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Feudalism topic simple
The rise and fall feudalism
The negative impact of Feudalism in the Middle Ages
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Feudalism Mini-historiography:
Historian Elizabeth A. R Brown clearly outlines her reservations about the terms feudalism and feudal system. Feudal system is a synonym used to mean feudalism in literature referring to medieval England. Other historians including Professor Thomas N. Bisson have previously expressed concern about the use of the tern feudalism when he presented a paper titled ‘Institutional Structures of the Medieval Peace’ without once using the contested terms. Professor Bisson paper ignited a conversation about the phrase that lived in the minds of many a historian. The first record of such doubts is by Frederic William Maitland who boldly states that Henry Spelman,
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Utility refers to the fact that the terms are considered useful because they perform several functions. The terms are said to be useful to scholars as well as students because they assist in analyzing, evaluating, and categorizing the medieval past. They help in setting apart one historical circumstance from another and align identical situations in various countries even if they hail from different historical times. Defending the use of feudalism in this manner is supported by the argument that students are more receptive to simplified terms to help them deal with complex studies. They can be initiated to complications later when they are graduates and scholars. For this purpose, feudalism is useful for beginning students who requires charts and diagrams to understand complicated situations although they have to unlearn this later in life. The utility function of feudalism proposes the term as indispensable because it makes up for deficiencies in the human thought process which is unable to comprehend complex issues in reality. It is fair that scholars have abstractions in the same way scientists apply them …show more content…
What the terms have been able to accomplish including wide use by historians, economists, and students will remain for eternity but it is possible to teach students that the word feudalism should be used with specific reference to fiefs. The essential element is to ensure that all parties understand that the words are mere constructs coined in the seventeenth century after which it gained popularity with historians, teachers, and lawyers alike. The areas that enjoyed fully developed monarchies must be paid the same attention with those that experienced it only for a fleeting period, in a way that allows England, Italy, France, and other areas the same respect as area which reacted differently to similar or dissimilar circumstance as opposed to being called normal or abnormal. Students as well as scholars will get the necessary push to reconsider the generalized models of feudalism and investigate the subjects and areas that are yet to be examined and find answers to problems that are yet
The Web. The Web. 23 Nov. 2011. The "Middle Ages - Information, Facts, and Links." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans.
The evolution of human society consists mainly of ineffective ruling regimes and oppressed peasants. Medieval Europe falls into this same pervasive cycle. Social and political hierarchies intertwine which creates a grossly inefficient system. Hereditary lineage determines nobility. Commoners possess no hope of social mobility.
By the end of eleventh century, Western Europe had experienced a powerful cultural revival. The flourish of New towns provided a place for exchange of commerce and flow of knowledge and ideas. Universities, which replaced monasteries as centers of learning, poured urbanized knowledge into society. New technological advances and economics transformations provided the means for building magnificent architectures. These developments were representative of the mental and behavioral transformations that the medieval world underwent and the new relationships that were brought about between men, women and society in the twelfth century. As in technology, science, and scholasticism, Literature was also reborn with a new theme.3
McEvedy, Colin. The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History. New York: Penguin Group, 1992. 90. Print.
Mlambo, Alois. "Peasants and Peasantry." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz. Vol. 4. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 1727-1730. World History in Context. Web. 17 De c. 2013.
This course dove into medieval history and touched on all of the most critical elements of the period giving a well-rounded look into the lives and cultures of the middle ages. As the class moved forward it became evident that religion is central to understanding the people, advances, and set backs of this period. We learned how inseparable the middle ages and religion are due to how completely it consumed the people, affected the art, and furthered academics. Since, there is a tendency to teach about history and literature separately from religion and since religion possessed a dominant position in every aspect of a medieval person’s life, while many of us had already looked into the period we missed some crucial cultural context allowing
Powell wrote, “…the feudal age is most important for the development of Western Europe: this importance lies chiefly in the process of state-building which had its origins here” (Powell 1). The monarch of this feudal society was responsible for state-building, centralization, and maintaining unity. Therefore, the throne was heredity, so that a single family maintained political power throughou...
The Web. 20 Nov. 2011. http://historywithmrgreen.com/page2/page2.html>. Herbert, Sydney. The Fall of Feudalism in France?
During the Middle Ages, feudalism served as the “governing political, social, and economic system of late medieval Europe.” Feudalism consisted of feudal liege lords giving land and protection to vassals, common men, in exchange for their allegiance and military service. Although this principle may at first sound like a fair trade, it in actuality restricted the entire society and took away every bit of their independence. In essence, this system could even be compared to a “mini-dictatorship” because the common people relied on ...
Print. "The Middle Ages: Feudal Life." Learner.org. Annenberg Foundation, 2012. Web.
The feudal system was a political, military, and economic system based on the holding of land. The system was developed since the whole entire basis of rule from all the civilizations before the Middle Ages was lost. Early Europe was in desperate need of such a system since they were constantly being raided by the Vikings and other outsiders.
Markus Fischer, “Feudal Europe, 800-1300: Communal Discourse and Conflictual Practices”, International Organization Vol. 46, No.2 (Spring 1992), pp. 427-466.
In contrast in Germany, kings seem unable to keep a reign on their crown as well as their nobles and other officials. ("HISTORY OF FEUDALISM." HISTORY OF FEUDALISM. ) The structure seems to fall over due to the nobility’s places as second in the Feudalism structure. But in some cases the nobility actually had more money and power than the king himself. This and as well as the other problems discussed would eventually lead to taxing and ruling from a central place, slowly becoming the norm. But, although the system seems to fall apart its customs seem to be made use to other places.
Starkey, M. (2009) What is a University? Explaining the Rise of Universities in Medieval Europe, an Education Studies essay, 9th March, School of Education, University of Northampton, online at:
The feudal system of ancient Europe may be dead, but its format is similar to high school athletics today. Although these two topics are not identical, the resemblance is striking. The feudal system, as well as high school athletics, has five tiers in a pyramid. At the top of the pyramid is the Pope.