Get summary, textual answers, solutions, notes, extras, PDF to NBSE Class 11 (Arts) History (Themes in World History) Chapter 7: The Three Orders. However, the educational materials should only be used for reference and students are encouraged to make necessary changes.
Introduction
In this chapter, we explore the social, economic, and political transformations that occurred in Western Europe between the ninth and sixteenth centuries. Following the dissolution of the Roman Empire, various Germanic groups from eastern and central Europe settled in the regions of Italy, Spain, and France.
With no unifying political force, military conflicts became prevalent, and the necessity to secure resources for land protection intensified. Consequently, social organizations sought to exert control over land, adopting practices from both Imperial Roman traditions and German customs. The Christian Church also emerged as a major landholder and influential force in Europe.
We will examine three social classes in this chapter: (a) Christian priests, (b) landowning nobility, and (c) peasants. The evolving relationships between these three “Orders” played a crucial role in shaping European history for centuries.
We will specifically analyze how the three Orders functioned within the context of the three institutions they represented: Feudalism, Manorialism, and the Church. Firstly, we will discuss the characteristics, significance, growth, and eventual decline of feudalism in European history.
Video tutorial
Textual questions and answers
Very short answer type questions
1. Who was Knight?
Answer: A Knight was a person who was granted a piece of land (called fief) by a Lord in exchange for military service.
2. What was the difference between feudalism in England and Europe?
Answer: In England, unlike Europe, no feudal lord could use his knights against the king. In England, the king did not depend upon feudal army alone. He asserted his right to call the national Militia or Fyrd at any time.
3. What were the functions of the monasteries in the medieval period?
Answer:
- They had landed estates.
- Schools or colleges and hospitals were also attached to the monasteries.
- The monasteries contributed to the development of the arts like music.
4. What was the main problem of Feudalism?
Answer: Feudalism was a centrifugal force. The king was the king of vassals, not the king of all the people. Each feudal lord was a prince and the people living in his estate were completely under his control.
5. Write one advantage of Feudalism.
Answer: The homage, fealty, personal service of the tenant, and protection of the tenants by their lords were all human ties which bound the man and the lord.
Short answer type questions
1. How did Feudalism begin in Europe?
Answer: After Charlemagne’s death in AD 814, his empire broke up under weak successors, leading to invasions. Central government collapsed, and laws were not enforced. To survive, customs formed into a system known as Feudalism. This system, based on land tenure and military organisation, developed as a way to maintain order during continuous warfare. Feudalism destroyed the idea of national unity, making the concept of an independent national state foreign to the Middle Ages.
2. Write the features or importance of feudalism.
Answer: Main Features of Feudalism:
- Terra Regis: The king owned all land, and tenants-in-chief held land under him, which could not be passed to their heirs without paying relief.
- No Land without its Lord: Every piece of land belonged to a lord, and services were provided to lords in exchange for protection.
- Commendation: Landholders had to perform personal services for their lords and needed permission to marry their children.
- Lord’s Privilege: Lords held courts for their tenants, including the king for tenants-in-chief.
- Services to Lords: Landholders owed military service, usually in the form of knight service.
3. What was the purpose of monasteries in the middle age?
Answer: The monasteries were large buildings. They had landed estates. Schools or colleges and hospitals were also attached to the monasteries. The monasteries contributed to the development of the arts like music. From the thirteenth century, some groups of monks called friars chose to move from place to place, preaching their faith and living on charity.
4. Write a short note on serfdom.
Answer: The serfs formed the bulk of population in a manor. They were “attached to the soil” of the manor. Much of the produce of this land went to the Lord. The serfs had also to work on the land which exclusively belonged to the Lord. They did not receive any wages for this work and could not leave the land without the Lord’s consent. The lord could give them any punishment except take away their lives and limbs. The lord’s claimed some monopolies at the expense of the serfs. For instance, serfs would use only their lord’s mill to grind their flour, his oven to bake their bread and his wines presses to make wine and beer. A serf could not marry without the permission of the Lord. It was the Lord who decided whom a serf should marry. He might give his blessings to the serf’s choice but only on payment of a fee.
5. What were the reasons for the weakness of feudalism?
Answer:
- Centrifugal Force: Feudal lords held power over their lands, weakening the king’s control.
- Revolts: Knights could revolt against the king, supporting their immediate lords.
- Judicial Power: Lords acted as judges for their tenants, often unfairly.
