Feudal Contract – Medieval Europe

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FEUDAL CONTRACT – MEDIEVAL EUROPE Imagine you are living in Medieval Europe (500 – 1500). Despite the fact that a feudal contract is an unwritten contract, write out a feudal contract. You and a partner will take on the roles of lord and vassal: - You Need to Write Out the Contract: - The lord can have a certain title (i.e. duke/duchess, baron/baroness, or count/countess), and specify what social standing the vassal has (i.e. lower-level knight, peasant, etc.). - In your contract, specify how much acreage in land (fief) will be given to the vassal. - Specify how much military service the vassal will serve, and what kind of fighting they will do (i.e. cavalry, foot soldier…) - How much money will a vassal provide his lord if he is kidnapped, and if there is a ransom? How much will a vassal provide for one of the lord’s children’s weddings? (Specify money in terms of weight and precious metal such as “30 lbs. gold”). - Specify other duties from the readings (Feudalism HW and class handout) that will be done by a lord and vassal (i.e. the lord will give safety and will defend his vassal in court). - List any other duties a lord/vassal will do of your choosing. (i.e. farm a certain crop, make a certain craft) - Define feudalism, fief, knight, vassal, and serfs. - Sign and date your contract at the bottom to make it official, and make sure the date is between the year 500 and 1500. Example: Lord/Vassal Feudal Contract: I am a peasant (name of vassal) and will serve and be the vassal of (name of Lord/Duke). I will serve in the military as a member of the cavalry. I will practice in tournaments four times a year to stay in fighting shape…. I (name of lord) will promise to defend (name of vassal) in court if he/she is ever brought to trial for a crime…. .

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CHAUCER and CHIVALRY by Francine Renee Hall (Knight Templar Magazine, Page 28, Dec
1. He was a verray, parfit, gentil knyght"... CHAUCER AND CHIVALRY by Francine Renee Hall (Knight Templar Magazine, page 28, Dec. 1980) (Reprinted Knight Templar Magazine, pages 16-17, August 2001) In his medieval classic, "The Canterbury Tales," Geoffrey Chaucer is quite deliberate when he introduces his cast of characters with the Knight. Although chivalry was a stylized code of behavior that signaled the decay of the medieval feudal system, Chaucer is upholding what is essentially the perfect expression of earthly behavior with divine aspiration -- knighthood. During the Age of Chivalry, the ideal knight owed fealty to his king. The king considered himself God's intermediary, so a knight's military obedience became not only a spiritual defense of Christendom in general but a personal homage to God. In the Middle Ages, God was often referred to as the "Lord" and "Heaven-King"; therefore, when Chaucer tells us that the Knight "had proved his worth in his *lord's* wars," we can easily interpret this as meaning God Himself. Chaucer's Knight, then, becomes the standard by which the other pilgrims are gauged. And the Pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury becomes more than an opportunity to journey to a different place and tell stories -- the presence of the Knight transforms it to a spiritual quest. What is the history of this saintly English Knight who leads the "company of nine and twenty" on their pilgrimage to Canterbury and who sets the spiritual tone of the journey? He "loved chivalry, truth and honor, liberality and courtesy." He also "proved his worth" in the holy wars and yet he is humble: "Although he was valiant, he was prudent, never in all his life had he been rude to anyone at all.
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