Oaths of Fealty

Project: “Feudalism” – Write a solemn “Oath of Fealty” using language from the Middle Ages. Write the oath on a large piece of paper and ecorate the oath with illuminated text and illustrations. It may be rolled up like a scroll. Deliver the oath, in costume, as a skit to a lord or lady. Be able to describe your project during the presentation on “Medieval Times” day.

Learn about the life of a Peasant in medieval times. Share this information during the presentation of your project. Description - http://www.chronique.com/Kids/nobles.htm

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1986/3/86.03.03.x.html

Oaths of Fealty – http://www.dragonbear.com/fealty.html http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/feud-oath1.html http://www.chronique.com/Library/Glossaries/glossary-KCT/gloss_o.htm http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/oath-of-fealty.htm http://www.medieval-life.net/monks.htm http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/rh/glo/illuminated.html

Discussion: (Answers will be written as an essay (5 paragraph minimum) and turned in for a grade.) The majority of the people who lived in the Middle Ages were peasants—poor, uneducated laborers who farmed the lord’s land and had to give him much of the food. Under the system of feudalism, they belonged to the lord and were not free to leave the land. They were allowed to keep some of the food they grew, and they were protected against attackers by the lord’s knights. 1. List the good and the bad aspects of this system and discuss how this system could have been changed to be fairer to the peasants. 2. Describe a typical day in the life of a serf. What were the duties of a serf? 3. Describe a serf’s clothing. 4. What was a serf’s status in medieval society? Be sure to document your sources!