The feudal system first appeared in Europe as a solution to the fall of strong, centralized empires. From feudalism sprang the political arrangement of self-sufficient towns known as the manorial system. The rise of feudalism in areas formerly dominated by Romans resulted in the breakdown of the central government, but in regions undeveloped by Rome the feudal system was a further step toward organization and centralization. Feudalism spread from France to Spain, Italy, Germany, and Eastern Europe. The important features of feudalism were similar throughout Europe during the middle ages, but definite national differences existed. Feudalism continued in all parts of Europe until the end of the fourteenth century and the renaissance period.
             Many characteristics were common to all feudal societies: strict division of social classes, (nobility, church officials, peasants, and serfs) and the landholding system dependent on the obligation owed to the land granter. In feudal society, the ownership of all land was vested in the king. Beneath him was a hierarchy of nobles; the most important nobles held land directly from the king, lesser nobles held land from them, finally down to the lord who held a single manor. Document five describes the daily life of feudal peasants and their obligations to the Lord through service. A man served a lord by plowing the fields while his wife paid dues in eggs and cloth. The political economy of the system was local and agricultural, and its base was the manorial system. The feudal method of holding land was by fief. The grantor of the fief was the lord, and the recipient was the vassal. The fief was formally gained by a ceremony and contract. The feudal system rested on the unsettled conditions of the middle ages and thus on the need of the lord for armed warriors and vassal for protection. Since equipping fighters was expensive, the lord could not create his armed force without the obligation of the vass...