The Medieval Feudal System

The Middle Ages is a time period that took place between 500’s and 1400’s In Western Europe. This was a time of feudalism, sickness, death, poverty, war, and faith. In this time people had a government called feudalism which was a political, economic, and social system in which nobles were granted the use of land that legally belonged to the king as payment for their military, their loyalty and protection. There was also a manor which had a manor house, a church, a village, and farm land. In medieval times people went through hard time and many were unsafe there were many deaths and diseases which at the time a disease basically meant death. There are many names you could call the Middle Ages but the two best that describe this time period

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.

During medieval times the feudal system was practiced in England, the feudal system was a hierarchy of different social classes where the Church was at the top and working peasants were at the bottom. The feudal system was introduced in Europe around the 8th century, with the Carolingian dynasty and Charles Martel granting land to his nobles (“History of Feudalism”). Feudalism does not spread through Europe until the 10th century, when most European countries become primarily Christian. The downfall of feudalism appears around the 13th century, feudalism becomes problematic due to the growth of corruption within the system. The core principles of feudalism begin to fade in exchange for greed. No longer were fiefs expected to repay the king with an army, but instead with cash. Additionally it became increasingly harder to become a fief, as the status of a fief was passed down from family members. While feudalism dissolves into government where the king rules over all and collects taxes in many countries, feudalism remains in multiple countries, including Germany, Italy, and France (“History of Feudalism”). The remaining feudalism systems in Europe are dismantled as a result of the French Revolution or Napoleon in the 15th century.

Imagen living in a harsh place with Kings, and knights and wars, well that was the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages was a time period in Europe that lasted from 500-1500 AD(OI). There were many social,economic, and political lives during the middle ages. This is what the Middle Ages were like.

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

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.

Why did the feudal order of Medieval society fall apart? The feudal order of the Middle Ages was a system of local rule, where powerful lords gave land and protection in exchange for loyalty and military service from lesser lords. Tradition dictated that this exchange would be held in place by the feudal contract, consisting of multiple pledges. This resulted in small communities consisting of one powerful lord, peasants, and serfs who worked for the lord. These people gave their loyalty locally, and had no sense of nationalism. This type of society was predominant in the Early Middle Ages, but soon started to fall apart during the Late Middle Ages. One major event that contributed to the fall of the feudal society was the Hundred Years’ War. This war was fought between England and France, lasting for a total of 116 years. During the war, peasant uprisings became frequent, as the inordinate cost of military campaigns resulted in heavier taxes. Events such as these were caused by the Hundred Years’ War and further contributed to the decline of feudalistic society. The Hundred Years’ War was the most important cause of the fall of the feudal order, acting as a turning point in Medieval society by marking the transition from feudal knights to the masses of common foot soldiers, changing the balance of power within Medieval social hierarchies, and strengthening nationalism while creating a more modern militaristic society.

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

The Middle Ages was the period in European history that came between ancient and modern times. It lasted from about ad 500 to about 1500. The Christian church played an important part in the history of the Middle Ages.

Although 90% of people were peasants, there was a very clear separation between the lower class and upper class. If you were a peasant you would expect to live your life out as a peasant. The same concept goes for nobility. With these roles also come their positions and worth. Royalty obviously were given far better education as their had a higher roll, in comparison to peasants who were expected to farm to feed themselves. The loss of a peasant meant nothing to the death of a king. Evidence of feudalism is often displayed by a hierarchy, displaying the classes and status powers (according to the Finer Times 2008-2015) The role of the feudal system also gave incredible power to the upper class which in turn allowed them to have control over the lower class. This enabled royalty such as kings and dukes to take a life if they so wished it. From this display of power peasants had no choice but to obey, as to disobey a king meant that you were singing away your will to live. Other social status such as Knights also played an important and dominate roll. Knights had power over the people and land, so ultimately if they wished so they could potentially banish you. According to Tammy Pattie (online author of Titles, Positions, Trades & Class, 2011) the roles of the hierarchy were irreversible meaning that unless you were born into royalty, you were essentially going to live out your life as the king demands you to do, often starving as well. The upper class had the social control over you, which meant everything during that

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.

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.

Before 1492 most of Europe lived in a feudal system. A feudal system is a system where lords granted pieces of land to “upper-class ally” or “vassals” with these pieces of land being granted to them also came control over the land and authority over the land’s inhabitants. Medieval Europe was divided into splits of territories, which was separated linguistically and economically. Trade and learning almost disappeared due to constant fighting among the feudal lords. By the fourteenth century most of Europe still live in an agrarian society. This was due to the remnants of the feudal system. One of Europe’s greatest change was perhaps ‘the Renaissance’ rebirth of the arts, literature, and learning. By the first quarter of the sixteenth century

When this happened, public functions, obligations, and privileges were taken over by individuals operating under a variety of private hierarchical arrangements created by personal obligation (Goucher 2). In Medieval Europe, feudalism was a system which focused on economy, government,

The economic system of this era is termed feudalism. Feudalism is defined by conditioned holding of land by lords on some kind of service-tenure to the monarch. The lords were a noble class who supplied military service and council to the monarch. The lords' social status was determined by their land holdings. The lords' estates were farmed by compulsory labor, known as serfs. The lords maintained a great deal of control over the serfs. They dictated what, where and when to plant. They also operated as a judiciary force over the serfs (Hilton, pp. 34-36).