Feudalism and Peasant Revolts Prof

Prof. Horowitz

Introduction to Feudalism and Manorialism and the Hundred Years' War Context to the life of Joan of Arc.

I. Characteristic Institutions of typical Decentralization of Early Middle Ages A. Manorialism – a system of farming the medieval landed estate (manor) by peasants and a system of supervising and taxing the peasantry by the lord and lady of the manor Ambiguity of Latin “servus” Difference of slave (sold) and serf (tied to land) Variety of peasants—some marketing a skill or owning land or fleeing long enough to start a new life in an urban area starting 11th century.

Idyllic view of peasants : Bruegel, Pieter Peasant wedding c. 1568 Oil on wood 114 x 164 cm (45 x 64 1/2 in.) Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

B. Feudalism —a system by which an aristocrat exchanges a fief containing manors to a vassal in exchange for military service and loyalty. Chambers, et al., calls the relationship a patron-client relationship among free men. The vassal becomes the lord of these manors, and can in turn exchange fiefs to his own vassals in exchange for service. See controversy on term “feudalism “ in Hunt, et. al., p. 298 1. Decentralized version. German lands divided into Saxony, Swabia, Bavaria, etc. Holy Roman Emperor elected by independent political entities. 2. Centralized version. William of Normandy’s conquest of England in 1066. Domesday Book. (Hunt, pp. 336-8)

II. Period of Hundred Years’ War 1328-1453 (early 14th to mid-15th centuries) Causes: Capetian dynasty in France died out and highest court Parlement of Paris declared Philip of Valois the King of France. King Edward III of England controlled Aquitaine, competed with the French in Flanders, and made a dynastic claim to French throne. Stage 1 1338-1360 English victories with longbow. English enlarged territory and renounced claim to throne. 1350 The Plague spread, 1358 French Peasant Revolt: the Jacquerie

Stage 2 1369-1415 French resurgence, then stalemate. French reduced English territory on continent. Troops devastated fields and peasantry.

Stage 3 1415-1453 Rapid shifts. English King Henry V defeat French at Agincourt in 1415. French King Charles VI declared the Dauphin (future Charles VII) illegitimate and named English King Henry V his successor. Dauphin led French troops to defeat in Orléans in 1428.

Joan of Arc persuaded officials and then the Dauphin of her call by heavenly voices to save France. In 1429 she led the French army to end the English siege of Orléans and then marched with the Dauphin to Reims to be crowned King.

Burgundians captured Joan and gave her to the English who handed her to a Church court (group of pro-English clergy).

Controversy on Joan The trial for witchcraft condemned her to death. She was burned at the stake May 30, 1431. (Hunt pp. 418-419). By 1453, French troops had removed English from the continent except for Calais. Then Joan was re-tried by an Inquisitorial court which on 7 July 1456 ruled that the original trial had been tainted by fraud, illegal procedures, and intimidation. We think of her as a “Saint” but she was not beatified until 1909 in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. She was canonized as a Saint 1920 St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome

Diverse Literary Renditions

English playwright Bernard Shaw became motivated to write his 1923 play Saint Joan, which contributed to his Nobel Prize in Literature.

The film The Passion of Joan of Arc (may be seen in library), an updated version with subtitles of the French film of 1928, was produced from authentic trial records. The director Carl Dreyer used close-ups on Renée Falconetti playing Joan. Shaved head contrasts with more feminine versions of Joan.