Fuedalism in the middle ages examples of economic, social and political

At the fall of Roman Empire, was the beginning of the Middle Ages in which the fuedal system was used. Feudalism was a political system in which nobles are granted the use of land that legally belongs to their kings in exchange for their loyalty, military services and protection of the people who were on the land. After the fall of rome there was a great decline in trade through out europe. The christian church ruled the major part of life in government and religion along with the weak central government of the king and nobles. The fuedal social pyramid consisted of different levels of people.

During the Middle Ages econimic stability declined. The trade through Europe decreased because the merchants confined themselves to local markets because of the fear of bandats. In document three it shows how a manor is set up. which shows that everything that is needed in one area so there is no reason to leave or anywhere to go. This made the road system deteriorate. There was no strong central government so money was no longer used and the barter system which is exchanging goods replaced it. Untill the Crusades where the knights brought back new products such as sugar, lemon, spices, mirors, crossbow, gun powder and cloth. This was the “turning point” in the trade during the Middle Ages because this increased the trade in Europe.

The Fuedal Social system was not very stable. At the top is saposed to be the King but the king did not have much power outside of his own estates. Below the Kings were the powerful lords, they were the vassels to the king. There was not many of them. They were given land grants (fiefs) for military service. Below them were the lesser lords they were the vassels to the powerful lords. There was more of them compared to the powerful lords. The lords were the one who would protect the serfs shown in document one,it shows how the vassels had to work on the churches as well as on thier own farms. Then they had to pay rent to the main house. After them were the Knights the majority of the nobles and were the fuedal armies. At the bottom was the serfs or the peasants which was the majority of the population in the Middle Ages.

The government in the Middle Ages was weak, there was no protection because of the weak central government could not protect the serfs. So the serfs went to the powerful local noble and gave their land in return for pledges of military asistance this was taken out by the generations to come in the family. In document two it shows the vassels loyalty to the lord and tells that the future generations shall be too. This increased the nobles power because they controlled their own territories, made laws, levied taxes, dispensed justice and waged war. so the king basically had no power in thier land.

The Christian Church was the “glue” that held Europe together during the Middle Ages. The Church had its own courts and schools, the schools ran the orphanage. The only thing keeping the learning and culture upkept was the Monasteries that copied books. The Church owned the majority of land in Europe which was upkept by the serfs living in that monistarey (shown in document two). During the Crusades (1095-1300) Europe was pollitically divided. but the Church was unified. The Crusades impacted Europe in many ways by increasing trade and exploration, interest grew in the acient world and helped start a new era of learning where fuedalism was dying out.