FEUDAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF KINGS 1 Running head: FEUDAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF KINGS

Feudal Society And The Role Of Kings During The 5th Century Through 12th Century HIS 109 (All content is edited and typed by me, so if you want to plagiarize, it is not allowed. This is edited for the educational purpose only for Scribd.com)

FEUDAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF KINGS 2 Feudal Society And The Role Of Kings During The 5 Century Through 12 Century
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According to Infoplease.com (2007), feudalism is a form of political and social organization that comes from Western Europe. The word feudal itself is derived from the word fihu or fehu (Old High Germanic word for cow or money); and the Latin word pecus (Jarrett, 1909). Regarding the rights and duties, feudalism is further defined as a graduated system due to the land tenure where lords have the right to command those below him and that classes below the lords are subjected to his laws and taxes. (Stubbs, 1897; as cited in Jarrett, 1909). And according to Hastings (1971; pg 59), feudalism is what we call a method to maintain security and order in a society where the centralized government is weak. Feudalism originated in the Dark Ages period from the Germanic tribal empire where the pagan Germanic laws are passed down from one generation to another, where tribal chiefs are the judges, juries and executioners in determining whether the person is guilty or otherwise. (Fiero, 1998; pg 67). Hastings (1971; pg 16) and Fiero (1998; pg 67) also mentions that the German law is rather personal as various crimes are brought into the attention of the tribal chiefs and that warlike behaviors are present as always during those meetings. The role of Christianity in the formation of empires have also influenced the feudal system, starting with the mass conversions of Germans before the invasion of western Europe and the exclusivity of the Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire by Emperor Theodosius after years of persecuting early Christians in Rome by his predecessors. (Hastings, 1971; pg 26-27) Charlemagne, as the heir to the Frankish Kingdom (Fiero, 1998; pg 71), extended his empire towards the east as he was also declared by Pope Leo the Third in Rome as Emperor and Augustus (Fiero, 1998; pg 31), which means that he rules over the Holy Roman Empire, on

FEUDAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF KINGS 3 Christmas Day in the year 800. (Batchelor, 2010; pg 62). Note that the Holy Roman Empire does not imply that he is the emperor of Rome nor he was in the same wavelength as the original Roman emperors. (Batchelor, 2010; pg 62). This implies that it was conceived as a revival of Roman imperial power in the West (Fiero, 1971; pg 32). Fiero (1971) and Batchelor (2010) agreed that Europe is under attack from Vikings, Magyars, Normans, and Muslims as they also influence the policies of Europe. It was then Charlemagnes sons and grandsons who failed to drive out their enemies, thus splitting the territories among themselves- but counts and dukes who were appointed by Charlemagne, and those who forcefully take the lands are now rulers and administrators. (Fiero, 1998; pg 74). With the invasion of the Vikings causing all social classes to have a relationship with the military, feudalism was born from the unique relationship between politics and military. Feudalism was only coined in the 16th century by historians by Batchelor (2010), so those who lived in the medieval era or Middle Ages do not consider themselves part of the feudalism. In the 11th century, the Normans introduced feudalism in England and Sicily and highly developed in Spain, while it is less developed in Scotland, Scandinavia, northern Italy and eastern Europe. (Feudal Europe, 1997). In this research paper, we will go through in depth about the feudal society and also the role of the kings of empires during the era in more detail.

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An Overview of the Feudal Society In the introduction mentioned above, we have discussed about the origins of feudalism in the Dark Ages period and how this feudal system came to be. Deriving from the Germanic and Roman traditions of rewarding soldiers who win the war (Fiero, 1998; pg 74), the feudal system involves the exchanges of land for military services or other services for the country or king, according to Hastings (1971), Fiero (1998) and Batchelor (2010). According to Kries (2000, revised 2009), feudal law is different from Roman law as the Roman law is for a central government for building a world empire while feudal law touches on the grassroots aspect, that is it is more local and personal. This feudal system was never political, rather, it is a relationship between the kings, nobles, the secular forces (churches) and peasants, where they are dependent of each other and exploit the labor supply of peasants. (T. Teng Zhou, personal communication, February 17, 2012 and Hastings, 1971; pg 59). We will look in more detail on the relationships of these classes and the role of women and churches especially in shaping the feudal society.

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The Feudal System Chart: Retrieved from http://www.historyonthenet.com/Medieval_Life/images/feudalsystem.gif

As we can see from the chart above, these are the social classes and their respective rankings in the feudal system, whereby the King stands on top of the pecking order, followed by barons, knights and finally peasants (they are also known as villiens, and serfs).

FEUDAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF KINGS 6 About Vassals and Fiefs According to Batchelor (2010; pg 40), he describes the relationship between the vassals, that is the classes below the lords (Hastings, 1971; pg 59), and the fiefs:

A lord or noble owned land and would make grant of it, known as fiefs. However, a lord could only grant land to somebody that was his vassal, meaning someone who had sworn an oath of loyalty to him and promised to pay him homage. Paying homage involved making a public demonstration of loyalty to the lord, kneeling before him and making the oath.

The vassal would also have to swear an oath of fidelity (feality), promising to protect the lord and his property in return for protection from the lord and handing a piece of sod or a symbol of office. (Hastings, 1971; pg 60 and Feudalism, 2005) This handing over of the fief is done through the investiture process by handing the vassal and raising the vassal up after the vassal kneels before the lord, put his hands in those of the lord and declare himself his man. (Hastings, 1971; pg 60, Infoplease.com, 2007) Hastings (1971; pg 60) states that the fief consisted of lands or office from which he derived economic resources that freed him to fight and rule while the vassal, was not an estate administrator on his lords behalf. All fiefs were technically owned by the king, but a vassal held, in effect, all the rights of ownership of the fief as long as he performed the services required by his lord. (HowStuffWorks.com, 2008). A vassal is not an estate administrator on behalf of his lord, rather he rule over the peasants by exploiting their labor for his profits and support. (Hastings, 1971). Hastings (1971) mention that the income received from the office fief or the administration of the peasants goes directly

FEUDAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF KINGS 7 towards their lord. To further explain what are the profits of the lord, Merriman (1996; pg 10) states that vassals had to pay the lord a fee upon inheriting an estate.

Relationships between Lords and Vassals Vassals and lords have maintained a peaceful relationship by protecting their fiefs and this indirectly protects the Kings land and further maximizes resources and profits for their development, while the vassals can continue their work, knowing that the lords mutually protect them. This is a brief explanation by Holmes (1988; pg 122) about the duties that the lords expects the vassals to perform during this era:

Relations between lords and vassals were feudal in the sense that lords came to assert that their vassals held their land as fiefs, and that they must therefore render military service, attend their courts, pay them dues, and accept their judgement over the succession to their lands.

Usually, the vassals will provide military service to protect the lords in case of war. According to Kreis (2000), vassals would have to provide mounted knights to their lords who are involved in the following activities: a short or long military campaign, escort duty, standing guard, providing lodgings when the lord traveled through the vassal's territory, or the giving of a gift when the lord's son was knighted or when his eldest daughter married. According to Hastings (1971; pg 61), vassals who owe more than their services could find other knights, maintaining their own knights in their own households by providing them shelter and other weapons, and even grant them fiefs to enable them to live on their own. Vassals would also have to be present

FEUDAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF KINGS 8 in the lords court and give advice to the lord, such as whether he should go to war against a neighboring land or whether he should go on a Crusade to the Holy Land (Hastings, 1971; pg 61), when needed (Kreis, 2000) and also be part of a jury to settle disputes between various vassals, although most disputes end up in combat. (HowStuffWorks.com, 2008) In the lords court, vassals were also required to attend various functions such as the marriage of the lords children or knighthood, Christmas, and investitures. (HowStuffWorks.com, 2008 and Hastings, 1971; pg 61). Finally, the vassals will also have to oblige financially to the lord through the following methods: by obliging to entertain the lord if the lord came into his part of the country (Hastings, 1971;pg 62); expected to give special financial aids on the lords requestssuch as funds to finance the lords going on Crusade or to help the lord meet the kings demand for money (Hastings, 1971;pg 62), helping with expenses for knighthood of his son and marriage of his daughter; help pay the lords ransom to free him from captivity, and a relief, or gift, to the lord when the fief passed to an heir. It amounted usually to a year's income. (HowStuffWorks.com, 2008 and Hastings, 1971; pg 62) According to Kreis (2000), both the lords and vassals are promised by the oath of loyalty to protect the fiefs and each other, as stipulated by the feudal contract. Should the vassal renounce his allegiance or surrender his fief (Hastings, 1971, pg 63), the lords can summon the to court and charge them with treachery, and perhaps losing his fief and life! Powerful vassals can withstand the wrath of the lord for treachery since strong castles are built and forty days are not enough for knights to overrun the castle. (HowStuffWorks.com, 2008). Fiefs were used to be renewed at the time of the vassals death, and ever since the advent of hereditary succession to his sons and daughters, it is customary, and soon it became heridatary as well. (Infoplease.com, 2007). According to Hastings (1971, pg 64), the feudal relationship is so complex that a person

FEUDAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF KINGS 9 can even be a vassal to many different lords, thus the principle of liege homage must take place, whereby that person has to choose the most prioritize loyalty among his lords.

