Middle Ages Feudal System

You may have heard of the Middle Ages and Feudalism, but you might not know a lot about it. Some people think that the Middle Ages is just a random period of time, but actually, it is the period of time after the fall of the Roman empire. Feudalism during the Middle Ages had its advantages and disadvantages. It caused unfairness to the lowest rank, it provided military service and protection, and it also provided economic stability.

The article, “European Feudalism” by Deborah Symonds, is a brief analysis of the political economy found in Europe in and around the year of 1500, more commonly known as the medieval ages. During said period, little to no established form of modern governance was visible, leaving a barbaric and bloodlust culture to find a means to controlling areas of land. This culture, mixed with a heavily strong presence of the Frankish ruling style lead to a system in which a ruling class divided the power to rule among lesser noble people. The system of a warrior aristocracy left an often impoverish group of persons underneath them to provide crops, products and labor as a means of economic stability to an unstable economy. Throughout her article, Symonds touches on the key areas of how the society was governed and the relationships between classes of people.

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.

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.

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

Feudalism was a political, economic and social system that exchanged land and loyalty in return for protection. It was a commerce of protection and goods, as seen in the feudal system diagram, there are different types of social classes that have arrows describing what they are trading and to whom they are trading (Document 4). In the late ninth century, peasants gave food and service to the knights in exchange for protection. The knights gave military service in exchange for shelter and defense. The lords gave military aid while the king gives them fief and peasants etc.

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

The feudal system was a type of social order which, over a period of several hundred years, spread across Europe. Feudalism was similar to a contract in which individuals pledged their loyalty and services to a lord or person of higher rank. The loyalty was rewarded with the promise of protection and the chance to occupy land. Refer

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.

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 would not have survived throughout the middle ages without the support from the manors. The main source of support came from the those who lived and worked on the manors. In feudalism, the owner was the Lord of the Manor who pronounced his authority who provided protection through military service to those who lived on the manor (Ebeling). Without the lord’s service, there wouldn’t be any citizens being able to support the manorial system, therefore not being able to support feudalism. Another significant occupant of the land were serfs that supplied the village with specialists. Serfs were able to help other serfs essentially survive on the manor (Bishop 228). Serfs also served the lord when they cared for his land (Bishop 229).

The European Feudal system was developed around the twelfth century. It was developed as a way for the poor and lower class people to be protected from the incoming viking and barbarian invasions. This system offered something to the people that they could never achieve by themselves. It was a completely beneficial system, meaning that everyone involved received advantages from it. The main groups of people involved were the King, then the Nobles or Barons, then the Knights, and then finally the Pheasants.

“Feudalism was a political and economic system and culture in Europe during the Middle Ages” (Sheldon) In 911 AD, Charles the simple, king of France, granted Rollo, head of a Viking army, a part of French territory known as Northmen’s Land or Normandy. Rollo then swore a pledge of loyalty to the king (“Feudalism in Europe” 360). 850 to 950 AD was the worst time of invader’s attacks. Charles and Rollo made similar agreements to make system of government called feudalism.

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”).