The Feudalism was an economic, political and social organization based on land tenure - the manor - that predominated in Western Europe during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from the encounter between Roman and Germanic customs, through the barbarian invasions in the then Western Roman Empire.
The lands and titles of nobility were donated by the king as a reward to the leaders for having participated in battles.
The manor was a large country estate that housed the fortified castle, villages, farmland, pastures and woods.
It originated in the Carolingian Empire, when the king needed allies to defend his extensive borders. From the 9th century onwards, when this empire disintegrated, what remained were several independent regions, ruled by a noble.
Characteristics of Feudalism
Feudal Society
Society, in feudalism, was called estate because it was composed of social strata that were distinguished by the privileges they had.
There were three social strata - nobility, clergy and serfs.
There was almost no social mobility and moving from one social status to another was practically impossible.
Nobility
The nobility owned land and its members were called feudal lords . These enforced laws, granted privileges, traded with neighbors, administered justice, declared wars, and made peace.
At the top of the nobility was the king , which concentrated little political power, as it was divided between the monarch and the feudal lords. However, the monarch had prestige among the other feudal lords.
Clergy
The Church became the most powerful feudal institution, as it owned vast tracts of land, in addition to directly determining social relations.
According to her, each member of society had a role to fulfill in their passage on earth . The function of the noble was to protect society militarily, that of the clergy, to pray, and that of the servant, to work.
In addition, the medieval monasteries were responsible for the conservation of manuscripts on literature, philosophy and science, supported travelers and welcomed the sick.
Servants
Work was based on serfdom, with peasants tied to the land and subject to a series of obligations, from taxes and services.
On the other hand, feudal lords were supposed to protect them in case of attack.
Besides the servants, there were other workers like:
- Villains: free men who lived in the village but could provide services to the feudal lord and were allowed to change property;
- Ministerials: occupied the administration of feudal property and could ascend socially, reaching the status of members of the gentry.
- Enslaved: generally employed in domestic service. At this time it was common for Christians to enslave Muslims and vice versa.
Living conditions in the feudal domains were harsh and even the nobility did not live luxuriously.
Serfs' lives were miserable in every way. Serfs and even feudal lords could not read or write. The clergy were the only social class that had access to education.
Feudal economy
The economy in feudalism was characterized by self-sufficient production , as it was intended for local consumption, within the manor itself, and not for large-scale commerce.
At the time of good harvests, the surpluses were exchanged in neighboring manors or in the fairs that took place in the cities. Often trade took place through the exchange of genres and not currencies; however, these existed and were issued by each fief.
Feudal politics
Political power in the manor was exercised by the feudal lord, who had an army, collected taxes and distributed justice. However, his obligation was to protect the serfs and, for that, he built a fortified castle, around which the community developed.
When a feudal lord needed support for war, he made alliances with less powerful nobles. Through an oath of allegiance - called "homage" - the feudal lord with more resources became suzerain and the other, vassal. In return, the latter received land or rent from a toll or mill, for example. However, for his part, the vassal should defend the suzerain and accompany him in case of conflict.
It is important to remember that members of the clergy could be feudal lords. The monasteries, in addition to the religious building, had large tracts of land for their sustenance.
How did the land concessions take place?
A fief could be obtained in the following ways:
- Grant from the king or a feudal lord: to compensate the services of a noble or an outstanding knight and thus achieve allegiance;
- Weddings: ensured the feudal lords' fidelity and guaranteed that the land would remain in the same family;
- Wars: when the ties of allegiance were broken, a family had no heirs or even wished to expand its lands, it was common to wage wars to obtain more territories.
Crisis of Feudalism
Feudalism underwent major transformations from the 13th century onwards.
At this time, the development of commerce and cities expanded sources of income. As power was concentrated in the hands of a single king, towns and cities gained more autonomy. The sovereign then granted them various immunities, such as tax and legal exemption, which diminished the importance of the fief.
As a result, money began to acquire more value than land, and production relations began to be based on free and wage labor. There was also the emergence of new social strata, such as the bourgeoisie.
Population growth was one of the factors responsible for changes in the feudal system of production. As the population grew, so did the need to expand the planting area and develop new agricultural techniques.
To increase the land for cultivation, feudal lords began to fence off communal lands, that is, the areas that were used by all serfs. Some of them leased the land, while others started selling their freedom to serfs or expelling them from the manor, putting wage laborers in their place.
This ended up generating revolt among the peasants who responded violently. Another factor of rural exodus was the growth of cities, which became more attractive to many serfs.
The process of change from the feudal system to the capitalist system was slow and gradual, and took place with the commercial revival, monarchical centralization and the emergence of the bourgeoisie.
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Feudalism - All Matter