But historical research demonstrated that the presuppositions governing the use of the term dark ages were false: Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages did experience a degree of learning trade had not ceased and law prevailed – albeit a legal system influenced by the Church, the barbarians, and scraps of Roman law. In rudimentary form, feudalism was a part of those dark ages. Hence, feudalism cannot be properly understood simply as a generalization or through the prism of independent historiography focusing solely on one aspect of the system.Ī partially relevant example might be the discarded use of the term “Dark Ages” to label the period of the Early Middle Ages. Attempting to Define the Feudal “System”įeudalism in France was different from feudalism in England, and this, according to medieval historians, may account for the eventual emergence of societies tied to different concepts of law, social relationships, and royal power. The notion of a feudal lord and his vassals, for example, is part of that overall system, although the specifics beyond generalizing must account for geographic differences as well as other factors. The so-called “feudal society,” however, can refer to various elements of that transformation period, including social relationships, the economic and legal systems, and the impact of Christian influences. The obligations and corresponding rights between lord and vassal concerning the fief formed the basis of the feudal relationship.Feudalism, as a generalization, describes those forces in Western Europe during a period of transformation following the dissolution of the Roman Empire. There were many varieties of feudal land tenure, consisting of military and non-military service. In exchange for the use of the fief and the protection of the lord, the vassal would provide some sort of service to the lord. A lord was in broad terms a noble who held land, a vassal was a person who was granted possession of the land by the lord, and a fief was what the land was known as. The classic version of feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs. It can be broadly defined as a system for structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land, known as a fiefdom or fief, in exchange for service or labour. The 11th century in France saw what has been called by historians a “feudal revolution” or “mutation” and a “fragmentation of powers” that increased localized power and autonomy.įeudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries.While modern writers such as Marx point out the negative qualities of feudalism, such as the exploitation and lack of social mobility for the peasants, the French historian Marc Bloch contends that peasants were part of the feudal relationship while the vassals performed military service in exchange for the fief, the peasants performed physical labour in return for protection, thereby gaining some benefit despite their limited freedom.This ceremony bound the lord and vassal in a contract. Before a lord could grant land to a tenant he would have to make him a vassal at a formal ceremony. In England, the feudal pyramid was made up of the king at the top with the nobles, knights, and vassals below him.Feudalism in England determined the structure of society around relationships derived from the holding and leasing of land, or fiefs.Feudalism flourished in Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries.
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