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The Rise And Fall Of Feudalism
Feudalism topic simple
The rise Feudalism
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Imagine being tied to the land you lived on, only getting one day off a week. Or maybe have to work for a lord but, getting paid with land. Perhaps having to fight in wars or have to hide from other tribes trying to attack on the daily bases. This is what the social ,economic, and political life like back in the Middle Ages.
In the Middle Ages, there was something called Feudalism. Feudalism was a political and social system. Nobles were granted the use of land by a king and in return nobles had to give military services and loyalty to the king. The serfs and peasants worked on land and they would get food and protection (Doc. 1).The order of the chart was kings,nobles,knights then serfs. When serfs provide food and protection for the knights they would get land granted to them. Then, when knights provided protection and military services to nobles they would also get land. When nobles provided money and knights for a king they would get land in return (Doc 1). As you can tell, feudalism affected many people's lives on the daily basis.
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Manors were “self-sufficient systems the which the lord’s land was farmed by serfs” (Doc. 2). And manors had farmers and artisans who hunted and pastured for farm animals(Doc 2). Serfs and peasants had no land and had to work 6 out of 7 days a week. On that 1 day they could farm to feed for their families and themselves. When they wanted to use the lord's land, it was be costly. Throughout the year there were different farming problems, such as in May, they had to worry about weeds growing and they had to scare away birds (OI). Another part of the economy was the Silk Road, or trade routes to foreign countries. The Silk Road established global trade. It increased trade connecting in Europe to places along the Silk Road. It was initiated by non-Christian merchants like Jews and Muslims (Doc.4)In conclusion,trading and farming affected the economic side of things
Others were more like slaves. They owned nothing and were pledged to their local lord. They worked long days, 6 days a week, and often barely had enough food to survive”(“Middle Ages History”). Knights were above the peasants and they were given land granted by the barons in exchange for their military services if the king needed it. They were responsible for protecting the baron who granted them land as well as the baron’s family and the manor they lived at. The knights were able to keep any amount of land they were given, and they gave out the rest to the serfs. The lord, or baron, was above the knight in the social class divide. They were given land by the king and in return they showed loyalty to the monarch. They provided the king with fully equipped knights if the king needed some to serve. If the baron “did not have an army, sometimes they would pay the king a tax instead. This tax was called shield money”(“Middle Ages History”). The king was at the top of the feudal system and held the most power and wealth. The king could not maintain control over all the land in England so he divided the land up to the barons which eventually
According to this ideal, the duty of a knight was to unite Christian virtues with courage and spirit of battle, demonstrated by jousting. The lords attempted to regulate their lands and reduce the influence of the nobility and the Church. Their power, however, was dependent on their subjects in the economic system of feudalism, which defined power relations. A lord would lend a fiefdom to a vassal, which thus created a social relationship in that the vassal owed service and the lord owed protection. The kings delegated hereditary lands to the nobles who administered them from their well-fortified castles, which simultaneously separated them from the people they ruled. The majority of the people was farmers and was obliged to perform services for their rulers. Living conditions were poor, which contributed to high infant mortality rates. Epidemics spread by rodents erupted from the middle of the 14th century at irregular intervals and claimed the lives of millions of people...
In the medieval times everything had an order to follow, a price that had to be paid, and a contract that had to be obeid. Each person had a rank, which decides on your lifestyle and future for you and your descendants to come. A serf was at the bottom of the pyramid, therefore they had to work at sunrise to sunset. The lords and the ladies lived conformably in their glorious castle, which was flooded with servants. Alot of things obviously had change, which is the more reason to learn more about our history.
Manorialism and Feudalism were weakened by the rise of merchant guilds, plague epidemics, and nationalism. The rise of merchant guilds facilitated long distance trade during the medieval period [1301 - 1500], and lasted into the 18th century. Guilds were social, political and economic organizations in medieval towns. They cared for social and economic welfare of members. Guilds assisted in the rise of new middle class. They enjoyed a trade monopoly in towns, allowed members to earn a living wage. Guilds bypassed or contravened feudalism and manorialism when they purchased self government charters for towns from nobles or started new towns.
In the middle ages lots of suffering and decentralization had occurred. There are many reasons as to why this had occurred and solutions to theses rising conflicts were feudalism and manorialism. But why were these ideologies used or caused? The reasons for the occurrence of medieval feudalism and manorialism is the political , social decentralization and economic problems that had occurred during and after the disappearance of the roman empire , invasions of the barbarians , rise of barbarian kingdoms , civil wars within the barbarian kingdoms and the need of stability and safety that made the people of that time desperate.
They did not have an economic function, as slaves were not treated as workers, guild masters were not capitalist and the lord was not the landlord as slaves who were peasants or serfs and were subjects to ties and bonds discussed in the ownership. Whereas in the market economy factors of productions have economic functions and workers are not slaves but are free worker, able to end their dues when their work time is up.
