Feudalism was based on the exchange of land for military service. It had levels of status similar to modern society. In the Middle Ages, the Feudal System was a very important system to kings in order for them to control entire countries.
The Feudal System was a vital system to William I who could not control all the land he had. According to Chris Trueman, William had defeated the English army lead by Harold Godwine but before he could be called King of England he had to gain control of all of England. The English thought of William as a foreigner who had forced his way into London. Since people didn’t like him he had to use force to maintain his control on England. It was extremely difficult for William to rule every part of the country himself and with travel difficult and slow it was nearly impossible. With him still being Duke of Normandy, he had to travel back to maintain his control of France. Because of this, he had to leave England for weeks at a time so he couldn’t control it efficiently. William spent much of his time in London. He built his own castle-the Tower of London-so that it dominated the city and it was his home while he was there. William also built the first tower at Windsor. The castles represented a visible threat to the people of England. He kept soldiers in the castles and they could be used against the English if they ever caused trouble. William then determined he needed a way of governing other than using force so the people remained loyal. That’s when William established the Feudal System in 1066 (Alchin)..
Under the Feudal system everyone but the king had a ruling lord above him to whom he owed loyalty and service in exchange for land and protection. The king awarded land grants, called fiefs, to the...
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...of the people worked on the land as serfs (Middle Ages).
Feudalism was an important and efficient way to control countries. The levels it had put everybody in their spot and told them their job and the things they must do. Overall, the Feudal System was a good way for the Kings to control large amounts of land without having to use force.
Works Cited
Alchin, Linda. “Feudalism.” Lords and Ladies. Linda Alchin, 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 29 April 2014.
“Characteristics of the Feudal World.” The Middle Ages. Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, 2008. Web. 2 May 2014.
“Middle Ages Feudal System." Ducksters. Technological Solutions, May 2014. Web. 1 May 2014.
Trueman, Chris. “Feudalism.” History Learning Site. Chris Trueman, 2013. Web. 30 April 2014.
Wheeler, Heather. “Medieval Life-Feudalism.” History on the Net. Walden University, 2 Feb. 2013. Web. 30 April 2014.
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
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
Feudalism dominated European social life during the Middle Ages (Doc.1). “Feudalism was a political, economic, and social system in which nobles were granted the use of land that legally belonged to the king” (Doc. 1) "Social" life in the Middle Ages was the only kind of life people knew. Whether nobility, craftsperson or peasant, your life is defined by your family, your community and those around you (OI). “The Church protected the Kings and Queens (OI).” “The King is above Nobles, Nobles above Knights, and the Knights are above serfs (Doc.1).”
Lambert, Tim. “EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE MIDDLE AGES.” localhistories.org. 2008. Web. 26 March 2011. .
When I think of the development of early Medieval European culture, after having read the chapter, along with references from a few websites, the first thing that comes to mind is Feudalism. Feudalism is the dominant social system of Medieval Europe, in which a group referred to as nobility exchanged the use of their land for military service. Feudalism seems to be a fundamental idea in the area of social order or an early form of systematic government. According to the text, it was adopted from the Roman custom of patronage.
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.
Feudalism is a system depending on loyalty and obligations of all the levels, meeting the needs of its people because everyone would benefit in some way. The Hundred Years war was the start of the decline of feudalism through its military by changing what the Lord’s needed the military to have and as a result, making the lower class wealthier and more powerful. Every class had an important role that needed to be filled for feudalism to meet all of the people’s needs. King Edward the third died without a direct heir, leaving the lands of France unclaimed. The King of England tried to claim the land and as a result, started a 116 year long war that went on for many lifetimes. Proving your worth will get you to be well known, for instance, Edward the black prince said "My father is right. I need no aid. My men will hold their post as long as they have strength to stand." And then he rode where the battle was still furiously raging, and encouraged his men. The king of France led his force a number of times against the prince's line, but could not break it and was at last compelled to retire (Richardson)
The Web. 20 Nov. 2011. http://historywithmrgreen.com/page2/page2.html>. Herbert, Sydney. The Fall of Feudalism in France?
During the Early Middle Ages, peasants were either free or semi-free people that worked in a relatively independent fashion. Peasants lived a hard and moderately simple life, paying their dues to their local lords and later on even become permitted to learn how to write and read. As according to A Short History of the Middle Ages, the lifestyle of the peasant would soon be forever changed. Comparing the role of the peasant during the Early Middle Ages to the High Middle Ages shows a huge difference in not only how the rest of society treats the peasants but also to how the peasants see themselves. The Early Middle Ages range from c. 400 -1050 when we begin to call it the High Middle Ages lasting from c. 1050 – 1350 (Taylor 1). 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.
The Web. The Web. 23 Nov. 2011. The "Middle Ages - Information, Facts, and Links." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans.
Shawna Herzog, History 101-1, Class Lecture: 11.2 Society in the Middle Ages, 27 March 2014.
Feudalism is very important in medieval times in Europe. Feudalism is the levels or an organization that makes up each other. Feudalism goes by levels. In medieval middle ages, feudalism is mainly made up the societies. The one with the most power is the king. The second to the next is the wealthy nobles, and next is the protecting knights. At last the peasants make up the whole feudalism society. The feudalism in europe can also be compared to korean dramas. There is also levels of duty in a production of a korean drama. The production of korean dramas is divided into the director in the first place. In addition, the next level would be the manager of the korean drama. The second to the last would be the actors, they play an important role in filming. Finally, the viewers would be the most important out of all.
In a primitive agrarian and feudalist society, such as that of the Middle Ages, virtually all wealth consisted of land and the immediate produce of the land. Power was placed with the nobles who could command and exploit those resources for profit. However, society was largely dependent on its lowest class, that of peasant farmers. Peasants were the ground support of the feudal social structure of medieval Europe. There were different types of peasants that made up their class and who served slightly different roles within it. Slaves, who could be bought and sold, were a very small part of the peasantry as their numbers declined after the early middle ages. Freemen, also a small portion of society, owned small pieces of land and could move about freely. Serfs made up the majority of peasants, they were “bound to the soil”; they were the labor that went with it and could neither leave the manor nor be forced to go. Almost all peasants lived on feudal manors where a noble lord owned the land and lent out portions of it to be farmed for a fee.
During the Middle Ages, feudalism served as the “governing political, social, and economic system of late medieval Europe.” Feudalism consisted of feudal liege lords giving land and protection to vassals, common men, in exchange for their allegiance and military service. Although this principle may at first sound like a fair trade, it in actuality restricted the entire society and took away every bit of their independence. In essence, this system could even be compared to a “mini-dictatorship” because the common people relied on ...
Print. "The Middle Ages: Feudal Life." Learner.org. Annenberg Foundation, 2012. Web.