The Medieval Feudalism System

A lord would grant land to another noble in exchange for protection and military services. This grant was called a fief. Those who received fiefs were called vassals. Within the fief, the vassal was the highest authority. Fiefs could be various seizes. Some were single estates just big enough for a knight and his family. Others were large, as big as an entire country or province.

They had to rely on the nobles in the areas to act in the interest of

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.

Although the feudal system presented a mutually beneficial relationship at first, over time many burdens were placed on the vassals. A serf was bound to the land, thus resulting in a fixed income. Since he was unable to move to another lord, he was reliant on only what was originally agreed upon to provide monetary support. [Support was generally in kind, or in labor.] With no “right” to adjust the support needed for survival, the serf and his family experiences tremendous hardships.

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

Document 1) A: The Feudalism provided protection and military services for their families. Nobles agreed to give their loyalty to the king. As the peasants worked the land for the knights and nobles and which they gave to them was protection and a portion of the harvest to feed their families. Document 2)

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.

As Tony Imperato points out, 'Medieval feudalism placed the monarch in the position of owner of all the lands in the realm, which he distributed to his nobles in return for their loyalty and service. As their overlord, the King could demand a payment whenever changes took place in landholding arrangements.' This paved the way for the exploitation of his nobles in order to gain revenue. There were many means in which he did this. One was the system of 'wardship', and 'relief'.

Feudalism provided security of the people of the Medieval Europe by working for nobles and knights to get protection in return. Also, “the peasants or serfs worked the land for the knights and nobles and in return they received protection and a portion of the harvest to feed to their families” (Doc. 1). This states that when serfs worked for nobles and knights, they

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.

During the ninth century, the land that was granted to a vassal was now known as a fief. After owning the land for a while, many vassals would possess the power to exercise rights of jurisdiction or political and legal authority within their fiefs. When the Carolingian political system began to fall, because of numerous invasions and internal differences, various powerful lords arose. Now it was the people’s job to keep order, they could no longer depend on the government. Since number of lords substantially increased, the number of vassals multiplied also. This abundant increase brought about the development of subinfeudation. This is where fief-holding became complicated. Vassals of a king might also have vassals who might owe them military service for land that was granted to them. These vassals sometimes also had other vassals under them who might only have enough land to provide their equipment. Even though this system brought about greater and lesser landowners, this relationship was still honorable. Since this was a willing relationship between free men, it was not based on servitude. This

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

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.

The lord’s were high on the feudal pyramid which meant they were almost as great as kings. They would give land out in exchange for a bond. This may be raising farmland or having military protection. The people in these places were called vassals and kept the manor system moving.

Feudalism is a lord-vassal relation with a fief or as called land. During this time there were many rulers with violent conflicts. The kind of relationship the two men worked out in practice depended on power, wealth, and personal qualities such as ingenuity, daring, and ruthlessness. To avoid discord and violence, lord and his dependant had to constantly negotiate new agreements to deal with each crisis as it arose. There were three points of evidence that supported the relations on security and violent conflicts. The three points are loyalty, land/fief, and power. By the eighth century, the Germanic society of warriors led by chiefs had been formalized into relationships between lords and vassals (The West, pg. 166). Vassals swore