1. Describe the ninth- and tenth-century invasions. Apart from the physical destruction involved, how did they affect life in the West?
Western Europe was subjected to a series on invasions throughout the ninth and tenth centuries. The invasions began around 840 by a group of Scandinavian men called Vikings. They began by raiding the river cities and coastal areas of France. Once those areas had been obliterated, they moved inland. Along the way, the Vikings looted and enslaved the Franks, burned villages and farms, and destroyed churches and monasteries. The Frankish king was too weak politically to provide much protection from these invasions, but finally in 911, King Charles the Simple granted the Vikings an area of France called Normandy where he allowed them to rule.
While all this was happening in France, two other groups were busy invading other European countries. The Magyars targeted Germany and Northern Italy, and the Muslims plundered Spain and Africa. All the invasions finally ended by the late 10th century.
2. Describe feudalism and manorialism.
In response to the chaos and disorder of the ninth and tenth century invasions of Western Europe, two new systems of government were practiced, manorialism and feudalism. Manorialism was the exchange of labor for protection between a Lord (owner of a large state) and his serfs (peasant workers). The serfs would work on the Lord’s land, and in return, the Lord provided them with food, lodging, and protection.
Feudalism is similar to manorialism, but with an added element. For larger manors, the Lord needed more protection for his serfs, thus, the Lord hired defenders. These defenders, called knights, got their own cottage on the Lord’s land, and were given tools and armor to train and practice with. Just like the serfs, the knights were given food and lodging in exchange for their work.
Manorialism and Feudalism are great examples of a society adapting to their circumstance when the system in place isn’t doing it’s job.
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