The Rise and Fall of Feudalism

The Rise and Fall of Feudalism

Federation is a word that describes the United States government. A Federal government is defined as the act of federalizing or joining separate organizations (Answers 1). In the United States, the three branches of government (1). In the Middle Ages most governments changed and rarely stayed the same for really long periods of time. Many things would happen in each country that would change the type of government that each one had. Especially, during the Middle Ages in Europe, things were changing quickly (Nelson 1). Feudalism was potentially becoming a rapid growing economic and social part of the European lifestyle in the Middle Ages.

Feudalism was a word created in the 16th century by royal lawyers used to describe the decentralized and intricate system into which most European societies were emerging (Nelson 1). Feudalism was established by William the Conqueror and his troops after the defeat of the English Anglo Saxons at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 (Middle 1). The rise of Feudalism had a dramatic impact on Europe during the Middle Ages (1). It began with the exchange of land for military services, also called barter, by King William (1). Bartering was a frequent occurrence during the Feudalism years (Pluta 1). A fief is another key term in the Feudal System. A fief was anything that was considered useful or valuable (Middle 1). For example, a fief could be land or ownership of goods produced (1). In this system, one had no vote about anything, and had to obey and pay their overseers. This was a system run by the “supreme” (Feudalism 1). If you did not have money, owned land, or produced goods for barter, you were looked down on greatly (1).

To understand feudalism fu...

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...istocracy, even after the loss of its Feudal powers (2).

Works Cited

Cheyette, Fredric L. “Feudalism, European.” New Dictionary of History of Ideas. Ed. Maryanne

Cline Horowitz. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2005. 828-831. Gale World

History in Context. Notre Dame High School Library, Crowley, LA. Web. 2 Jan. 2011.

"Feudalism." Howstuffowrks.com. Web. 02 Jan. 2011.

“Feudalism.” International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed.

Vol. 3. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 135-136. Gale World History in Context. Notre Dame High School Library, Crowley, LA. Web. 2 Jan 2001.

Nelson, Dr. Lynn H. "The Rise of Feudalism, 850-1000 AD Lectures in Medieval History. WWW Virtual Library. Web. 02 Jan. 2011.

Pluta, Professor L. “Rise and Fall of Feudalism.” Scribd. 13 December 2007. Web. 02 Jan 2001.