Feudalism in the Middle Ages

The Concept of Feudalism

• Feudalism is a term coined in the 19th century to describe the social structure of the High Middle Ages (1000-1300 A.D.)
• A feudal system was characterized by the exchange of land and services

The Structure of Feudalism

• Most land in the kingdom belonged to the king and the church
• The king parcelled out large estates to great lords (tenants-in-chief) in exchange for military and political support
• Great lords then parcelled out smaller portions of land to lesser lords, who did the same to local lords, and then to peasants
• The system can be represented as a pyramid with the king at the top

Feudal Vocabulary

• A king or lord who gave land to a lesser lord became the latter's overlord
• The person receiving the land became the vassal of the person who granted it
• The land itself was called a fief

Critique of the Pyramid Model

• Historians think the pyramid model is too simplistic to explain medieval political culture
• Many feudal relationships were horizontal among equals, rather than vertical
• The kinds of services given in return for land varied (labor service or rent for peasants, alliance for landowners)

Decline of Feudalism

• Medieval kings grew less reliant on their great lords to provide soldiers for their armies
• The Black Death (1348) reduced the population available to work the land, giving survivors increased bargaining power
• The growing economic importance of towns outside the feudal system contributed to its decline
• Feudalism declined in England from the 14th century onwards and was formally abolished in 1660