Feudalism Inequalities

During the medieval times Kings had absolute power and the Catholic Church made sure God help the King retain this power. During this time feudalism was the structure that shaped society. In the feudalism structure the people that work the land the poor got cero power and live at the mercy of the barons. Barons where the owners of the land that people where let to work and make really low amounts of money while the baron sells and exchange the goods produced by the land and makes a fortune. At the end of the day the land belongs to the king and the king taxes the barons and collects money from all the land making him very, very wealthy and powerful.

HOOK……... CHANGE UP-> The period of transition from Roman times to the Renaissance was known as the Medieval period or Middle Ages. Small, weak kingdoms--- with the exception of Charlemagne’s empire--- emerged, and life was organized around feudalism, the manorial system, and the Christian Church. Charlemagne was able spread Christianity to outer parts of his empire, but was unable to control all of his empire successfully without it falling apart. This is where the idea of feudalism was brought about.

Feudalism was a political, economic and social system that exchanged land and loyalty in return for protection. It was a commerce of protection and goods, as seen in the feudal system diagram, there are different types of social classes that have arrows describing what they are trading and to whom they are trading (Document 4). In the late ninth century, peasants gave food and service to the knights in exchange for protection. The knights gave military service in exchange for shelter and defense. The lords gave military aid while the king gives them fief and peasants etc.

The feudal system began to decline after the Black Death struck Europe in the late 1340’s. The feudal system joined politics and grouped together the social classes of that period. It began with the “relationship between two freemen (men who are not serfs), a lord and his vassal. Vassal derived from a Celtic word for servant, but in feudal terms vassal meant a free person who put himself under the protection of a lord and for whom he rendered loyal military aid.” This relationship was mutually beneficial at first, but throughout the development of the system, great restrictions were endured.

In this age, they had no form of security, with the exception of their own strengths; rendering their situation remarkably vulnerable. Consequently, they adopted a system to combat this threat which would provide security after the fall of the Roman government.6 Many years after the system had crumbled, historians labeled this system as the “feudal system” or simply, “feudalism. ”7 However, feudalism had deeply integrated itself into the Medieval European’s life and, naturally, they had not given it a name nor recognized its presence.8 This system had many working parts to it, yet three groups, the lords, the vassals, and the serfs, focused on the military and sustaining aspects.9 These two traits formed the foundation of the system through their ability to provide for the European

Feudalism – a social structure and hierarchy containing mutual duties and obligations. Stability is maintained as long as the system doesn’t change. Physical power resides with the king and nobles through their knights. The Church’s power resides through controlling people’s beliefs. Serfs were tied to the land. The Black Death, however, brought about such massive changes in demographics / population that the demand for a limited labor source (the peasants) meant that this social group at the bottom of the social ladder grew in importance (as seen in the 1381 Peasants revolt) that drastic change and the end of the feudal structure was inevitable.

The decline of the western part of the old Roman Empire left Europe without the laws and protection the empire had provided. The vacuum was filled by the creation of a feudal hierarchy. In this hierarchy, the serf, or peasant, was protected by the lord of the manor, who, in turn, owed allegiance to and was protected by a higher overlord. And so the system went, ending eventually with the king. The strong protected the weak, but they did so at a high price. In return for payments of money, food, labor, or military allegiance, overlords granted the fief, or feudum – a hereditary right to use land – to their vassals. At the bottom was the serf, a peasant who

The portrayal of Rowlandson's captors develops just as she develops through her imprisonment. Rowlandson's verbiage to describe those capturing her were strong for a woman from a Puritanism faith. She used phrases such as "merciless heathens"(258), "barbarous creatures"(259), and "merciless enemies"(259). It seemed that as her emotions ran high with her circumstances that her words became more harsh. When she felt like there was no other believers near to her, her terminology for the Indians was as bleak as her view of her circumstances. "having no Christian friend near me, either to comfort or help me. Oh, I may see the wonderful power of God, that my Spirit did not utterly sink under my affliction"(Rowlandson

Half a century ago, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech about the importance of government always maintaining an attitude of neutrality towards religion. President Kennedy stated, “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.” The United States has been a country, in which the separation of church and state has been adopted and assumed to be practiced, but there has been a perennial conflict disrupting the balance between church and state. In his innovative film, The Revisionaries, director Scott Thurman exposes how the public education system has become the latest battleground in the face of an old conflict – between religion and science – challenging the ideological edifice on which the nation stands.

In terms of economic stability, feudalism was a mediocre method of exchanging amongst oneselves. In the hierarchical system, first there were the lords and ladies. They got the best of the best (except for the monarch) if they have a stable produce. Overall, lords got a steadier and more consistent supply from the peasant work (the peasants just get the “leftovers”, or even none). That would earn a B+ grade for the lords and ladies. The knights also got very fine goods from the production peasants below them; however it really depends on how the harvest goes, and if there are any major disasters nearby. The knights would get a B for stability, because while they have huge priority over the peasants, natural and unavoidable events still do happen.

Feudalism was a contrasting system dealing with political and military relationships existing among members of the higher social class, Kings, Lords and other owners of large lands in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The Feudal system started by the granting of fiefs, chiefly in the form of land and labor, in return the lord would receive political and

Feudalism was the system used in Europe during the late middle ages. The economic part of feudalism was centered on the lord's estate or manor. A lord's manor consisted of a peasant village, a church, farm land, a mill and the lord's castle. Feudalism was split in society levels. Kings would be on top with the most power, then upper lords followed by lesser lords, underneath the lesser lords were the knights, and then the serfs being the lowest social class.

The bases of feudalism is best described as a social system in Europe throughout the Middle Ages where individuals worked and battled for upper class who gave them protection and the use of the land in return for their services (Merriam-Webster). “Feudalism” is not a medieval term and not even a translation of a medieval concept (Abels 2010; Brown 2010; Bouchard 1998). In our day and time Feudalism would be difficult and baffling in several ways, but some may feel that we would benefit from it.

Western Europe suffered numerous hardships through the ninth and tenth centuries and this was the ultimate reason they established a new political organization which was known as feudalism. By providing honor, protection, and a sense of control, this new social system revived peace and order in Western Europe after the fall of the Carolingian Empire. Feudalism was a necessary ingredient to yield stability in during these times of calamity.

In Medieval times during the 10th and 13th centuries, a form of political and social organization called feudalism was a way of life that had great effect on people of the time and on the modern world. Feudalism was developed because of the weakness of Europe and it's kings. The word feudalism comes from the word fief, which was the land held on condition of feudal service, similar to an estate (English). The fiefs bound together lords and vassals. Feudalism was a structure in which a lord divided his land into smaller parts to give to lesser lords (“Feudalism”).