- Merit: Public office was not based on ability but on landholding.
- Serfdom: Serfs had little rights and were bound to the land.
- Military Issues: Knights only served for limited periods and were more loyal to their lords than the king, weakening the military system.
Long Answer Questions
1. Discuss the circumstances leading to the growth of Feudal system.
Answer: The Frankish Empire, founded by Charlemagne the Great, included practically the whole of western Europe except Spain and England. After his death in AD 814, the empire broke up under his weak successors due to the foreign invasions. During the turmoil of invasions, the whole of the structure of central government collapsed. Laws were not enforced, the strong robbed the weak, and trade died. During this confusion of the centuries since the fall of Rome, various customs had been growing up to enable men to live despite turmoils. In the utter confusion of the 9th century, these customs developed into a pattern of life known to us as Feudalism.
The martial races began to build up a new form of society and governmental organisation based on the old nomadic relationship between the tribal chiefs, heads of tribal families, mass of the tribes, and the conquered people. This organisation known as Feudalism was built up under the pressure of almost continuous warfare and represented essentially a military system, calculated to render the collection of armies and defence easy while yet providing a peaceful and settled life on the basis of land tenure. Feudalism was the natural outgrowth of many institutions and customs of Roman and Teutonic origin and grew up from both the bottom and the top simultaneously. Feudalism destroyed the conception of the national state by destroying its political unity, so the idea of an independent national state became foreign to the Middle Ages.
2. Describe the main features of Feudalism.
Answer:
- Terra, Regis, All Land belongs to King: According to this system, nobody except the king is the owner of the land. All those who have land, get it from the king directly or indirectly. Those who held land directly from the king were called tenants-in-chief. The tenants-in-chief used to give their lands to others and this system of sub-infeudation (giving portion of land to others) continued till it was held by the cultivators. So everybody down from the cultivator to the tenant-in-chief was a mere landholder—a tenant. He could not “bequeath” the land to his sons. When a tenant died, his successor could not succeed unless he paid relief or succession duty. Similarly, if a tenant died without leaving a heir, the land reverted to the Lord.
- No Land without its Lord: In the feudal system, every piece of land belonged to some lord. The landholders from bottom to top had to do several kinds of services to their respective immediate lords. There was not a single acre of land which was not held on some feudal principle.
- Commendation or Personal Services: A landholder in the feudal society had to do many personal services at regular intervals to his lord. He had to attend the knighting ceremony of the son of his lord and pay some money. He could not marry his sons and daughters without the approval of his lord. It must be noted that land did not belong to the landholder. He was simply having rights over it because he had agreed to perform the services. So the lord protected the landholder and in return, the landholder agreed to do certain specific services to the lord.
- Lord’s Privilege of Holding Court for his Immediate Landholders (sub-tenants): Every landlord had the privilege of holding a court for his immediate landholders. For example, the king, the chief feudal lord, held a court “Curia Regis” to try tenants-in-chief. Similarly, tenants-in-chief and the manorial lords held courts for their dependents.
- Services to the Lords: Every landholder was required to do some definite service to the immediate lord. The great part of the European countries was held on military service, i.e., the knight service.
3. Describe the three aspects of Feudalism namely, local government, army and justice.
Answer:
- Local Government: Feudalism was a form of decentralised government. The king had little direct control over the daily administration of his kingdom. Instead, local lords were given control over land in exchange for military service. They, in turn, ruled over their tenants and vassals. The local lords had considerable autonomy and were responsible for the law and order within their domains. They maintained courts, collected taxes, and enforced laws in the areas they controlled.
- Army: Feudalism was essentially a military system. The lords and their vassals were required to provide military service to the king. The land was held in exchange for military service, which meant that each vassal had to furnish a certain number of knights and soldiers to the king when called upon. The king did not maintain a standing army; instead, he relied on the military forces provided by his vassals, which could be called upon during times of war or external threat.
- Justice: In the feudal system, justice was administered at the local level by the lords. Each lord had his own court and was responsible for judging the disputes among his vassals and tenants. This decentralised system of justice meant that each lord acted as the judge in his domain, and legal decisions were based on local customs and traditions. In larger disputes, especially those involving important vassals or the nobility, the case could be taken to the king’s court. However, for the most part, justice was dispensed by the lords, and the decisions of the lord’s court were binding.
