While the feudalism and social structure of the middle ages varied drastically from manor to manor and while there were constantly fluctuating customs in response to different situations, there was a consistent theme throughout, enforcing a strict and organized hierarchy defined as an age of Feudalism.Ten years after the Hundred Years' War began, the bubonic plague broke out in Europe. These slaves worked for and depended on the feudal lord of the manor, requiring permission to do anything, including leaving a manor. Below all of these levels of society were the serfs, a category of unfree peasants due to their birth into a family of serfs. Middle ages, especially the lords, were expected to share that land with othersĪnd form their own feudal system, providing protection for each of their vassals. That he and his sons and his posterity may hold them in peace and security.” In return for land, every citizen of the Immunity”, “We have given him certain villas with their extent and dependencies…granting As mentioned in an article titled “Grant of Fief with In simpler terms, the feudal lord of a manor, though he is still the supreme ruler, has many vassals which are all feudal lords to their own vassals who borrow their land. This system of hierarchy only becomes more complex, for a one, perhaps a soldier, who gives his service to the feudal lord, in return receives a fief, or given amount of land which he may, in turn, distribute to his fellow peasants, therefor becoming a lord to his tenants who become vassals, or a feudal subordinate who owned land. If dissatisfied with his or her present rank, one could, however, move up in rank through marriage or the church, one reason why there were many Christian followers at this time. Personal relationships were often based on personal ties of inheritance, tradition, and/or personal commitments, though they fluctuated often and did not remain permanent. For example, 1 peasant may have more power than the next simply because he or she did more work for the feudal lord of the manor. This was insured by a system of personal relationships, a component that determined one's rank within their overall class. Rather, as mentioned previously, one's service to his or her lord was of more value. As one may observe, the medieval classes were not based on wealth, unlike many preceding civilizations. This section of society, uniquely, was perhaps the largest, for it included citizens ranging anywhere from poor peasants to wealthy merchants. The second in rank, the middle class, were "those who fight", including knights, and eventually, nobles. The highest rank of citizens were "those who pray", including members of the church, such as clergy, monks, and nuns. Nevertheless, each citizen was broken into a rough social category based on his or her service to the feudal lord. Women were also provided with work, a drastic societal change from the previous Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. While the organization brought order, it also provided jobs for those with talents, for the people of the middle ages didn't believe in heredity, but instead, in the ability of a son to make a better life for himself than that of his father's. Known as the feudal system, these social classes were developed on a basis of laws which bound the ruling class together and which bound peasants to their land. Because the medieval ociety was born into a violent time of great disorder and confusion, an extremely strict hierarchy was set in place designed to bring both political organization and peace to the people of the time, therefor defining this time period as an age of feudalism.
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