#Feudalism pyramid in europe free

The rules are complex, and to an outside eye deeply mysterious. By the end of the 12th century the papacy has more feudal vassals than any temporal ruler.Īlthough feudalism develops as early as the 8th century, under the Carolingian dynasty, it does not prevail widely in Europe until the 10th century - by which time virtually the entire continent is Christian.įor the next 500 years, great accumulations of power and landed wealth pass between a few favoured players as if in a vast board game. At the very peak of European feudal society is the pope. Only in this way, sharing out both the benefit and the obligation, can the king's vassals be sure of bringing their promised contingent of armed men into the field.Ī pyramid of loyalty is thus created, in which each man - except at the very top and bottom - is a vassal to one lord and a lord to several vassals. The largest fiefs are those given directly by monarchs to noblemen or barons, who then subcontract parts of these fiefs to vassals of their own.

The vassal does homage to the lord, formalizing the relationship. The lord gives the vassal an income-yielding fief ( fehu-od in Frankish, the basis of the word 'feudal'). Thus there develops the relationship between lord and vassal which is at the heart of feudalism. This act of generosity, ultimately for his own benefit, requires an oath of loyalty in return. Charles Martel grants his nobles rights over tracts of land, to yield the income with which they can provide fighting men for his army. The feudal system comes into focus during the 8th century, when the Carolingian dynasty is expanding its territory. Transcending that, and dependent upon it, is the interconnecting network of loyalties and obligations which make up feudalism. The central economic feature is the manorial system. In medieval Europe the system is more complex.

#Feudalism pyramid in europe free

In ancient Sparta, where all free men are warriors, the support comes from the defeated and enslaved peasants of Messenia, known as the helots. In a simple economy this means that the produce of an appropriate number of peasants or serfs must underwrite the expenses of the fighting man. At the heart of feudalism is a basic idea common to any society with a warrior caste.