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Feudal Society In The Middle Ages Essay

494 Words2 Pages

In the Middle Ages everything was based on your social standings. If you have low to no money, you will undoubtedly be a peasant or serf. You will work the land of a noble or knights. The church gave hope to not only the serfs and peasants, but to every European during the Middle Ages. Also, trades were happening between Europe and other countries. More money was brought into Europe to help it grow and flourish. Europe was highly influenced by the feudal society.
Europe was split into four major groups during the Middle Ages, serfs, knights, nobles, and kings and queens. Kings would give land to nobles. And then, nobles would give land to vassals (or knights who promised to protect the noble in exchange for land)(OI). Lastly, the knights would give small amounts of land to serfs, so the serfs could farm for themselves (Doc. 1). It was extremely hard for someone to change their social standings. The most common of those switches were knights to nobles, but even that was rare(OI). The church was very important in these feudal societies. People from the MIddle Ages lived by the word of God. Most of the time, the church had even more political power than the government. As you can see, the social life of a European from …show more content…

Trades were beginning to branch off to other parts of the world. Europe began trading with Asia and likewise. Merchants came and went through major cities and towns, selling their riches and wealth (Doc. 4). “The manor was the economic side of feudalism” (Doc. 2). “The manor included not just farmers, but also artisans who provided for the needs of the manor, a chapel , forest for hunting, and pasture land to farm animals” (Doc. 2). The manor was like a small town, with a noble or lord who ran it. As well as housing serfs, some nobles would make a deal with a knight that they would give a small piece of the land on the estate in exchange for the knight’s

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Underneath the nobles and barons, there are knights that are trained from the age of 7. In return for service to the nobles and barons, they are given grants of land. The peasants and serfs are on the bottom of the social system, there are peasants who farm the land in return for shelter and protection (history.com). This compares with

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These relationships were called feudalism (Doc. 1). Feudalism and the Church greatly contributed to the social, economic, and political life in Europe in the Middle Ages. “Feudalism was a political, economic, and social system which included kings, nobles, knights, and serfs (Doc. 1).” Every position or status had a job that benefitted another ranking (Doc. 1). For example, a king grants land to nobles, nobles granted land to knights, and knights grant land to serfs (Doc. 1).

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Both systems together illustrated the legal, economic, and social aspects of the Middle Ages, were known as the guidelines for the proprietors of the time, and were closely interconnected; nevertheless, they are still known as two separate systems with a few significant disparities, mainly their distinct concepts. The primary difference between the two was that Feudalism was a diplomatic and military framework, while Manorialism was a fiscal framework for the feudal estates of society, and it did not have the military component present in Feudalism. An example of this is how Feudalism included the concept of a fief, which was the agreement between the lord and the vassal to give the vassal land and his protection in exchange for his service.

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Feudalism is a system of governing and landholding. Nobles were able to use land that belonged to the king and in return, the nobles pledged their loyalty and military services to them ( doc 1 ). The feudal system was based on rights and obligations. The manor was the economic side of the feudal system. The manor was a system where the lord’s lands was taken care of by his serfs ( doc 2 ).

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During the Middle Ages, the prevailing system of government was feudalism. Under feudalism, there was the use of a definite social structure. People were born into a social class and usually stayed in that class for the rest of their life. The three social classes were the nobility, clergy, and peasantry and each of these classes had different roles to perform in the society.

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