![]() ![]() pecunia) “cattle”, “money” Old High German fehu, fihu, “cattle”, “property”, “money” Old Frisian fia Old Saxon fehu Old English feoh, fioh, feo, fee. The root of the term “feudal” originates in the Aryan word pe’ku, meaning “cattle”, and possessed cognates in many other Indo-European languages: Sanskrit pacu, “cattle” Latin pecus (cf. Herr Reinmar von Zweter, a 13th-century Minnesinger, was depicted with his noble arms in Codex Manesse. ![]() Some historians and political theorists believe that the term feudalism has been deprived of specific meaning by the many ways it has been used, leading them to reject it as a useful concept for understanding society. The term feudalism has also been applied-often inappropriately or pejoratively-to non-Western societies where institutions and attitudes which are similar to those which existed in medieval Europe are perceived to prevail. Some have taken the feudalism analogy further, seeing feudalism (or traces of it) in places as diverse as China during the Spring and Autumn period (771-476 BCE), ancient Egypt, the Parthian Empire, the Indian subcontinent and the Antebellum and Jim Crow American South. Outside its European context, the concept of feudalism is often used by analogy, most often in discussions of feudal Japan under the shoguns, and sometimes in discussions of the Zagwe dynasty in medieval Ethiopia, which had some feudal characteristics (sometimes called “semifeudal”). The adjective feudal was in use by at least 1405, and the noun feudalism, now often employed in a political and propagandistic context, was coined by 1771, paralleling the French féodalité ( feudality).Īccording to a classic definition by François-Louis Ganshof (1944), feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations which existed among the warrior nobility and revolved around the three key concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs, though Ganshof himself noted that his treatment was only related to the “narrow, technical, legal sense of the word”.Ī broader definition, as described in Marc Bloch’s Feudal Society (1939), includes not only the obligations of the warrior nobility but the obligations of all three estates of the realm: the nobility, the clergy, and those who lived off their labor, most directly the peasantry which was bound by a system of manorialism this order is often referred to as a “feudal society”, echoing Bloch’s usage. There is no commonly accepted modern definition of feudalism, at least among scholars. Those at the bottom of the hierachy (serfs) had an excess of duties over rights.ĭavid Miller, ed., The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought (Oxford, 1987) Definition The essential currency was land and military service, the former held in return for the latter.įeudalism was a hierachy of lords and vassals, and it was possible to be both in relation to different persons. Powerful knights under feudalism were able to acquire their own substantial fighting forces.A medieval theory in which society was deemed to be held together by ties of loyalty and obligation between persons in a hierarchy. Wealthy knights were able to increase their land holdings and acquire their own soldiers, who he might grant lands to and in turn he swore an Oath of Fealty to the knight. These tournaments offered a substantial prize to the winner. A knight could bring in additional wealth by competing in jousting tournaments. The lands granted to knights in England were called manors. Feudalism allowed men to become knights and climb the Feudalism pyramid. Nobles, lords and knights of the Middle Ages were expected to provide trained soldiers to fight for the King and to provide clothes and weapons for the soldiers. Under the Feudal Levy soldiers and knights were required to fight for a limited period of 40 days, under certain circumstances this could be increased to 90 days. This reward would be granted in exchange for his services.Ī knight who had been rewarded with land pledged his military services (Feudal Levy). ![]() A portion of land (called a fief) would be granted by the King to a successful soldier or knight who had performed well during battle. A successful soldier could become wealthy and knighthood conferred regardless of his background. A knight would have seven horses, each were built for different duties. A horse was extremely common when looking at knights in the middle ages. It had to be tailor made to fit the Knight exactly, if it did not fit the knight would be possibly jeopardising his protection. Their armour back then was extremely expensive to produce. Some examples of this are horsemanship and chivalry. A knight was originally a person of noble birth who was trained to use a range of weapons. ![]()
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