4. How did feudal system spread to important countries of the world?
Answer: Feudalism spread from France to Spain, Italy and later Germany and eastern Europe. In England, the Frankish (French) form was imposed by William-I (William the Conqueror) after AD 1066, although most of the elements of feudalism were already present in England. It was extended eastward into Slavic lands to the Marches (frontier provinces). It was adopted partially in Scandinavian countries. The important features of feudalism were similar throughout but there existed definite national differences. Feudalism continued to exist in all parts of Europe until the end of the 14th century.
The Asian countries also saw the development of feudal institutions. In Japan, the feudal system was well-ordered before the 10th century and it continued with modifications until the 19th century. In other areas such as China, where feudal practices were in existence by 1,100 BC, society became feudalistic but not precisely feudal. Feudalism in India and in the Sassanid and Ottoman civilisations was in many ways similar to western feudalism, but it proved less durable than the feudal system in Europe. The existence of feudalism in several civilisations has given rise to theories of feudalism as a necessary and inevitable stage of political development. Some scholars, however, consider the European feudal system a unique phenomenon.
5. What were the defects of the Feudal System?
Answer: In the first place, Feudalism was a centrifugal force. The king was the king of vassals not the king of all the people. Each feudal lord was a prince and the people living in his estate were completely under his control. Freeman aptly remarks, “While centrally feudalism made the sovereign a landowner, logically landowners became sovereigns”. In England, William I had tried to remove this defect by the Oath of Salisbury by granting lands at scattered places and by retaining his agent sheriff to keep an eye on feudal lords.
Secondly, in the ideal feudal system where the knights were to be loyal to the immediate lords, there was a great possibility of the revolts of the feudal lords. A few landlords could bring trouble for the king by asking their knights to follow them and fight against the king.
Thirdly, the other important defect of the system was that it gave judicial powers to the lords. Each lord acted as a judge for his tenants. For judges, it is essential that they must be impartial and should possess high legal qualifications. The feudal lords could never be expected to act impartially. In trying their tenants, the lords looked after their own interests. Besides, most of the lords were not even educated.
Fourthly, merit or ability was not the basis of selecting public officers in feudal countries. Lords determined the position of every person in society. A landless fellow, however intelligent, was not even considered a man and hence could not find any chance to serve the society with ability.
The position of the serfs (villeins) under the feudal system was very deplorable. They were bound to the soil. They could not get justice from the royal courts.
Lastly, the chief object of the feudal system was to maintain a large army without actually keeping a large standing army. But the military organisation of the feudal system was full of defects. The knights were to fight for 40 days and if the king needed soldiers beyond that time, several difficulties arose. The knights always showed more loyalty to their immediate lord than to the king. This further weakened the military system of the country.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The name of the 23-mile wide waterway between England and France is
A. Revolution Path
B. Jetty
C. English Channel
D. Monarchy
Answer: C. English Channel
2. Which Duke of Normandy, France, invaded England?
A. William
B. Louie Francis
C. Louis XVI
D. Sagarmatha
Answer: A. William
3. After winning the war with Britain’s, the king of Normandy established what form of government?
A. Feudalist
B. Nationalism
C. Democratic
D. Monarchy
Answer: D. Monarchy
4. What danger came in 1315-1317 in middle Europe?
A. Attack from the Mongols
B. Famine
C. Drought
D. Attack of the Huns
Answer: B. Famine
5. Which crisis affected Western Europe in the period of 1347 – 1350?
A. Attack of Mongols
B. Famine
C. Epidemic
D. Attack of the Huns
Answer: C. Epidemic
Competency Based Questions
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Consider the following statements.
(i) The word Feudalism traces its origin to German word ‘Feud’.
(ii) Peasants provided labour to the Lord.
(iii) Control of the land was the centre of the middle age society.
Which statement(s) is/are correct in the above statement?
A. Only statement (i) is correct
B. Only statement (ii) is correct
C. Only statement (iii) is correct
D. All the above statements are correct
Answer: D. All the above statements are correct
2. Match the following and select the correct option:
Column A
A. Plague in Egypt
B. Slavery began in Portugal
C. Ottoman Turks won Egypt
D. Columbus reached West Indies
Column B
(i) 1442
(ii) 1492
(iii) 1517
(iv) 1348
Options:
A. A-(iv), B-(i), C-(iii), D-(ii)
B. A-(ii), B-(iv), C-(i), D-(iii)
C. A-(i), B-(iii), C-(ii), D-(iv)
D. A-(iv), B-(iii), C-(i), D-(ii)
Answer: A. A-(iv), B-(i), C-(iii), D-(ii)
3. Consider the following statements.
(i) Copernicus stressed on the importance of geography as well as history of mankind.