Although many changes occur to make the transformation from Early-High that affects the people, it is the gradual change throughout the High Middle Ages that makes a very distinct difference between the peasants of these two time frames. The transformation into the High Middle Ages for the peasant class infers changes that are primarily negative with only a few temporary positive aspects in their social standing, political standing, and economic standing within medieval society. Within the hierarchy throughout all periods of the Middle Ages the peasants remained primarily on the lower end of the societal food chain. Peasants in the Early Middle Ages were for the most part somewhat independent depending on their regions lord, “.regional lords—often kings—commanded a share of the peasants’ produce and, occasionally, labor services. [while] some of the peasants.would be tenants or slaves of a lord; others would be independent farmers who owned all or part of the land that they cultivated,” (Rosenwein 81)....
Manorialism and Feudalism were important key characteristics of Medieval Europe. Although they were closely related they were very different. Feudalism’s concept was to have a political and military institution. The Knights would protect the serfs for their work, and the knights would get paid to protect the lords and the kings. While Manorialism was more of an economic organization. For example, in document 2 it states, “They also had to pay high rents to the lords to use his land”. Money was not used a lot in this medieval Europe, but Manorialism was economic. Mannerism lacked of military and political aspect, and it depended more on the serfs for living. If there were no serfs, there would be no food.
A hierarchical society of Kings granting land to nobles, who would then give a fief to a knight in return for service. The knight would then have peasants or serfs working on their fief. However, as the plague spread, many peasants died and their labour could not be replaced. This loss of workforce had a significant impact upon the economy as grain was not being harvested and livestock roamed free. The agrarian economy had been severely damaged, the land became uncultivated and returned back to its natural state.
Feudalism is the political structure that rose after the fall of the Carolingian empire. The political structure is largely based on the personal contracts between individuals and not between individuals and the government. The system is based on the fact that the premise of land is the basis of all wealth. In return for land, a person owes personal service, which is usually military or financial. The one in charge, the lord, offers protection and land. Contracts are between the lords and their vassals. The feudal system and the way it was structured only worked within the upper classes. For example, you could either be a king or a lord, but also be a vassal to those in higher power than you while also being a suzerain to a knight. The land
Feudalism is a government, economic, and military system from Europe in the medieval period (Biel 9). Feudalism organized society during a dark time, and became a system of government that provided order. Because of this, people have a good life and had the ability to rise out of the dark ages (Biel 10). Land and protection was provided through Feudalism, and these would be a hard thing for people to get on their own, so no matter what class of the pyramid people were in, whether it was in the aristocracy or in the peasant life, Feudalism had it’s benefits. Feudalism was also a system of giving out land and duties to the people. The king would give out land to vassals, who would then divide the land to the peasants. The roles of the manor included the king, the vassal or lord, and the peasants. There were three roles in the feudal pyramid, kings, vassals, and peasants that kept Feudalism going. The king gave out his land to vassals or lords who pledged loyalty to the king, and peasants worked on this land to give the people of this land the supplies they need. There were distinct roles that people followed, and with this, everyone had items that they needed or wanted. To get these things, they had offers to get these things for themselves. Whether people were on the richer side (vassals/lords and kings) or the poorer side (peasants), everyone offered and received things, and this
There was very little or no shipping of excess crops to the other regions as the trade was limited. Further, due to the poor living conditions of the rural people, their life expectancy was on the lower side and the infant mortality rate was also high. The issues of plague or black death used to create a rift in the society as the people used to shun out the members of their neighbours in order to protect themselves. In the times of the plague the ill people were generally out casted from the villages and were also not given food. In such situations there was little or no support from the aristocrats. Additionally, children born with defects were also given up by their parents as they were believed to be unproductive in the future.
Life in the Middle Ages were like hell to some people and like heaven to others. The Middle Ages had three levels of society, The king, The Barons, and the peasants. Kings ruled by divine right and were believed to be chosen by god. People believed to rebel against the king was a sin but that did not stop them from rebelling. A great king would have had to have a strong personality or the barons would try to rebel against him. The king gave land to the barons in exchange for soldiers that would fight for so many days out of a year.
The feudal society was structured by a hierarchy. They were usually differentiated between four different groups. There was the kings, lords, knights, then lastly peasants and serfs. Once you were born into that class, you generally stayed there your entire life. It did not matter if you worked hard, followed all of the rules, or had great manners, you stayed into the class you were born in. You did not have many choices, pretty much everything was decided for you. For example, your clothing, food, marriage, homes, etc.
The key to the feudal system was land, and luckily for the king, he owned almost all of it. Land was the currency of the Middle Ages, "Those who owned land [also] owned the possibility of building up military and political power, for on the land men could grow food, and men could be settled to serve and fight for their overlords. During these [medieval] centuries, free men... commended themselves in great numbers of their own free will to the power, service and protection of a strong lord [who owned vast amounts of land]" (Nardo 14,15). If you had land, you were worth a lot more to the people. Land meant food, peasants, and power. People with power were treated with respect because they had control over the people below them. Ownership and exploitation of land was the driving force behind feudalism (Nardo 14,15). The king controlled the feudal system, and the land. The control of this land, enabled the king to subdivide the land between the social classes. Kings gave land to the classes below him, which resulted in a domino effect. Once the king would receive the fealty of a vassal, the king was expected to pay. In most cases, the king would return the vassal with a fief, which was an estate or manor. The fief would include, a house, or a small castle. The fief would also come with peasants. Although the vassal did not own the peasants, he owned the land on which their houses were built, so they answered