Main Reasons for the Fall of Feudalism

There were four major causes for the the decline of feudalism by the early fifteenth century. They were economic changes as more countries gained strength, the religious reasons were greed in the Catholic Church looking for riches, the third was the Black Death or

By the time the plague began to decline in the 1400s, half of Europe’s population had perished from the effects of the plague (document 9). The following essay will explain why the Bubonic Plague was so devastating to European society because of how quickly the disease would spread, the passing of millions of people, and the lack of treatment and physicians. To begin with, not only had the Plague kill millions of people, but it affected families as well. The death of many loved ones caused family relationships to go downhill.

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.

Among three devastating events of the fourteenth century, I consider the Black Death(Plague) had the most pronounced impact on the course of medieval history. Although, other two events were also left an impact on the course of medieval history, but there is no such comparison to the black Plague. The changing climate and poor harvests which lead to famine, malnourishment, and death was just the beginning of troublous period on Europe’s. Europe was already suffering from famine, but more devastating time has just arrived along with the medieval shipping. Plague first started from china, and soon brought by Genoese ships to Europe, which was the ticking time bomb waiting its own time to burst. It has start spreading throughout many parts of

The Crusades were wars between the Christians and the Muslims who fought for control of the Holy Land, Jerusalem. With the Crusades began the decline of feudalism because they brought back new ideas and items. The Black Death was one of the biggest epidemics in history which resulted in 1/3 of the European population dying. The Black Death brought lots of death which was bad because the more people they had, the stronger the Feudal Empire looked. Trade & Towns were used for trade fairs which brought many new ideas and items into feudalism.

millions of deaths from infection . The bubonic plague was so devastating to Europe because the disease was very contagious and no known medicine or medical advice given by doctors would help relieve the sick which caused Europe to decline in many aspects. The Bubonic plague was said to bypass some and affect others, some victims of the plague were children and many of them died the few that managed to survive weren't able to take care of themselves. Europes economy also began to decline as a result of the immense population decline , fewer people meant fewer workers producing food and other products, ports, and trade routes began close. The few

The plague had a lot of effects on society. One example is the Nobles, before the plague they were the rulers and they were rich. After the plague they had less power because there was less Nobles. Another example was the Peasants, before the plague they were poor and worked for the Nobles. After the plague they had gained a little bit of power because there weren’t as many Nobles. It also affected the population by 25 million people. The cities were crowded before the plague and after there weren’t many people some cities were even abandon. The food was even a problem before the plague because there wasn’t enough so the prices were high and the only people that could afford it was the Nobles. After words the prices went down because there was plenty of food but not enough people.

This made it easy for the lords to take advantage of the peasants because if they decided not to obey they could easily be replaced. Before the plague lords had complete control over the peasants, so the peasants lived in squalor conditions. After the Bubonic Plague the deaths of millions significantly altered the feudalism system because the number of people alive and still able to work for the lords was limited. Now the peasants had the upper hand

It was in the 14th century that a catastrophic and deadly Plague hit Europe. The Black Plague killed up to a 3rd of Europe’s population. This lead to medieval science changing dramatically as people began to question how much authority the church should be given, and began to turn to science for logical answers. The plague also contributed to the Peasants anger that evolved into the Peasants Revolt, and ultimately, the breakdown of the feudal system.

The Bubonic Plague was an epidemic which tore through a developing and growing Europe. The lasting impact included the onset of the Dark Ages. The reasons why the Bubonic Plague was so devastating to European society include low sanitation quality, the continuing decline of public morale and the overall large number of lives lost. Each individual factor continued to depress the city allowing the plague to take complete advantage.

The reason for the diminishing of the plague isn’t actually known. However, the most popular theory is that Europe’s use of quarantines reduced the spreading of the plague. Also, the increase in hygiene might have also played a factor in the ending of the plague. Before the Black Death, people in Europe didn’t value hygiene, and they were more likely to pass illnesses an disease (www.ic.galegroup.com). In addition, Europe didn’t stay in a state of depression for long due to the rise of the Renaissance era. The Renaissance increased trading that had been previously decreased due to the plague, and this eventually resulted in the re-growth of European cities. Also, the Renaissance influenced cultural and social changes that were stunted in Europe due the Black Death. The re-growth of the cities attracted many skilled workers and artisans back to Europe. In short, the Renaissance reversed the effects of the economic effects of the plague and turned the depressed future of Europe into something slightly more optimistic.

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

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.

The revival of commerce and the widespread use of money changed the relations between feudal lord and serf. Some lords began to rent out their lands to tenant farmers. Using those lands, serfs engaged themselves into trade, which allowed them to substitute a money payment for their feudal obligations and become tenant farmers. In the 14th century, the labor shortage caused by the Black Death led to a rise of bargaining power of serfs; many serfs’ wages raised and became able to purchase their freedom while feudal lords lost their power by the end of the Medieval Europe. At third, as stability and security in Europe gradually came back, the existence of a feudal knight’s military service became unnecessary. What monarchs were more willing to do is assemble large mercenary armies at relatively low cost. Based on all of the factors above, feudalism was replaced by a system of government that brought the birth of modern capitalism.

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”).