For about 500 years, much of Europe was unified by the Roman Empire. The rest of the continent was generally controlled by groups of people that the Romans called barbarians. When the Roman Empire fell to invading barbarians in 476 C.E., Europe was left with no central government or system of defense. Life was dangerous and difficult. People worked hard simply to survive and have enough to feed their family – but they also needed to protect themselves from conquest by invading barbarians and nearby kingdoms. The challenges gave rise to the economic, political and social system of feudalism. In feudalism, people pledged loyalty to a lord-a ruler or a powerful landholder. In return, they received protection from the lord. Knights, or armed warriors, fought on behalf of their lord. Peasants worked the land. At the bottom of this hierarchical system were serfs-peasants who were bound to the land that they cultivated. By the High Middle Ages (about 1000 C.E.), much of Europe had developed a variation of this system of feudalism. These feudal systems provided people with protection and safety by establishing a stable social order. .
In theory, all land in the kingdom belonged to the monarch; the church also owned a substantial amount of land. The monarch kept some land for himself but gave the rest out in fiefs, or grants of land, to his most influential and important lords. These lords became his vassals. In return, each lord promised to supply the monarch with knights and arms in times of war. This lord would then enlist lesser lords and knights as his vassals. At the bottom of this social structure were peasants. Lords rented some of their land to peasants who cultivated the land for them. Some peasants, called serfs, were bound to the land they worked. They could not leave the land, and they had to farm their lord's fields in exchange for a small plot of land of their own. In economic and legal terms, the feudal system rested in manorialism-a relationship of dominance and subordination between those who claimed authority over the land and those families who actually cultivated it.
Feudalism Problems in Europe in the 9th and 10th centuries were necessary for the residents at that time. ... The development of feudalism began. ... Social classes began to change due to feudalism. ... Although I've merely "scratched the surface" of feudalism, knighthood, and city life, hopefully my point is obvious. ... The invasions made Europeans realize they were weak and unprotected. ...
The feudalism system of government was introduced in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. ... Feudalism also consisted of chivalry, a code of conduct for the knights. ... Feudalism has been in Japan since the 1100's. Like in Western Europe they had a main ruler. ... Under them were the shoguns that were the equivalent of lords in Western Europe. ...
FEUDALISM As early as the eighth century and as late as the twentieth century, traces of feudalism can be seen in the history of Europe and other parts of the world. ... The usefulness of feudalism proved itself when feudalism spread across all of Europe and into parts of Asia. ... The serf was always on the bottom of the pyramid unless he granted his land to even lesser people to work for him which was very uncommon and only existed in some areas of Europe. ... The ceremony was the same in most parts of Europe and was much like a ritual or tradition. ... In some areas of Europe ser...
Feudalism Started in the 900 AD and was a medieval contract relationship among the European upper classes, by which a lord granted land to The Knight in return for military service and other services like food and clothing. ... Origins and Early History The European feudalism has been sought in non-European countries like Japan was a feudal (feudalism) based counties. ... The extent of feudalism was not so large as it seems for many parts of Europe were never feudalized; feudalism was largely confined to northern France, western Germany, England, and the Norman kingdom of Sicily. Other parts o...
FEUDALISM Feudalism is system of political and military relationships existing among members of the nobility in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. ... Feudalism is characterized by the granting of fiefs, chiefly in the form of land and labor, in return for political and military services a contract sealed by oaths of fealty (fidelity). ... But when the Muslims, the Vikings, and the Magyars invaded Europe, the Germans found themselves unable to deal with these rapid moving armies. ...
"What factors in the European Society gave rise to the Age of Exploration? ... The main factors that gave rise to the Age of Exploration were the rapid population explosion, the decline of feudalism and the craving for spreading religion. ... Europe's population nearly doubled between the years of 1500 and 1650. ... The decline of feudalism helped to release peasants from the influence of their nobles and expose them to new ideas. ... The Age of Exploration was brought on by a sudden population increase, the decline of feudalism and the craving for religious expansion. ...
The structure of feudalism is a form of hierarchy. ... This type of hierarchy dominated the Feudalistic period, and continued to influence many Eastern European countries many years after Feudalism ceased to exist. The final major characteristic of Feudalism is the pledge of fealty. ... This pledge that the vassals made to the lord were the key element in defining Feudalism. ... Feudalism was a system of government that was used when nothing else seem to work. ...
Feudalism, which was the form of government at that time, began to decrease and a more central government was formed. ... Feudalism, the system of government that had been most prominent in Western Europe, began to decline after the crusades ended. ... As far as technology went in Western Europe, during the crusades, the eastern Muslims were far more superior to all of Western Europe. ... The crusades brought Western Europe into a much more modern age. With the decrease of Feudalism people were free from obligations to the manor and could be successful. ...
But when the Muslims, the Vikings, and the Magyars invaded Europe in the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries, the Germans found themselves unable to deal with these rapid-moving armies. ... Feudalism was based on a legal agreement by which a lord granted land to a man in return for military service. ... Feudalism was basically a descending pyramid of service, with duties running both upwards and downwards. ... There were multiple reasons for the decline of Feudalism. ... The disintegration of feudalism was largely completed by the end of the fourteenth century (Backman, 143-155). ...