The Hundred Years ' War And Feudal Society

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

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.

The Hundred Years War was a pivotal moment in the relationship of England and France. The war caused trouble for both countries and their allies. France was even lead by Joan of Arc. Both countries suffered because of the long, drawn out war. They also had benefits.

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

The population losses among the previously overpopulated peasant class, who at this time were underemployed due to this overpopulation, were able to haggle for higher wages and better terms when it came to working, renting, and owning land. At the same time, the sudden loss in population meant the nobles could not demand high prices for product which weakened their power of wealth. This coupled with the higher earning wages of the peasant class meant they could move up in the social order to become farmers themselves or merchants of equal social standing. This period of social mobility didn’t last long, but it allowed for the end of feudalism as it was known during the Middle Ages. The end of feudalism meant the end of kings and nobles being able to give land in return for anything they could ever need including food and protection from knights. While it was still an important part of social class, land was no longer in the very center controlling every decision. In the years before the Black Death, it was the peasants who gave food and work to the knights. The knights then gave protection to nobles which gave money and the knights’ protection to the kings. In return, the king passed down land throughout the social classes. Although, the lower classes had the opportunity to accumulate land for the services they provided, in the end

Feudalism is “a political, military and social system in the Middle Ages, based on the holding of lands in fief” (Dictionary). The feudal system relies on a very strict hierarchy. There are fewer people working on the lord’s land and the land that had usually been the main source of the economy was now valueless. The foundation of feudalism relied upon was broken, which lead to the end of the feudal system. Also, the medieval people believed that the church has a direct context to God. However, the churches were not able to provide an explanation of the plague or stop the plague from happening. Because of this, their authority and power were questioned by many followers and many of them lost faith in God and turned

Between the years of 500 and 1400, Europe had evolved into the Middle Ages. The Dark Ages was a period of time where barbarians killed others and burned villages. The kings and nobility granted land to the knights and serfs in exchange for crops and military service this was known as the Age of Feudalism. The Age of Faith relates to how strong the christian church was, the church was an important part of life for the people in the community.The Dark Ages, the Age of Feudalism, the Age of Faith all describe the Middle Ages between the era of 500 and 1400.

There were a number of conditions that would lead to the emergence of “feudal warfare” in the early Middle Ages and there would be an equal number that would lead to its decline in the later middle ages as well yet to find the meaning of “feudal warfare” one has to look first at where this notion came from, and that was Feudalism.

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.

The Hundred Years War was the last great medieval war. It was a war not just between Kings, but lesser nobles were also able to pursue their own personal agendas while participating in the larger conflict. Future wars saw far less factionalism, at least on the scale found in medieval conflicts. The Hundred Years War was actually dozens of little wars and hundreds of battles and sieges that went on for over a century until both sides were exhausted. While neither side won in any real sense, the end result was that while there were two kingdoms at the

Can you imagine fighting wearing a 50lb suit of amour while also wielding a 25lb sword? This is what knights had to do in the middle ages. They fought in tournaments and battles. Knights wore about 70-80lb of equipment while fighting while troops today wear about 50-60 pounds. Knights served in a government system called feudalism.

The rise of Feudalism was a direct result of insecurity that caused by several significant historical factors. At first, the collapse of Roman Empire that led to prolonged unrest and power struggles was essentially a reason for why Europe was divided into many small states. The frequent fights among those states made people suffered from violence and insecurity. Even though Charlemagne united those states and Europe lasted for a period time of peace, Holy Roman Empire

The rise of towns in the late middle ages had a direct effect on the feudal system in the middle ages. As agricultural practices improved production of crops was accomplished with less labor this allowed farmers to turn their attention to other endeavors which allowed them to make more money. The noble class was forced to sell the peasants their freedom so they could fund the crusades, pay loans and buy luxury items. The peasants not being tied to the farm, produced goods that could be sold at the local market place which gave many the funds to by their freedom. The market place where they sold these goods was located along trade routes, towns evolved from these market places. With the ability to buy their freedom most of the peasants moved to these growing towns looking for work. Most had

Hello Zachary while reading The Feudal Lord: Vassal and Warrior I did not really make the connection about weeding’s but it is really interesting that you thought of that, and after reading through it again I can see how you thought of that. What I believe is also very interesting is that during this time they had contracts. Do you think it was like a contract like the ones that we have today or was a contract just by word of mouth? Because if it was like a signing contract I wonder for how long and who started this? From our past readings we know that there was some form of contracts from the Roman Empire but we never really got to know more details about their contracts and if there was some form of signing. Maybe what happened with the Vassals