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TEACHER’S GUIDE TEACHER’S GUIDE TEACHER’S GUIDE
• Chess was a popular game played during the Middle Ages, and the chess
pieces represent different members of medieval society — the king,
queen, knight and rook represent the nobility; the bishop represents the
Church; and the pawn represents the peasant class. Provide students with
a short explanation of the game of chess, its origins and its purpose,
including an explanation of the pieces and their moves. Hand out chessboards
and let students play. Many students may be playing for the first
time, so dividing into small teams is a good idea. Discuss with students
how the rules of chess reflect the social structure of the Middle Ages.
• Women often didn’t participate in the main relationships that shaped
society during the Middle Ages. So what was the role of medieval
women in society? Encourage students to read selections from
Outrageous Women of the Middle Ages by Vicki León (Wiley, 1998).
How did these women defy the social structure of the times?
• Merchants of the Middle Ages bought and sold goods, and often generated
a great deal of money and power in medieval cities. Learn more
about these entrepreneurs by reading Kathryn Hinds’ Life in the Middle
Ages: The City (Benchmark Books, 2000) or visiting the following Web
site: emuseum.mankato.msus.edu/history/middleages/merchant.html.
Following this research, discuss with students how the increase in
revenue for merchants may have influenced medieval social structure.
• Students can compare the different social classes of the Middle Ages by
researching the lives of nobles, merchants, peasants and serfs, and creating
a Venn diagram that compares the food, clothing, housing, work,
recreation and education of two of these groups.
Suggested Internet Resources
Periodically, Internet Resources are updated on our Web site at
www.LibraryVideo.com
• www.camelotintl.com/village/street.html
This Web site about medieval life presents information about the different
groups of people who lived during the Middle Ages, including lords,
knights, women, peasants and entertainers.
• emuseum.mankato.msus.edu/history/middleages/
Minnesota State University sponsors this Web site that provides an
overview of the social groups of the Middle Ages. Students can gain
insight into the lives of medieval nobles, merchants, peasants and religious
people.
• www.essentialnormanconquest.com/home.html
“The Essential Norman Conquest” is an interactive Web site that provides
a wealth of information about the Battle of Hastings. Students can
access a detailed time line and maps of the battle.
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Suggested Print Resources
• Beckett, Wendy. The Duke and the Peasant: Life in the Middle Ages.
Prestel, New York, NY; 1997.
• Hinds, Kathryn. Life in the Middle Ages: The Countryside. Benchmark
Books, New York, NY; 2000.
• Langley,Andrew. Medieval Life. Knopf, New York, NY; 1996.
• Weatherly, Myra. William Marshal: Medieval England’s Greatest Knight.
M. Reynolds, Greensboro, NC; 2001.
• THE DOCTOR
• A HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES
• THE KNIGHT
• THE MERCHANT
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Kristen Lovett Casel, M.S.
Curriculum Specialist,
Schlessinger Media
COMPLETE LIST OF TITLES
• THE MONK
• THE NOBLE
• THE SERF
• SOCIAL STRUCTURE
IN THE MIDDLE AGES
S
800-843-3620
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Copyright 2002 by Schlessinger Media, a division of Library Video Company
P.O. Box 580,Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
Executive Producers, Andrew Schlessinger & Tracy Mitchell
Programs produced and directed by Tremendous! Entertainment, Inc.
All rights reserved.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
IN THE MIDDLE AGES
his guide is a supplement designed for teachers
T to use when presenting programs in the video
series Life in the Middle Ages.
Before Viewing: Give students an introduction
to the program by relaying aspects of the summary
to them. Select pre-viewing discussion questions
and vocabulary to provide a focus for students
when they view the program.
After Viewing: Review the program and vocabulary,
and use the follow-up questions and activities
to inspire continued discussion. Encourage students
to research the topic further with the Internet and
print resources provided.
S
MEDIA
R®
A DIVISION OF LIBRARY VIDEO COMPANY ®
CHLESSINGE

Program Summary
Medieval society consisted of multiple types of relationships that provided
organization and structure.The key players in the social structure of the
Middle Ages were the lords, vassals and serfs. One type of relationship that
flourished during this time was called a feudal relationship. In this type of
agreement, lords offered vassals a fief, or something of value, in exchange for
service, usually military in nature.Vassals became sworn followers of a lord
during a ceremony called homage, which formalized the feudal relationship.
Another relationship that was common during this time was forged between
a serf and a lord of the manor. In the context of this arrangement, serfs
worked the lord’s land on a manor, and, in exchange, lords offered serfs protection
and land for them to grow their own food.
Vocabulary
social structure — The pattern of organization of people in a given society.
Middle Ages — Also known as the medieval period, the time period that
stretched roughly from the 5th to the 15th century.The term was coined to
describe the era in between the time of ancient Rome and the Renaissance.
