Feudalism And Serfdom

The bases of feudalism is best described as a social system in Europe throughout the Middle Ages where individuals worked and battled for upper class who gave them protection and the use of the land in return for their services (Merriam-Webster). “Feudalism” is not a medieval term and not even a translation of a medieval concept (Abels 2010; Brown 2010; Bouchard 1998). In our day and time Feudalism would be difficult and baffling in several ways, but some may feel that we would benefit from it.

Feudalism – a social structure and hierarchy containing mutual duties and obligations. Stability is maintained as long as the system doesn’t change. Physical power resides with the king and nobles through their knights. The Church’s power resides through controlling people’s beliefs. Serfs were tied to the land. The Black Death, however, brought about such massive changes in demographics / population that the demand for a limited labor source (the peasants) meant that this social group at the bottom of the social ladder grew in importance (as seen in the 1381 Peasants revolt) that drastic change and the end of the feudal structure was inevitable.

Although the feudal system presented a mutually beneficial relationship at first, over time many burdens were placed on the vassals. A serf was bound to the land, thus resulting in a fixed income. Since he was unable to move to another lord, he was reliant on only what was originally agreed upon to provide monetary support. [Support was generally in kind, or in labor.] With no “right” to adjust the support needed for survival, the serf and his family experiences tremendous hardships.

Peasants were members of the lowest class, those who work. They were the most common class. They were the millers, blacksmiths, butchers, carpenters, farmers, and other trades people. Peasant women in particular, spent much of their time taking care of children, making clothes, and cooking meals. They also tended gardens, took care of animals by tending chicken, shearing sheep, and milking cows (Cels 16). Within peasants, there were two main groups of people, the serfs and the freemen. Both were employed by the lords. And serfs were people that paid more fees, and had less rights. Freemen on the other hand paid less fees and had more rights than serfs (Noiret). While freemen could leave the manor when at whim, serfs were not allowed to leave

To begin with, the Age of Feudalism is a system to protect people and live in equality. “Feudalism was a political, economic, and social system” (Doc. 1). This system starts with the king at the top who owned all land and made the laws. Next, the lord

The societal mindset that was prevalent in medieval Europe, feudalism, phased out due to the bubonic plague and the religious beliefs of the people.

Western Europe suffered numerous hardships through the ninth and tenth centuries and this was the ultimate reason they established a new political organization which was known as feudalism. By providing honor, protection, and a sense of control, this new social system revived peace and order in Western Europe after the fall of the Carolingian Empire. Feudalism was a necessary ingredient to yield stability in during these times of calamity.

When Louis the Pious’, the son of Charlemagne, empire was divided, the subsequent actions of his sons led to the necessary creation of a new social and political structure. The structure that was embraced across western Europe became known to historians as feudalism. According to historians and legal scholars, feudalism is categorized as a political system in which warriors and religious figures swore their than allegiance, in the form of of loyalty, aid, and military assistance to the most powerful noble, in the area. In exchange for their allegiance, these warriors and religious figures, better known as vassals, were given protection and material reward, often in the form of a fief, from their lord (UWS, 234-235). Another important aspect

Feudalism, as a decentralized political system, flourished in Medieval Europe. In this essay, the main political and economic characteristics of Feudalism will be mentioned, while discussing the main historical factors to the rise and fall of feudalism.

Feudalism is defined as the dominant social system in post classical Europe. Land was passed down from the kings to the nobles, who gave it to the knights, who gave it to the peasants. These peasants farmed the land in turn for protection, a home and a share of the harvested food on the land. Peasants provide food and services to the warriors. Vassals provided military service and protection to the barons (nobles) in exchange for land. The barrons provided money and knights to the kings. European Feudalism came about in attempt to restore Europe after the fall of many different enormous and centralized empires, such as Rome Between between the 9th and 15th centuries, Feudalism led to changes such as new source of protection, as well as continuities

Serfs had a place in the feudal system as a low class peasant. Serfs made up the majority of the medieval population, doing grueling work. Serfs made up most of the population, with a whopping 90%! The population was a larger amount of serfs than knights. Serfs were also known as farmers, meaning they gave food and crops to villagers.

Feudalism is an interesting concept in theory, but in practice, at least in Europe, it only serves to stagnate progress and hurt the region. Feudalism was a form of government in which wealthy and powerful lords divided their holdings amongst lesser lords, or vassals, who in return pledged their loyalty and service to their greater lords. Vassals would then hire peasants to work for them, in a form of near slavery. These peasants, or serfs, could not leave the land that they had been bound to. While this system worked for a time, the strict separation of social classes only halted and slowed the development of European society. No one could truly progress up the social ladder, and peasants could not negotiate for any of their rights. These same peasants were often heavily taxed, and often could not find any work besides farming or serving under a nobleman. This system did not allow for any development to occur. Even if a peasant had a world altering invention, they would not be paid any attention to, and they

In Medieval times during the 10th and 13th centuries, a form of political and social organization called feudalism was a way of life that had great effect on people of the time and on the modern world. Feudalism was developed because of the weakness of Europe and it's kings. The word feudalism comes from the word fief, which was the land held on condition of feudal service, similar to an estate (English). The fiefs bound together lords and vassals. Feudalism was a structure in which a lord divided his land into smaller parts to give to lesser lords (“Feudalism”).

Looking at the decline of feudalism from an economic standpoint, there could be numerous theories and explanations why and how it happened. Nell says “The expansion of trade leads to an increase in wealth and size of towns and a decline in population leads to relatively greater decline in seigniorial than in artisan incomes” (J. Nell 328). Roughly before the year 1000, feudalism reigned supreme throughout various parts of the world, including Western Europe. Feudal Lords and nobles would partake in various ways to attain revenue. The decline in the feudal order was due to changing relations between factors in a network. In various parts of Europe the wealth being found in trade was dominating and being known as the ideal way to increase a peasant 's wealth. For the feudal lords, they would subtract a stipend of resources grown by a serf on land owned by a king, and this was given as payment, as the surplus of resources was traded. In Edward J Nell’s paper titled, “Economic Relationships in the Decline of Feudalism: An examination of Economic Interdependence and Social Change”, he goes on to mention various arguments and theories on the reason why the decline of feudalism took place from an economic perspective. One of the prominent proposals he makes is that the decline was due to a change in the relationship between factors in a network and that the trade, population, and class struggle theory are nothing more than factor explanations.

Economic processes are those involving the production and distribution of goods and services. However, they do not alone determine this production and distribution. There is an interrelationship of economic, cultural, environmental, and political processes that all help to shape each other. Nothing that we do can be defined as a single process, for it is the interaction itself that helps to produce the final results that we observe. To understand this more fully the following basic definitions may be of use: