Western European Feudal System

Words: 913
Pages: 4
Open Document
The Feudal System
Many historians consider the feudal system to be one of the most influential things in European history. That being said, it is very over looked today and many people are unaware of what the feudal system meant to European history. The feudal system is the popular structure of political society in western and central Europe from 900 to 1300 (“HowStuffWorks ‘Feudalism’.”). Feudalism was an effective system used in which there were personal agreements between individuals who possessed power, land, and dividing of social classes.
The first reason feudalism was an effective system was because of some of the personal agreements that were made. Some historians have said, “Feudal government depended on personal agreements between …show more content…
Land was mostly owned by nobility and used for agriculture ("Social Structure & Social Stratification). Related to land are fiefs which are, “a piece of land, jurisdiction over the peasants who lived on the land, and ownership of the goods they produced” (“HowStuffWorks ‘Feudalism’.”). Fiefs are considered by most to be a vital part of feudalism because of the concept of an inheritable piece of land given to vassals who tended to the land in exchange for loyalty to the certain lord who owned the land. Land, or fiefs, had a great impact on feudal …show more content…
Lords were to supply the fief for his vassal, to look after him, and to do him justice in his court (“Feudal System, An Overview of Feudalism.”). The vassal was to return to the lord services attached to the fief, at the order of the lord, and the lord also has had a right to an assortment of payments known as feudal incidents (“Feudal System, An Overview of Feudalism.”). Some examples of these feudal incidents would be assistance, a toll paid when a fief was transferred to a successor or separated by the vassal, and a tax paid in order to avoid being forced to serve in the military (“Feudal System, An Overview of Feudalism.”). The role that the knights played was to tend to the land, which they were left in control of, and also the peasants or townsfolk who lived there (“Regents Prep Global History Political Systems: Feudalism”). The role of the peasants was, “to grow the food, tend the land, and provide military support to the feudal lords” (“Regents Prep Global History Political Systems: Feudalism”). Each level of the social pyramid created by the feudal system had a crucial role to the
Show More

Related Documents: Western European Feudal System

feudilism government Essay

Tome November 20, 2014 3rd hour Japanese and Western European Feudalism There are time periods in the history of both Japan and Western Europe in which feudalism was the system of government. In a feudal system, a peasant or worker known as a vassal received a piece of land in return for serving a lord or king, especially during times of war. It was the major political system of both cultures between the 11th and 13th centuries, involving a system of mutual obligations. Though they share the same…

Words 933 - Pages 4

What Is Feudal Warfare Essay

the emergence of “feudal warfare” in the early Middle Ages and there would be an equal number that would lead to its decline in the later middle ages as well yet to find the meaning of “feudal warfare” one has to look first at where this notion came from, and that was Feudalism. Feudalism was a contrasting system dealing with political and military relationships existing among members of the higher social class, Kings, Lords and other owners of large lands in Western Europe during the…

Words 982 - Pages 4

Colonialism: A Political History Perspective

reserve system … as a spatial strategy of dispossession and population management” (Cole: 174) The binary of dispossession and repossession (how Aboriginal peoples were dispossessed and the issue of land claims continues to this day - Six Nations) The legitimation rationale of dispossession -the civilizational - savagery binary (Orientalist) The management of dispossession -By the re-articulation of society through the creation of division between peoples, the introduction of maps, european law(Property)…

Words 1011 - Pages 5

Economic Constriction In Europe After The Fall Of The Roman Empire

Empire, although, there was one place where economy continued to prosper, the church. Holding mostly all funds, the church and the feudal system were able to keep Europe afloat economically, but was also the impediment preventing economic development. Before and after 476, during the time of the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe began to experience economic constriction. Western Europe went from being a very large and prosperous society to practically having to start from scratch. With a population decrease…

Words 769 - Pages 4

Middle Ages and Europe Essay

Empire from the North and East. The fall of Rome actually occurred gradually over a period of many years, but is usually set at 476 A.D., the year Odoacer, a chieftain from a Germanic tribe, seized the city and proclaimed himself emperor. Although the western Roman Empire and the government in Rome itself fell, the Empire lived on in the East. The Emperor Diocletian had divided the Empire during his reign (284-305) to increase administrative efficiency. The Emperor Constantine (reigned, 324-337) had erected…

Words 6558 - Pages 27

Renaissance Turning Point

The Renaissance was a turning point for life in Medieval Europe and a great influence in the Western World, in the future when Europeans would have contact with it. The word ‘renaissance’ is of French origin, meaning renascence or rebirth. This period was named after the reawakening interests in human philosophy, Greek and Roman art and culture (Classical scholarship), thinking and questioning the world around them. This period immediately followed the Middle Ages and was foundation to the discovery…

Words 326 - Pages 2

The Tokugawa Period In Japan

Japan underwent a tumultuous time period, from the beginning of the Edo period to the beginning of the first world war. They went from one style or system of government to another in a short period of time. Given a short period of time is a couple hundred years it is still a short time for governments to change so quickly. The Edo period, is also known as the Tokugawa period, is a time period that runs from 1600 to 1868. It marks the period of time where the Tokugawa family were in power, starting…

Words 1886 - Pages 8

Was the French Revolution Successful? Essay

French politics. The revolution abolished the feudal system and was one of the biggest steps towards modernity throughout history. The French Revolution was a successful endeavour on the part of the French people because it reformed social tradition and the hierarchy of French aristocracy by making all men equal, the Enlightenment ideals which the revolution was based on came through to a great extent. Before the French Revolution, France was a feudal kingdom. Louis XVI ruled the land, and…

Words 890 - Pages 4

History Key Terms 2 Essay

Imperium= Absolute power. Patrician= An aristocrat or nobleman. Plebeian= A commoner. Twelve Tables= Was the ancient legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Praetors= Each of two ancient Roman magistrates ranking below consul. Censor= Either of two magistrates who held censuses and supervised public morals. Tribunes= An official in ancient Rome chosen by the plebeians to protect their interests. Struggle of the orders= Was a political struggle between the Plebeians (commoners)…

Words 2376 - Pages 10

Rebellion: One Of The Key Elements Of African Slavery In Africa

define themselves when society already labeled them. The recent event of slavery among Africans did not only signify the dehumanization that they were forced to endure, but also how mentally and physically clever they were to revolt against the European culture. Through tolerance and assimilation Africans did not manage to recreate their original home, but was able to create a new home in a different world. The mind was the most powerful and successful defense that Africans used because it stored…

Words 1325 - Pages 6