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Feudalism ap world history
The rise of feudalism in Europe
The rise of feudalism in Europe
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In times of need the church and religion provided hope for people in trouble, eventually creating feudalism. Many things such as feudalism depended on the Great Chain of Being, such as most of the peasants in the middle ages. The Great Chain of Being says that not all things are created equal and that everything has its own place that cannot be changed. Feudalism is based off of the Great Chain of Being where it is unfair but every layer depends on every other layer. In times of need, people looked to religion for help. Because of their role as a religious place, they could provide comfort to families such as ones with a loved one who got sick, but they could never cure the person (Richardson). The church was outside of the feudalism system, having social mobility. Anyone …show more content…
Feudalism is a system depending on loyalty and obligations of all the levels, meeting the needs of its people because everyone would benefit in some way. The Hundred Years war was the start of the decline of feudalism through its military by changing what the Lord’s needed the military to have and as a result, making the lower class wealthier and more powerful. Every class had an important role that needed to be filled for feudalism to meet all of the people’s needs. King Edward the third died without a direct heir, leaving the lands of France unclaimed. The King of England tried to claim the land and as a result, started a 116 year long war that went on for many lifetimes. Proving your worth will get you to be well known, for instance, Edward the black prince said "My father is right. I need no aid. My men will hold their post as long as they have strength to stand." And then he rode where the battle was still furiously raging, and encouraged his men. The king of France led his force a number of times against the prince's line, but could not break it and was at last compelled to retire (Richardson)
Religion served the same function in the Middle Ages and Renaissance as it does today. However, religion was embraced more during the Middle Ages by desperate individuals frantically searching for calm and stability in their lives. Religion provided hope for these bleak individuals who lovingly and unquestioningly embraced religion and the church’s teachings. The church controlled every aspect of these people’s lives and had a grip on their minds. “The church had a grip on men’s minds which it is difficult for us to imagine: the strength of the grip was basically Medieval” (Rowdon 159).
The feudal system was one that arose in England after the invasion and conquest of William I. It has been said that this was the perfect political system for this time period. Life was really hard back in the Middle Ages and safety and defense were really hard to come by after the empire fell. There were no laws to protect the poor, so they turned to their lords to keep them safe. The king was in complete control of the system and he owned all the land. One quarter was kept as private property and the rest was given to the church or leased
A cruel cycle in which the rich people maintain control and the poor people are trapped with no way to rescue themselves, feudalism is a hierarchical market system. The people with money in Men With Guns are the landlords, the owners of the plantations. These people obviously control the land that they own as well as the profit from the output their land produces, but they also control the government, the army, and consequently, the common people. This near omnipotent control forces the common people into a feudal relationship. Unless the peasants work on the feudal plantations, they will starve.
The religious people were the most gluttonous people of those times. They would take the money that they said they did not have, and spend it for their personal gain. The Catholic church in the Middle Ages is not the one the congregation would have preferred. Geoffrey Chaucer did a great job in pointing out just how corrupt the leaders of the church could
The Age of Feudalism describes the Middle Ages because people needed some organization in their society. The fall of the Roman Empire had left the government in an unstable position, and people needed protection from their lords. The start of feudalism would make it easier for the king because he would not have to rule over a large territory because the area would be under the control of several nobles. This was a political system in which each class on a manor would have to provide something for the society in order to receive assistance in return. A manor consisted of several villages where the lord had overlooked each area. For example the vassal had to provide loyalty and military service, and received protection and land from their lord (Doc. 3). Feudalism not only worked between lords and vassals, but between each class (except merchants). Take for instance, John of Toul is sending his knights to the count and countess of Champagne in order to protect them, and he had received land from them (Doc 2). Another example was the Salisbury oath, wh...
The Church: The Church in medieval times had a huge impact on everyone and everything around it, as everyone wanted to be right in the sight of God. The catholic church’s substantial influence on the people around it was mainly due to the services that they provided to the community and the hope of a better life that they offered to the citizens. The services that the Church supplied to the community mainly consisted of teaching the young boys life skills and providing education, healing the sick both physically and spiritually. The church also provided accommodation for those who needed a place to live and work as there were many jobs in the church including; the pope, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, curales, priests and many others. The
As time progressed the feudal system was created. It was designed to divide the lands and protect from attack. The king first gave a fief or a piece of land to a royal vassal. As proof for this exchange in land a vassal would swear to the lord to be his man all the days of his life and protect him against "all men who may live or die." Next came investiture. Investiture was a symbolic gesture when a King or a lord presented a royal vassal or a vassal a stick, a small rod, or a clod of earth to show that he has given him a fief. Now this royal vassal was in charge of a huge piece of land. In order to defend it he would then divide his land into smaller pieces. He would take these smaller pieces and give them to warriors or who agreed to be his own vassals. Thus, the royal vassal became a lord to other vassals. The vassals now under this lord would now divide their lands and grant fiefs to warriors of their own. Last in the dividing of land was the knight whose parcel of land was too small to be divided.
As the Catholic Faith spread across England and the rest of Europe, it became the most largely followed religion of the Medieval Period. After the fall of Rome, no single state or government existed that united people who lived in Europe (Blake 78). The only foundation people could look to was the Church, and Europeans gradually drifted and attached to the Catholic faith. As the faith grew in popularity, its dominance thrived even greater. Almost the entire population relied on the Church for support. Even royalty derived much of their power from alliances with the Church (Blake 78). People came to the church with both religious problems and basic needs issues. Many Europeans, especially commoners, could not afford provisions and went to the Church for food and shelter.
The Church’ power was extremely great in the Middle Ages, as they had the most influence over the people, kings and knights. The Church had the ability to stop laws and change laws to their benefit and controlled the religious beliefs of the people. They had the power to sway the kings and send knights to war which sends the message that they were one of the most important institutions in all of Medieval Europe.
... in the church so much that they were willing to devote their whole lives to it. Whilst this period did see a rise in the influence of the church, this reflected a need for people to find some comfort against the hardships of disease, wars and the chaos from government collapsing.
The state of religion in the medieval time period is declining due to the upcoming renaissance. In this era, humanistic thinking was beginning to take way and overcome the Catholic Church. The demands of society were no longer based upon loyalty or commitment, but rather on money. Since the lower class was shrinking, this created a larger middle class. Religious figures took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The nun, the monk, and the friar, are the epitome of hypocrisy and serve as a representation of the social and economic shift.
The Roman Catholic Church had complete influence over the lives of everyone in medieval society, including their beliefs and values. The Church’s fame in power and wealth had provided them with the ability to make their own laws and follow their own social hierarchy. With strong political strength in hand, the Church could even determine holidays and festivals. It gained significant force in the arts, education, religion, politics as well as their capability to alter the feudal structure through their wealth and power. The Church was organised into a hierarchical system that sustained the Church’s stability and control over the people and lower clergy, by organising them into different groups.
As you can see, the decline of feudalism was caused by the Crusades, the merchant class, Thomas Becket, the Magna Carta, the Hundred Years War, and the Black Death. Each, in its own way, broke down the feudal hierarchy system to the point where it was obsolete. People were granted the rights that they deserved and all were to be counted as equals. Thanks to all of these causes, England was able to rise out of the shambles of feudalism and become a nation full of equality.
Feudal society saw the emergence of the hierarchy of social groups, making people dependent on others. On the shoulders of the common grew an enormous parasitic tree with kings at its summit. This pyramid of social existence determined the rights and duties of its citizens, and the rights were nearly all at the top of the social scale. At the end of the middle ages, history became the scene for the...