“The word feudalism was not a medieval term” (qtd. in Cantor 195). This term was adopted during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by lawyers. Later in history, Karl Marx used the word to describe precapitalistic societies. Eventually, historians adopted it (Cantor 195). The concept of feudalism is probably rooted in old tribal customs. The old barbarian way was for several warriors to be loyal to a chief. A description of this can be found in Beowulf (Cantor 197).
When defining feudalism, one should make a distinction between it and the manorial system. The manorial system is an agricultural system in which peasants are given a share of the products produced in exchange for their work. Peasants in this system were called serfs (Cantor 196). On the other hand, “feudalism is a form of political and legal relationships involving free men” (qtd. in Cantor 196).
A lord or landowner, ruling under the king, dictated the life of the average person in feudal society. A lord was anyone who had more land or power than the individual that is being referred to. Therefore, a lord to a serf would be anyone within the aristocracy. In most cases a lord would have obtained land from another person in exchange for military service (Roberts 335). This was known as vassalage. The land given in this arrangement was known as a fief. If the lord had obtained land from the king, he would be a vassal to the king. However, he would be a lord to everyone else. The lord’s power was maintained by commissioning free men to defend him, his property, the people living on his property, and subsequently the king. The free men commissioned by the lord or the king’s vassal would have also been referred to as vassals. The vassal of a vassal could also commission free men to serve and defend him. These subvassals were obligated to their vassal, the king’s vassal, and the king. In this way the English countryside was brocken up into mini-governments (Cantor 203). A vassal’s land could be passed from generation to generation in exchange for a fee that was paid to the lord. As time passed some vassals and subvassals acquired large quantities of land. A vassal could have a place within the aristocracy such as count or earl. The title of a vassal was very much dependent on the wealth and power of their lord and the size of their land.
In the eighth century the stirrup was designed and perfected. A new class was formed due to this progress. Lords began to commission cavalry men who later became known as knights (Roberts 336). These knights were “warrior aristocrats” (qtd in Roberts 336). Some knights were given land and found their way into the aristocracy. However, the title of knight was never concrete. In some feudal systems all vassals were knights, but in others it wasn’t as important (Roberts 336).
The feudal system was a child of the fall of the Roman Empire. The Romans provided England with a monetary system. After the Romans declined, the value of money was lost. A barter system replaced the previous money system. English peasants became dependent on the land to grow food and provide them with goods to barter. The church owned a large portion of the available land. The remaining land was in the possession of Kings. The Kings had too much land to oversee personally. Therefore, they divided it up in the way I have already described. In this way land was power. Anyone that did not have it would have to work for someone that did. Land was passed from generation to generation, which left the average peasant with little hope of ever improving their situation (Roberts 333-336).
After the Roman Empire fell, all Roman law was void. Trade became increasingly difficult due to a lack of law or law enforcement. To travel any distance from one’s home was perilous at best. The situation was worsened by wars that routinely interrupted trade. This impedance to bartering and lack of civil law served to set and secure the feudal system and manorial system. Peasants needed to be protected, and they needed to eat. They were attached to their lords for life (Roberts 333). “Subsistence was for a long time to be all they could hope for” (qtd in Roberts 333).
During the tenth century mills began to proliferate the countryside and a better plough was invented. These advances, along with the planting of high protein crops, yielded a better existence for the peasants. Life improved ever so slightly for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire. However, by the end of the tenth century few towns existed. Most Europeans were locked into a feudal system that would last for many centuries (Roberts 334).
At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the manorial farming system was beginning to strain. The feudal and manorial systems could only work as long as the delicate balance between food production and population was maintained. Civil uprising loomed in the distant future (Roberts 413).
The thirteenth century brought the Black Plague, which finally destroyed the delicate balance of the manorial farming system. So many people died that no one was left to work the land. Peasants that weren’t dying from the plague were starving. In 1381 the English peasants revolted and took over London for a short time. The revolt started when lords necessarily increased pressure for production (Roberts 413).
The Black Plague, starvation, and peasant uprising hurried England’s movement into a monetary system. At the end of the thirteenth century labor was so scarce, lords had to pay for it. Peasants finally gained some ground. A new class of rich merchants emerged very slowly. These merchants were able to purchase land, which meant the manorial and feudal systems ceased to have complete power over the masses. The French abolished the feudal system in 1789 (Roberts 413 – 414). “By 1850 peasants tied to the soil and obligatory labor had disappeared from most of Europe” (qtd in Roberts 562).
Sources
Cantor, Norman F. The Civilization of the Middle Ages. New York, N.Y.: Harper
Collins Publishers, 1993.
Kowalski, R. History of Western Civilization HIS 103-002. Onondaga Community
College. November 27, 2000.
Roberts, J.M. History of the World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Stevenson, Carl. Mediaeval Feudalism. Ithaca, N.Y.: Great Seal Books, 1942.
