Feudalism In The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages was a period from about 500-1500; It was a time of cultural diffusion in Europe to create what was known as the medieval society. However, chaos and war were prevalent, and people needed a system of protection: feudalism. Feudalism is a loosely organized system of dividing and exchanging land for service and loyalty. Greater lords would divide their land into estates called fiefs and give it to multiple vassals while also promising protection to the vassals. The vassals would then provide their lords with forty days of annual military services, money, advice, and loyalty in exchange as part of the feudal contract. The term "vassals" is a more of a title than a name because anyone could be a vassal, including a king. Fiefs would …show more content…
The feudal economy was fueled by manors, which were self-sufficient estates where the lord lived, and produced everything needed for daily life. Manors contained churches, castles, forests, a large amount of land, and many villages of peasants who labored and paid the lord fees. Many peasants were serfs, who were peasants who were bound to the land. Serfs were not allowed to leave the land, but they were guaranteed food, water, shelter. In return for their hard work, serfs and peasants received their own land. Nevertheless, the system of feudalism declined due to three main causes: the Hundred Years War, The Bubonic Plague, and various political developments. Although the Hundred Years War and the Bubonic Plague heavily accelerated the inevitable decline of feudalism, political developments in Europe were the most important thing that shaped the decline of …show more content…
One of the most important political development was the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta, or Great Charter, was signed by King John in 1215 after angry barons forced him to, because of his abuses of power. In feudalistic societies, the jail system was controlled by powerful nobles. But the transition came when the Magna Carta protected citizens' rights and became the foundation for the habeas corpus and the due process of law. It asserted that freemen should be arrested without the consent of his peers or the law, and people could not be held in jail without a specific crime. The Magna Carta also confirmed that all monarchs also had to obey the law. Because people's rights were being protected, commoners gained more power; and since monarchs had to obey the law, they were now more restricted. This made sure that everyone was being treated fairly. Another piece to the puzzle was the Parliament. Before, monarchs could pass taxes at their whim, and this often lead to abusive taxation. Along with the Magna Carta, the Parliament helped put an end to this. The Parliament was developed in the 1200s as the successor of the Great Council, which was used