Livingston 3

Chace Livingston
Feudalism
Feudalism was a system where the king ruled. Barons leased land, knights protected the
land and peasants worked the land. Knights were given land from a baron for military services
(Historyinpictures.com). Kings actually thought they were chosen by God or divine right
(factsbarn.com). Most of the people in the system were serfs and peasants working their land six
days a week, their life expectancy was 30 (factsbarn.com) The land the barons leased from the
king was known as the manor. The overall concept of the feudal society was land was held in
exchange for some service, obedience or protection (history.wis.edu).
A Fief was a piece of property or land (history.wis.edu). In the feudal system the king
only answered to the Pope (history.wis.edu). The peasants and serfs were not allowed to leave
the land without permission (history.wis.edu). The Pope was the head of the Church and the
bishop was the next in line (history.wis.edu) William the Conqueror established feudalism in
England when he won the Battle of Hastings in 1066 (Nagle 20). The manor court was the court
through which a lord exercised jurisdiction over his tenants (Nagle 20). There was also a manor
house, which might include a church and mill or wine or oil press (Nagle 21). The barons or the
kings were usually in charge of the manor house.

The Feudal system was like a pyramid with

the King and the Pope at the top, the barons, then the knights and finally most of the population
was serfs.
The reason the feudal system crumbled was because of the Black Death. The Black Death
was a plague that killed millions. The plague turned people into a money-based economy
(factsbarn.com). Over a third of the population of Europe died from it. There was no longer

Livingston 2
anyone left to work the fields or fill the ranks of the Noblemen armies. A large number of the
noble families in Europe ceased to exist so the land had to be redistributed.
Feudalism conventionally denotes the type of society and the political system originating
in western and central Europe and dominant there during the greater part of the Middle Ages.
However the term is also applied to other societies and systems of government with similar
characteristics in antiquity and in modern times. In Marxist usage it refers to a type of society
and economy characterized by serfdom, generally succeeding the economic systems based on
slavery and preceding capitalism.(encyclopedia.com). Both Germanic and roman feudalism
combined and formed roman-Germanic.

Livingston 3

Works Cited
Nagle, Jeanne. Feudalism, Monarchies and Nobility. New York: Britannica 2015.
Feudalism. Encyclopedia.com , Feb 24 2016.
Barons. History on the net.org, 2012, 04 Mar 2012. Found: Feb 24 2016.
Feudalism. factsbarn.com. 02 Feb 2016. Found: Feb 24 2016.