The Decline of Feudalism

Title

British Literature

June 2nd, 2010

The Decline of Feudalism

Feudalism was based on a social structure of hierarchy. With William the Conqueror being the first king, he was named to the top of the hierarchy along with God. Everyone else was below them and had to follow their ways. This system ran systematically for years until things started to change. People were branching out from who the king made them to be. They were creating their own lives. The downfall to feudalism was caused by the Crusades, the merchant class, Thomas Becket, the Magna Carta, the Hundred Years War, and the Black Death.

In 1072, Jerusalem and the Holy Land were conquered by the Muslims. Along with the spread of Islam and the growth of the Seljuk Turk Empire, Jerusalem and the Holy Land did not seem to have a chance. People who lived there were forbidden of practicing anything religious. In 1093, an appeal was sent to the pope to have him send armies to help regain the land. Pope Urban II called for a “holy war” to regain what they had lost. Almost 60,000 people responded to the pope’s call. (http://www.wolfhavenproductions.net/FeudalEurope/crusades.htm)

Despite the overwhelming urge to attack the Muslims, there were those out there who thought that war was wrong. Jesus told us to love our enemies, not to fight them. People believed that there had to be a more peaceful way of solving this issue. There were so many people out there who did not acknowledge that there was another choice besides war. People tried to go out and let them know that war was not the answer. Jesus was a pacifist and they knew that he did not want a problem like this to be solved violently. (BOOK)

In the end though, four major crusades, excluding small other ones, ...

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...g land now which boosted the wool and cotton industries. All the peasants on the outskirts of England soon moved into the city after the epidemic had swept. The serfs started to gain power because of all the people ahead of them on the feudal system that had died. This messed up the feudal order and lead to the final blow that destroyed feudalism.( http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/black-death.htm)

As you can see, the decline of feudalism was caused by the Crusades, the merchant class, Thomas Becket, the Magna Carta, the Hundred Years War, and the Black Death. Each, in its own way, broke down the feudal hierarchy system to the point where it was obsolete. People were granted the rights that they deserved and all were to be counted as equals. Thanks to all of these causes, England was able to rise out of the shambles of feudalism and become a nation full of equality.