Feudalism In The Middle Ages Research Paper

During this time the social class depended on how much land you owned. Royalty in your Kings and Queens was part of the upper class; the noble lords and vassals followed the

The feudal system began to decline after the Black Death struck Europe in the late 1340’s. The feudal system joined politics and grouped together the social classes of that period. It began with the “relationship between two freemen (men who are not serfs), a lord and his vassal. Vassal derived from a Celtic word for servant, but in feudal terms vassal meant a free person who put himself under the protection of a lord and for whom he rendered loyal military aid.” This relationship was mutually beneficial at first, but throughout the development of the system, great restrictions were endured.

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

During the middle ages the lack of protection and a stable government after the Fall of Rome created the need for a new political system. Feudalism was the political system that emerged and shaped the lives of people socially and politically. Manors were small communities that were made up of a castle, church, village, and land for farming. The structured society provided a place and responsibility for everyone. The feudal obligations showed that in exchange for one thing they would be provided with something else. Serfs and peasants would work and produce goods for the rest of the manor and in return had their land and promised protection. The vassals would need to obtain land from the Lord and in return would provide the Lord with military service, loyalty, and ransom if asked for (Doc. 4). To make clear the vassal’s specific allegiance to their lord whom they owed in for exchange for their fief they would take the Homage Oath (Doc. 2). This interdependent system required everyone to do their part and it created social classes that they were born into. Their daily lives were centered on the manor and that was how it stayed until towns began to

During the medieval times Kings had absolute power and the Catholic Church made sure God help the King retain this power. During this time feudalism was the structure that shaped society. In the feudalism structure the people that work the land the poor got cero power and live at the mercy of the barons. Barons where the owners of the land that people where let to work and make really low amounts of money while the baron sells and exchange the goods produced by the land and makes a fortune. At the end of the day the land belongs to the king and the king taxes the barons and collects money from all the land making him very, very wealthy and powerful.

Between 500 to 1500 A.D in Europe, there was a period of time called the Middle Ages (OI). During this time, kings, nobles, knights and serfs lived together in a society called feudalism (Doc. 1). The Church was very important, trade began to grow, and the knights lived by a code called the Code of Chivalry. During this time, the social, political and economic lives were influenced by the feudal system and the Church.

Feudalism was a contrasting system dealing with political and military relationships existing among members of the higher social class, Kings, Lords and other owners of large lands in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The Feudal system started by the granting of fiefs, chiefly in the form of land and labor, in return the lord would receive political and

All serfs were farmers. Serfs had poor shelter and lacked a diet. Most serfs lived in small homes made of stones, with roofs made of clay tiles or shingles. They had hard dirt floors and slept on straw mattresses that were on the floor. They had some furniture such as stools benches and a table (Cels 9). Peasants often ate bread and had pottage which was like a soup. Pottage was flavored with various types of vegetables. Since peasants weren't that wealthy, they rarely ate meat because it was expensive to buy and keep animals. Small amounts of chicken, pork and beef were considered treats (Cels 9). Serfs children often helped the parents around the house. Young children that were peasants normally played with toys such as dolls, carts, horses,whistles,

Feudalism was the system used in Europe during the late middle ages. The economic part of feudalism was centered on the lord's estate or manor. A lord's manor consisted of a peasant village, a church, farm land, a mill and the lord's castle. Feudalism was split in society levels. Kings would be on top with the most power, then upper lords followed by lesser lords, underneath the lesser lords were the knights, and then the serfs being the lowest social class.

During the Middle Ages a peasant’s life was, indeed, very rough, there were anywhere from ten to sixty families living in a single village; they lived in rough huts on dirt floors, with no chimneys, or windows. Usually one end of the hut was given over to storing livestock. Furnishings were quite sparse; three legged stools, a trestle table, beds softened with straw or leaves and placed on the floor; the peasant diet was mainly porridge, cheese, black bread, and a few homegrown vegetables. Peasants had a hard life, yet they did not work on Sundays, and they could travel to nearby fairs and markets. The basic diet of a lord consisted of meat, fish, pastries, cabbage, turnips, onions, carrots, beans, and peas, as well as fresh bread, cheese, and fruit. This is by no means equivalent to the meals the peasants ate, a lord might even feast on boar, swan, or peacock as well.

Feudalism was a combination of legal and military customs that flourished from the 9th to 15th centuries that provided political organization. Feudalism was created as a solution due to the fall of Empires around the area of Europe. Broadly defined, Feudalism was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for services and labors. In a feudal society, everyone was set in place in a class system. The classes consisted of nobles, church officials, peasants, and serfs. These classes brought organization and order to the people in order to maintain a stable government through the feudal system. The class system brought defense, and property of land. Through a mutual relationship between a lord (a man from whom a landholding or a manor was held) and a vassal, (a holder of land by feudal tenure on conditions of homage and allegiance) defense and internal order was brought. When a vassal made an arrangement with a lord, the vassal pledged immediate loyalty to the

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.

A noble, or lord, was in control of his manor. The manor was the heart of feudal economy (Ellis and Esler 222). A manor often consisted of the castle, a church, a village, and

The feudal system of the time operated on the premise of peasants or serfs, and thanes, or lords. The lords owned the land, and the peasants worked on it. In turn, they received the protection

was based heavily on the honor system. The king had overall power, then the lord, then the