Homework - Chapter 10 Section 2 – AGS Textbook – Feudalism
Directions: Read the section from the textbook below. Answer the section review questions that follow.
The matching page is an extension page. It is extra credit and does not have to be done by all students.
The Roman Empire had laws to govern people and armies to protect them. But during the Middle
Ages, there was no one power in Europe. A new political and military system arose. We call this
system feudalism. It was based on the holding of land.
How Did Feudalism Work?
Under the feudal system, the king owned all the land. But he needed loyal nobles to serve him. How
could he win their loyalty? By giving them land. The nobles could then give land to their people and
ask for their loyalty.
What Were the Titles of the Nobles?
We call the kings and nobles who gave land lords. We call the nobles who received land vassals.
When lords gave land, they did so in a special ceremony. The vassal knelt down before the lord and
promised loyalty. He would serve the lord and help him in battle.
In return, the lord gave the vassal a fief, or piece of land, and the peasants who farmed it. To
protect his fief, each vassal needed his own soldiers. He had much land, but little money. He
offered land to men who agreed to be his vassals. The lords and vassals kept dividing the land
into smaller and smaller pieces.
How Many Years Did Someone Train to Become a Knight?
The Middle Ages was a time of thousands of small wars. Knights did most of the fighting. Only the
son of a noble could become a knight. A young noble started training to be a knight by first becoming
a page. He learned religion, manners, obedience, and loyalty. When he was about 15 years old, the
page became a squire. Then he learned to ride a horse and use weapons. At age 21, most squires
became knights.
What Did lords Expect From Their Knights?
A lord knighted a squire, or made him a knight, in a special ceremony. The lord commanded the new
knight to be brave, polite, and loyal. The knight promised to defend the church, be loyal to the lord,
protect the weak, and be polite to women.
Each knight had to be strong. He wore heavy armor and carried a lance, or steel-tipped spear; a twoedged sword; a dagger, or sharp-pointed knife; and a broad ax called a battle ax. His armor and
weapons could weigh as much as 100 pounds.
Every knight hoped to become a lord and have a great amount of land to give to vassals some day.
But many knights never became lords. They spent their entire lives fighting one war after another.
Homework - SECTION 2 REVIEW
Write the word from the Word Bank that completes each sentence.
Word Bank
Feudalism
Fief
Knight
Lord
peasant
1) The _____________________________of the Middle Ages was a political and military system
based on the holding of land.
2) A _____________________________ gave land to a vassal and asked for his loyalty.
3) A _____________________________ is the name of the land the vassal received.
4) A _____________________________, or poor farmer, worked the land.
5) A _____________________________
him.
was a soldier who was loyal to a noble and fought for
Extensions - Workbook 36 - Chapter 10 Section 2
Feudalism Match-Up
Directions: Match each item on the left with the correct item on the right. Write the correct letter on
each blank.
______ 1) served his lord and helped him in battle
a) lord
______ 2) a sharp-pointed knife used for stabbing
b) squire
______ 3) a soldier who fought for a lord
c) fief
______ 4) what a vassal promised to his lord
d) peasant
______ 5) what a page became when he was 15 years old
e) battle ax
______ 6) to be made a knight
f) dagger
______ 7) king or noble who gave land to someone else
g) lance
______ 8) a steel-tipped spear
h) page
______ 9) many knights spent their entire lives doing this
i) feudalism
______ 10) a broad ax used in battle
j) knighted
______ 11) a poor worker
k) land
______ 12) a young noble trained to be a knight by first becoming this
l) loyalty
______ 13) a piece of land and the peasants who farmed it
m) fighting
______ 14) political & military system that arose during the Middle Ages
n) vassal
______ 15) what a lord gave to a vassal
o) knight