The Feudal System

The Feudal System

The feudal system, with all its injustices, was destined to crumble. A system that divided society into differing social classes and forced the lower social classes into subservience, was surely bound to be overthrown by the very people that it repressed. In fact in the 18th century the feudal system was officially abolished after the reading of a report on the misery and disorder which prevailed throughout Europe. Though the decree abolishing the feudal system was not officially written until the late 1700s, the change had been in the wind since the early 13th century. The people were rioting, burning villages and abandoning farms, and any form of authority was overthrown. After being in place for more than 1000 years, the feudal system was to be no more. In hindsight, many people of the time may agree that the feudal system was indeed destined to crumble. But why did the very people it was designed to protect overthrow the feudal system?

The feudal system existed in Europe from the collapse of the Roman Empire, circa AD400, until the Renaissance period, circa AD1400. The collapse of the Roman Empire is considered to have led to the development of the feudal system. As the Roman Empire began to weaken and was suffering defeat at its border from Northern and Eastern Europe, the Emperors needed to develop a system that would ensure provisions for the Roman armies. Thus the Feudal System was developed and eventually adopted throughout Europe. Under this system, a local dignitary was placed in charge of an area of land, and the peasants from that area would work the land to provide for the local lord. The peasants were allotted land for their use; however, a high proportion of the f...

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...ir wealth. The fees of priests and churches were abolished, in their place the minimum salary of the parish priests was increased. However, the part of the decree that perhaps truly sealed the demise of the feudal system and its unfair social classes came from Article XI, which stated, "All citizens, without distinction of birth, are eligible to any office or dignity, whether ecclesiastical, civil, or military; and no profession shall imply any derogation."

Bibliography:

J.H. Robinson, ed. Readings in European History.

H.R. Cowie (1987), Obedience or Choice, The Major Issues of the Modern World, The Jacaranda Press

The British Library. www.england-info.com/pages/history.html

Tierney, Brian. Kagan, Donald. Williams, L. Pierce. Feudalism -- Cause and Cure of Anarchy. Random House

www.faculty.acu.edu/~appletonl/mb1/ma.htm