Feudalism: An Economic System In The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages was a time full of systems and different jobs that made the era run successfully and truthfully. Feudalism was the major basis of the time period since it covered the society’s political information and loyalty. Along with feudalism was the system of manorialism, the system that gave people an economic lifestyle so they could make money and survive. There were many helpers to keep the systems running, the main helper was the Reeve who assisted the Lord in running the huge manor. The Reeve was a helper in the middle ages that contributed to the major systems of feudalism and manorialism. Feudalism was a political system of organization, power, and influence that helped keep the people stay connected to each other. Feudalism

The King gave the Lord resources for his survival needs. The King owned a huge amount of land, to which he shared with the lower classes. He kept a part of his land for himself and gave land grants called fiefs to his lower vassals (Frey 3). The feudal system ran on people owning and taking advantage of the land they had (Nardo 15). The land was used to produce crops and provide his lower class with the food they make. The king also gave peasants to his vassals so they can get their land farmed. The peasants would be forced to work on the fiefs the Lord received, while the Lord supervises. The King not only gave to the Lord, but he also received from the Lord. A great Lord supplied his king with an army of knights, sometimes it would be as many as 100 knights whenever they were needed (Biel 4). The king would never know when a war would start, so he had to be prepared at all times. Sometimes the serfs had to fight in the war if it was really necessary. The king also received loyalty, money, and power from the Lord. By utilizing the grants he got, the Lord would pledge his loyalty to the king. This loyalty and prestige helped the king rise in the social class and give him the ultimate power. The king and Lord supported each other’s lifestyle and helped them survive the Middle

The place of an object was based on the ‘spirit’ and ‘matter’ it contained, the less ‘spirit’ the more ‘matter’ and the lower it was placed (Melani). Inanimate objects stood at the very bottom while parts of the vegetative class were higher up- such as trees and flowers(Melani). Since inanimate objects do not have spirits, they will not be connected to God. That is why they are at the bottom of the chain. Next came animals, humans, then angels, and God was at the very top(Melani). Mankind had a distinct place in the chain because God was the highest and plants were the lowest. Not all mankind was equal though, men were considered higher in status than women(Lenehan 1). Inside the chain, there was an even smaller chain starting from the pope and ending to the king, then to the Lords and then to the populace(Lenehan 2). The great chain was mainly believed to be spiritual and a part of