions.
Bellatores or fighters(nobility):
* High nobility: dukes-count, marquis-baron. Dutie: protect the king & give advice. Part of the royal council.
* Lower nobility: knights, archer, squire. Dutie: give protection to thefief (land, castle & peasants).
Orators or prayers (clergy):
* Secular clergy: lived in cities. Dutie: moral behavior of people at the city. Spiritual advice.
* Regular clergy: lived inmonasteries, monks & nuns. Dutie: ‘ora et labora’ (pray & work), copy manuscripts; work in the infirmary, manual work.
Non-privileged: pay taxes to the lord & the tithe, they work, only...