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why was feudalism bad in the middle ages

by Rupert Connelly Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

The kings were not in direct control of all their subjects, so to maintain control they would have to appoint or have people they trusted, otherwise the un loyal people could easily appoint other Dukes and feudal Lords that supported their side Gave all kings power, which created an oppressive system

Feudal lords had complete power in their local areas and could make harsh demands on their vassals and peasants. Feudalism did not treat people equally or let them move up in society. A person born a serf was supposed to remain a serf, just as a person born a lord received special treatment without earning it.

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What were the negative effects of feudalism?

What were the disadvantages of feudalism?

  • 90% of population were were commoners or peasants.
  • Serfs had almost no say in this system and because of that they had to pay higher taxes to the lords that protected them.
  • It also effected kings as well.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of feudalism?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of feudal system? First of all, feudalism saved the common men from the foreign invaders. By saving people from the clutches of invaders and plunders, it created a healthy society. Secondly, the feudal lords were able to save the common men from the tyranny of the king. The common men got respite.

What are the good things about feudalism?

POsitives and Negatives of feudalism

  • Benefited people at the top of the ladder but also those at the bottom
  • Was a flexible system making power and decision making localized and not left in control of a distant monarch
  • People were separated from those who wanted to fight and those who did not want to fight
  • Allowed stability and social security in society

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Why did people allow feudalism?

Without much protection for property and population, Europe had to delve deeper into feudalism. Greater promises of land and power, across larger scales of people, were given in exchange for promises of knights during times of war. These provided much more security for medieval Europe, allowing it to grow and prosper.

Why were feudal relationships important in medieval society?

This general picture included the idea that feudal relationships, wherein noblemen granted fiefs to free vassals in return for services, were important in medieval society because they provided social and military security at a time when the central government was weak or nonexistent. The idea was discussed in editions of the Libri Feudorum made by legal scholars Jacques Cujas and François Hotman, who both used the term feudum to indicate an arrangement involving a fief.

Why was feudalism invented?

The term was invented by 16th- and 17th-century scholars to describe a political system of several hundred years earlier. This makes feudalism a post-medieval construct. Constructs help us understand alien ideas in terms more familiar to our modern thought processes. Middle Ages and medieval are constructs.

What is the Libri Feudorum?

The Libri Feudorum was a compilation of legal texts concerning the proper disposition of fiefs, which were defined in these documents as lands held by people referred to as vassals. The work had been put together in Lombardy, northern Italy, in the 1100s, and over the intervening centuries, lawyers and scholars had commented on it and added definitions and interpretations, or glosses. The Libri Feudorum is an extraordinarily significant work that has been barely studied since 16th-century French lawyers gave it a good look.

What was the dominant form of political organization in medieval Europe?

Feudalism was the dominant form of political organization in medieval Europe. It was a hierarchical system of social relationships wherein a noble lord granted land known as a fief to a free man, who in turn swore fealty to the lord as his vassal and agreed to provide military and other services. A vassal could also be a lord, granting portions ...

What was the system of lords and vassals?

There was no "hierarchical system" of lords and vassals engaged in a structured agreement to provide military defense. There was no "subinfeudation" leading up to the king. The arrangement whereby serfs worked the land for a lord in return for protection, known as manorialism or seignorialism, was not part of a "feudal system.".

Who used the term feudum?

The idea was discussed in editions of the Libri Feudorum made by legal scholars Jacques Cujas and François Hotman, who both used the term feudum to indicate an arrangement involving a fief. Other scholars soon saw value in the works of Cujas and Hotman and applied the ideas to their own studies.

What did the vassal do to the land?

The land granted to each vassal was inhabited by serfs who worked the land for him, providing him with income to support his military endeavors; in turn, the vassal would protect the serfs from attack and invasion.

Why did the Middle Ages have feudalism?

Feudalism in the Middle Ages. In order to attain security after the fall of the Roman Empire, against Germanic barbarians, Islamic invaders, and pagan enemies , European kingdoms gradually accepted the customs of feudalism. The feudalistic set up of European Middle Ages was also strengthened by the emergence of Christian religious revolutions.

What were the aspects of feudalism in the Middle Ages?

Aspects of Feudalism in the middle ages. Feudalism in Middle Ages was a social, political, and religious structure which was based on the exchange of land for military services and or cash rent. In England, William the Conqueror established the Mormon feudalistic system after defeating the English army. After his victory, he awarded all his ...

What did the feudal lords ask for?

In order to be able to do so, the feudal lords used to ask for taxes from the serfs and peasants of their manors and they also took rent from the peasants for using the land for agricultural purposes.

What was life like in feudal society?

Life in a feudal society was very difficult. The members of nobility were expected to provide security for their serfs and they were also expected to provide troops and cash for the king to fulfill their oath of fealty, but this protection was for their own interest as they needed people to work the land.

What were the ranks of the feudal system?

The feudal system of the Middle Ages was like a pyramid of power with specific hierarchy. At the bottom of the pyramid, there were serfs, peasants and villeins. The descending order of the pyramid of power of feudal system was the king, members of nobility, knights, archbishop, freemen, yeomen, servants, serfs, ...

What was the system of feudalism based on?

Classical feudalism and Vassalage. The classical feudalism was based on a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warriors of nobility. This system was the direct result of a need of security for the members of nobility, but for the serfs as well against the invasions and attacks by barbarians, pagans and Islamic invaders.

What was the feudalistic set up of the Middle Ages?

The feudalistic set up of European Middle Ages was also strengthened by the emergence of Christian religious revolutions. Historians often describe feudalism as the military and judicial customs of Middle Ages that were established during the 9th and 15th centuries.

Why did feudalism decline?

In the end, Feudalism declined due to four major factors, political changes, war at home and abroad, devastating disease, and social uprising against the state.

What was feudalism in the Middle Ages?

Feudalism in the middle ages was a strict hierarchical system, based on land being exchanged for military service, and allegiance to the king under oath. Medieval Feudalism began first in France around the 9th century. However, before the middle ages, Feudalism in Europe was being used by the Romans to a certain extent.

What is the fourth tier of the feudal pyramid?

Each knight would keep as much of his fief as he liked, and the rest would be divided up among his villeins and serfs. In exchange, the villeins and serfs would work the land, providing food and services to their Lord, the knight. This forms the fourth tier of the Feudal pyramid.

What is feudalism in social terms?

As defined above, Feudalism incorporates a pyramid of social hierarchy, with the King sitting at the top. He would grant his favoured noblemen, the tenants-in-chief (Dukes, Earls and Barons), land which included houses, animals, tools and even peasants. In exchange, the tenants-in-chief would swear an oath of allegiance to the King, ...

What were feudal lords?

Each vassal would owe their existence to their Lord, and in return pay them vassalage for the privilege. Feudal Lords could be the King himself, the Barons or the Knights. Any of the top 3 tiers of the Feudal pyramid.

Why did the tenants in the Feudal Pyramid divide up their fief?

Each tenant-in-chief would divide up his fief among his knights, in return for loyalty, protection and military services. This forms the third tier of the Feudal pyramid. As part of the agreement, the knights also had to protect their Lord's (the tenants-in-chief 's) manor from attack.

What is a fief and a vassal?

What are Fiefs and Vassals? Fiefs and Vassals are terms that are commonly associated with Feudalism. Fiefs are a source of income, that is granted to a person of lower status (Vassal), in exchange for services. In Feudalism, the fief is land granted, and all that comes with it (houses, peasants etc).

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