Battle of Hastings — A battle that took place in 1066 to determine the
ruler of England.The English, led by Harold II, were defeated by the Normans,
led by William, Duke of Normandy.
vassals — The sworn followers of a lord.A vassal was often the recipient of
a fief from his lord.
lord — The granter of a fief in exchange for service from a vassal.
Scriptures — Books of the Bible.
homage — The ceremony in which a man became a vassal of a lord.
feudal relationship — The agreement or arrangement between lords and
vassals in which a fief was exchanged for service.
fief — Something of value that was held, but not owned, by a person during
the Middle Ages. People receiving a fief were usually required to offer something
to the lord, the giver of the fief.A fief could be anything of value —
land, public offices or church positions.
nun — A religious woman who takes vows of poverty and service.
merchants — People who buy and sell goods. Merchants can also be skilled
craftsmen who make their own goods and sell them.
serfs — Men or women who were the poorest members of medieval
society. Serfs were peasants who were bound to a lord’s lands and required to
work those lands in exchange for protection from the lord.
effigy — A representation of a person. Some powerful people had effigies
carved on their tombs during the Middle Ages.
manor — An estate owned by the nobility on which serfs worked and to
which they belonged.
(Continued)
lord of the manor — A member of the nobility who was responsible for
the functioning of a manor.
Church — The organization of believers in the Christian religion.
Pre-viewing Discussion
• Discuss with students what they think the term “social structure” means.
Why do they think it would it be important to study the social structure of
a given time period? What do they think social structure can tell them
about the life and times of the people they are studying?
• Encourage students to discuss our modern-day social structure. How is
society organized today? What relationships are common among people in
modern times?
• During the Middle Ages, lords often sought military protection from other
members of the nobility by offering them land. Students can discuss what
this type of relationship can tell them about medieval times.
• Manors were self-sufficient estates that were worked by peasants called
serfs. Some medieval serfs were born on a manor and never left the property.
Encourage students to speculate about what this type of life might
have been like.
Focus Questions
1.Who was William the Conqueror?
2. Define lords and vassals.What was the relationship between these two
groups of people?
3.What was a celebration of homage?
4.Why was it important to have land during the Middle Ages?
5.What was a fief? Provide some examples of fiefs.
6. Give some examples of the services required of vassals.
7.What happened if the feudal relationship was broken off?
8. Define the role of noblewomen during the Middle Ages.What were their
primary responsibilities?
9.Who was William Marshal? What was interesting about his vassalage?
10.What is an effigy, and what might it tell us about medieval people?
11.What was a manor? Who lived on manors during the Middle Ages?
12. Describe the role of the serf on the medieval manor.
13.What role did the Church play in medieval Europe?
Follow-up Discussion
• Encourage students to compare medieval social structure with that of
today’s society. Students can discuss the similarities and differences in the
structure of relationships that make up each of the societies, and how each
of the societies is organized.
(Continued)
2 3
• Relationships in medieval societies were forged among lords, vassals and
serfs.Ask students to discuss which of these groups benefited the most
from their relationships. Students should justify their answers.
• Students can discuss what the pros and cons of the medieval system of
relationships were. Do students feel that this social structure was fair? If
not, how could this social structure have been altered to become more
fair?
• Medieval lords and vassals were predominantly male. Based upon what
students have learned about the Middle Ages, discuss why women did
not often fill these roles in society.
Follow-up Activities
• To become vassals, medieval men swore oaths to their lords in an elaborate
ceremony called homage. Share with students an actual example of
an oath from a medieval homage ceremony from the following Web site:
www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/atton1.html. Students can imagine that
they attended one of these ceremonies, and they can write an eyewitness
account of what this ceremony would be like.
• Imagine with students that a lord and a vassal need to terminate their
feudal relationship because one side did not live up to his obligations.
Students can write a dialog between the two parties, clearly explaining
the reason for the dissolution of the relationship and determining an
outcome. Students can even role-play these interactions for the class.
• In a feudal relationship, a vassal received a fief in exchange for providing
a service to his lord. Students can read an actual list of feudal obligations
required by a medieval lord at the following Web site:
www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/fulbert1.html. Encourage students to
speculate about what obligations they would require of a vassal if they
received one today and to draft a list of feudal obligations. Students
should also brainstorm about what they would offer to a vassal as a fief.
• Have students research the elements of a typical medieval manor, including
the nobles’ manor house, serfs’ homes and land divisions. Using this
information, students can design their own manor layout. (See
go.hrw.com/ndNSAPI.nd/gohrw_rls1/pKeywordResults?ST9%20Medieva
l%20Manor for an example of a layout of a manor.)
• Share with students the laws of William the Conqueror, presented at the
following Web site: www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/will1-lawsb.html.
Encourage students to discuss what these laws tell about this warrior
and society during the Middle Ages. Compare these types of laws with
the laws we have today. How are they similar and different? Which type
of laws would students prefer to follow? Why?
(Continued)
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