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Feudalism and social status in the medieval period
Feudalism and social status in the medieval period
Feudalism and social status in the medieval period
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Feudalism is a system of land ownership and duties that were used in the Middle Ages. Under feudalism, all the land in a kingdom was the king's. However, the king would give some of his land to the lords or nobles who fought for him. Rulers in all society wanted to create law and order and ensure that people make good use of the society’s resources. That is why feudalism was created. Monarchs had to accept limits on their own personal power. They also needed to respond to expectations that other groups in society have a say in decision-making. People began to use medieval courts for problems that had previously been solved by trial by combat. William of Normandy (also known as William The Conqueror) Introduced feudalism into England in 1066.
The feudal system was one that arose in England after the invasion and conquest of William I. It has been said that this was the perfect political system for this time period. Life was really hard back in the Middle Ages and safety and defense were really hard to come by after the empire fell. There were no laws to protect the poor, so they turned to their lords to keep them safe. The king was in complete control of the system and he owned all the land. One quarter was kept as private property and the rest was given to the church or leased
needed protection from invaders and so the Kings invented the Feudal system to allow the
Eventually, the Germanic kings could not effectively maintain law and defend from invaders. Thus, Feudalism developed. Feudalism is a system of government in which lords gave parts of their land, or fiefs, and gave it to their lesser lords, or vassals. The vassals pledged loyalty and service to the lord in return for his fief. This exchange of fiefs and loyalty was known as the feudal contract. Vassals were in charge of running their estates, or manor, and they used serfs, which were low-wealth peasants, to provide the manor and the higher lord with food. Serfs were not slaves, but they had very limited freedom. (Ellis & Esler 2012)
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 contrast in Germany, kings seem unable to keep a reign on their crown as well as their nobles and other officials. ("HISTORY OF FEUDALISM." HISTORY OF FEUDALISM. ) The structure seems to fall over due to the nobility’s places as second in the Feudalism structure. But in some cases the nobility actually had more money and power than the king himself. This and as well as the other problems discussed would eventually lead to taxing and ruling from a central place, slowly becoming the norm. But, although the system seems to fall apart its customs seem to be made use to other places.
All throughout history and even in modern day countries have been structured by a social class system, however sometimes terrible disasters can set off this social balance. The Black Death was an appalling pandemic that swept through Europe killing thousands of medieval Europeans. Feudalism was a social system based on each level giving and getting products and services to keep the medieval society and it’s people alive. All classes during the Black Plague were affected, noble or serf, this caused a monumental power shift and the social classes never to be the same again. With feudalism’s tight social structure, the Black Death in the late 1300s demolished the population and feudal ties in medieval Europe.
Feudalism came to as a government containing kings, vassals, knights, lords, lesser lords, and peasants. Feudalism is a loosely organized system of rule in which powerful local lords divided their lands among lesser lords in exchange for military services and pledged loyalty. It came to as a need for control over peasants and protection from the Muslims and the Magyars.
William I first introduced the Feudal System to England. The Normans from the time they settled there had used this system in France. The Feudal System was a simple system where the King owned all lands. The King would decide who he would lease land to. Therefore, only the men who the King could trust were able to lease land from him. Before they were given any land, they had to swear an oath to remain faithful to the king at all times. These men were known as barons.
Feudalism was an economic and governmental structure in which land was divided into smaller pieces based on people’s servitude. Vassals were subjects to whom a higher authority would grant land in exchange for their loyalty and service. The kingdom’s ruler would give his higher-classed subjects vassalages, making them lord of their territory. These lords and nobles then split their land among their own servants, who in turn did the same. In this system, the King’s land was broken up into many small subdivisions.
The social structure of the Middle Ages was based on the practice of feudalism. Feudalism meant that the country was not governed directly by the king, but by individual lords that paid homage to him. These lords: administered their own estates, dispensed their own justice, minted their own currency, levied taxes and tolls, and demanded military service from their vassals. Technically the king was the chief feudal lord, however the individual lords reigned supreme in their territory, doing little more than paying the king’s taxes. The idea of feudalism was built upon a mutual service between vassals and lords. As a vassal one was required to attend at the lord’s court, help administer justice, contribute money, and answer a summons to battle, as well as house and feed the lord when he traveled across his land. The lord was obliged to, protect the vassal, give military aid, and guard his children; this meant that if a daughter were to inherit the fief, the lord would arrange her marriage.
Before the Magna Carta, England was rooted in the ideas of feudalism. Feudalism was introduced by William the Conqueror after he victoriously beat Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. William needed a way to control England so he established the feudal system. The feudal system allowed William to keep the people of England loyal to him while he was off at war with neighbouring countries. The feudal system was a pyramid of powers and everyone had a rank and role. The top of the pyramid was the King and below him were different ranking that all gave loyalty to the king while he gave them land. This system lasted for two hundred years, until the tyrannical rule of King John who had ultimate control over England and infuriated his people. For example, King John angered the Roman Catholic Church and consequently the pope banned all church services in England. Unlike most English kings, John was not only a terrible government leader, but a military one too. He experienced loss and defeat in 1204 as he attempted to gain back his territory in northern France. As he suffered loss, John had to accumulate more money so he re...
“The Song of Roland” illustrates very clearly the impact, efficacy and consequences of the feudalism as a political and social system. Feudalism is rightly pointed on ordering the social classes in the text by distributing the power gradually in each of them. A good example to make this clear is when the pagan king, Marsile, tries to trick on Charlemagne (Charles the Great) and offers to be his vassal and the reign of Spain. This giving would actually never happen, as he will still continue to be Spain’s king just as he has been before the “deal”, except the occasional situations when Charles may find appropriate to intervene. This is how the deal mildly organized the social order through power, giving Charles freeway and absolute power to do as he wishes, giving the Muslim king significant power, giving the others that follow immediately under him a little less power, and so on.
Warring European states adopted feudalism in order to introduce structure and efficiency into the lives of the people during the Middle Ages. It featured serfs, who were managed by the knights, who answered to the lords that were appointed by the kings. While the serfs worked for the knights, and the knights provided protection
In the country of England feudalism was introduced to the country by William I after he had defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. After being introduced to England, feudalism became a way of life in Medieval England and stayed that way for many centuries. William I known better as William the Conqueror had defeated the English army lead by Harold but in order to truly be called king of England he had to gain control of the country as well. William I had to use force in order to get and maintain his control of England since he was not very popular among the people of England. The defeat of Harold at the Battle of Hastings by William I occurred in 1066 which meant that feudalism began in England in or close to the year 1066.