The Role of Woman and the Ecclesiastical Vassal from the Church. Hastings (1971, pg 64) have stated that women vassals and ecclesiastical vassals are not part of the usual feudal relations pattern. For the role of women as vassals, women couldnt perform the military duties men obliged, or take homages and hold oaths of feality. (Hastings, 1971; pg 65). However, they can inherit land held in military tenure, could hold movable property, and could dispose it by will (Hastings, 1971; pg 65). Fiero (1998; pg 74) states that she can control her fief when she is single or becomes a widow as the husband will control her fief for the time being. As Hastings (1971; pg 65) states that they are under the care of their husbands and cannot be independent according to the feudal law, but they can command household knights to defend the castle in the absence of her husband, and are responsible for managing the complex relationship with the peasants and the welfare of those peasants. As for ecclesiastical vassals, the church, dignitaries, and monasteries owned much of the land given as a gift from nobles, thus became clerical lands. (Infoplease.com, 2007) Hastings (1971, pg 65-66) states that these fiefs are not profitable and are liabilities, thus, they will never expect these bishops, priests, and abbots to engage in war or to marry, rather the lords can take advantage of the proceeds by postponing the election of a new bishop or abbot or the appointment of a new priest for a considerable period

FEUDAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF KINGS 10 The Role Of Kings in Medieval Europe The kings during the 5th Century through the 12th Century were pivotal as they rank high among the feudal hierarchy as seen from the diagram. As explained from above, the kings role is to entrust his nobles with fiefs, in a way to reap benefits from the proceeds from the mentioned vassals and to ensure a wide security in the empire. Charlemagne was responsible for the Carolingian Renaissance, which according to Fiero (1998; pg 72-73) and Batchelor (2010, pg 61-68 and pg 366), he brought economic reforms (medieval trade regulations) to his Holy Roman Empire, and improves the quality of education by establishing schools at Aachen and attend tuition himself. Like Charlemagne, all of those kings would have to expand their empire in order for a more united empire and to give them a common identity. Christianity also plays a part as the kings recognized Christianity as the official religion, thus the converted soldiers can spread Christianity during the invasions across Europe.

Conclusion This feudal society and the kings role in shaping feudalism in Medieval Europe helped shape the modern policies and other forms of feudalism. However it may be, the feudal system has its own flaws as unscrupulous and corrupt people can take advantage of this system for his or her benefit. Nevertheless, this relationship has formed the basis of a more mutual relationship and synergy of work energy between the kings, nobles, churches, and peasants.

FEUDAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF KINGS 11 References

1. Batchelor, S (2010). Medieval History For Dummies. England: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd 2. Feudalism (2005). In Chambers Dictionary of World History. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/chambdictwh/feudalism 3. Feudal Europe - 1050-1300 (1997). In Concise Atlas of World History, Andromeda. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/andawh/feudal_europe_1050_1300 4. Fiero, G.K. (1998). The Humanistic Tradition, Book 2: Medieval Europe and the World Beyond. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies 5. Hastings, M (1971). Medieval European Society, 1000-1450. New York: Random House Inc. 6. Holmes, G (Eds.)(1988). The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe. England: Oxford University Press 7. HowStuffWorks.com (2008). Features Of Feudalism. Retrieved from http://history.howstuffworks.com/european-history/feudalism1.htm 8. Infoplease.com (2007). Feudalism: History of Feudalism in Europe. In The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0858102.html 9. Infoplease.com (2007). Feudalism: Characteristics of European Feudalism. In The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0858101.html 10. Jarrett, B (1909). Feudalism. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved from http://newadvent.org/cathen/08058c.htm

FEUDAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF KINGS 12 11. Kreis, S (2000, revised 2009). Feudalism and The Feudal Relationship. Retrieved from http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture21b.html 12. Merriman, J (1996, revised 2004). A History Of Modern Europe, Second Edition: From the Renaissance to the Present. New York: W.W. Norton & Company