50 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT The Middle Ages Written and Illustrated by Sean O’Neill Blech Red Chair Press
Chapter 1 FEUDALISM The Middle Ages also called the medieval mehd-evil period began when the Roman Empire lost power in Europe in 476 and lasted until about 1450 a period of almost 1,000 years The end of the Roman power in the West led to a chaotic period in Europe in which roaming bands of barbarians terrorized the countryside To protect against this a new system of governance called feudalism arose Potatoes Again Huh Yep 4
FEUDALISM 1 In feudalism powerful lords would provide land to peasants and offer protection in the event of attack In exchange the peasants called vassals would turn over to the lords a portion of what they grew on the land 2 When a lord granted land to a vassal there was a ceremony to make it official Instead of a lease the tenant was given a symbolic clod of dirt called a seisin 3 In some parts of Europe individual towns that grew rich from trade built impressive buildings to showcase their wealth An Italian town called Pisa built the famous Leaning Tower in 1173 Although it seems like with all that money they could have fixed the tower Hmm something Seems a Little off 5