(ii) French society was divided into three sections.
(iii) In France the elite was neglected, they had no rights.
Which statement(s) is/are correct in the above statement?
A. Only statement (i) is correct
B. Only statement (ii) is correct
C. Only statement (iii) is correct
D. All the above statements are correct
Answer: B. Only statement (ii) is correct
4. Which was/were the feature(s) of feudalism?
(i) No land without tenant
(ii) Commendation of personal service
(iii) Service to the lords.
Which statement(s) is/are correct in the above statement?
A. (i) and (ii)
B. (ii) and (iii)
C. (i) and (iii)
D. All the above
Answer: D. All the above
5. Consider the following statements.
(i) The piece of land given to Knight by the Lord was known as fief.
(ii) There were four types of peasants.
(iii) Due to the progress in agriculture, cities and trade flourished.
Which statement(s) is/are correct in the above statement?
A. Only statement (i) and (ii) are correct
B. Only statement (ii) and (iii) are correct
C. Only statement (i) and (iii) are correct
D. All the above statements are correct
Answer: C. Only statement (i) and (iii) are correct
Case-based Question
Serfs cultivated plots of land, but these belonged to the lord. Much of the produce from this had to be given to the lord. They also had to work on the land which belonged exclusively to the lord. They received no wages and could not leave the estate without the lord’s permission. The lord claimed a number of monopolies at the expense of his serfs. Serfs could use only their lord’s mill to grind their flour, his oven to bake their bread, and his wine-presses to distill wine and beer. The lord could decide whom a serf should marry, or might give his blessing to the serf’s choice, but on payment of a fee.
1. Who cultivated the land of the landlords under the feudal system?
Answer: Serfs cultivated plots of land, but these belonged to the lord.
2. What were the obligations of the serfs?
Answer: Much of the produce from this had to be given to the lord. They also had to work on the land which belonged exclusively to the lord. They received no wages and could not leave the estate without the lord’s permission.
3. What monopolies were claimed by the lords at the expense of the serf?
Answer: Serfs could use only their lord’s mill to grind their flour, his oven to bake their bread, and his wine-presses to distill wine and beer.
4. What were the restrictions on the marriage of a serf?
Answer: The lord could decide whom a serf should marry, or might give his blessing to the serf’s choice, but on payment of a fee.
Pictorial Questions
1. Identify the following pictures and write their name.
Answer: (A) Cathedral; (B) Castle; (C) Manor House
Extra/additional questions and answers
1. Who occupied Italy, Spain, and France after the breakup of the Roman Empire?
Answer: After the breakup of the Roman Empire, many groups of Germanic people from eastern and central Europe occupied the territories of Italy, Spain, and France.
66. How did the rise of towns contribute to the decline of feudalism?
Answer: The rise of towns played a significant role in the decline of feudalism by disrupting the isolated manorial system that had been the foundation of feudal society. As communication and transportation improved in the 14th century, manors, which had been largely self-sufficient and cut off from wider economic networks, became more connected to emerging urban centres. This shift facilitated the growth of a new class of merchants, artisans, and tradespeople who were not bound by the traditional feudal hierarchy. These urban dwellers, often referred to as the “burgers class,” began to challenge the dominance of the feudal lords by asserting their independence and demanding greater economic and political freedoms.
In addition, the rise of towns created opportunities for serfs and villeins to escape the rigid structures of the feudal system. Many peasants, seeking better economic prospects and personal freedom, fled to the towns, where they could work for wages and enjoy a higher degree of autonomy. As more people left the manors, the feudal lords found it increasingly difficult to maintain their traditional labour force, which was essential for the cultivation of their lands.
Extra/additional MCQs
1. Which period saw social, economic, and political changes in Western Europe?
A. Between the 6th and 9th centuries AD
B. Between the 9th and 16th centuries AD
C. Between the 16th and 19th centuries AD
D. Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD
Answer: B. Between the 9th and 16th centuries AD
90. Until which year did feudalism persist in Russia?
A. 1789
B. 1848
C. 1917
D. 1660
Answer: C. 1917
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