Feudal Europe
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 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 land holding 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 dai
Feudalism as a social and economic system and manorial governing as a political system drove Europe throughout the middle ages. Feudal societies were prompted by the supply of needs for daily life to common people, and by power through land ownership of lords and nobility. 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. The rise of monarchs in France, Spain, and England broke down small governments. The feudal and manorial systems coincided during the medieval period in Europe, paralleling closely until the downfall of both systems and the rise of the renaissance ages. The vassal owed, in addition to military service, other dues and services that varied with local custom and tended to become fixed. The land was commonly divided using the three-field system. The woodlands and fishponds usually belonged to the lord, and he had to be recompensed for the right to hunt animals, catch fish, and cut wood. The concentration of power in the hands of a select group was a disruptive force in the feudal system. Small local industry was also a function of the manorial system, and dues owed the estate could include such items as cloth, building materials, and ironware. "Also, if the lord wishes to buy corn or oats, or anything else, and they have such things to sell; it shall not be lawful to them to sell anything elsewhere, except with the lord's license". The gradations of nobility were, therefore, based on both military service and landholding. A man served a lord through ploughing the fields while his wife paid dues in eggs and cloth. The fief was formally gained by a ceremony and contract. This feudal connection between church and state gave rise to the controversy over lay investiture.
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