The feudal system was meant to help organize things for people (to help people).
How it worked:
What happened was that the king was at the top, and then the nobles were given land that was split up so they couldn't start a rebellion and the nobles gave their land to lots of knights which gave thier land to lots of peasants which farmed the land and paid taxes. The knights fought, and the king gave the noble more land so that he was richer. More land=richer you are! This kind of system was based on kept promises. If some promises were not kept, the entire system fails. For example, if a king gives 12 lords land to have in return for service, the lord promises to give the king knights to protect him. But if only 6 lords keep the promise, then the king isn't as well-protected and therefore has a chance to die.
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The three terms you want to keep in mind when you talk about Feudal societies are: lords, vassals, and fiefs. Basically, lords (primarily members of aristocracy or the rich) appoint a piece of land to vassals. Vassals then use that land for their own benefit, but at a price-they must pay a price in the form of a military contract. This grant of land was called a fief. Another type of feudalism involving still: lords, vassals, and fiefs is one in which there are two types of relationships. First, a lord passes land on to a vassal, as in the more common type. Next, the vassal would be forced to pay for that land by giving a ratio of his output to the lord. Fiefs or slaves working for the vassal, would be the primary source of output. They usually bunked in very small shacks and worked arduously in a reverse sinecure relationship. Thus, the relationship was benignant for all but the fiefs, for whom it was more parasitic.
When Rome fell in 410 AD it left a void in government and services. It was chaos and strong men took over. At first, it was the barbarians who raided, killed, took slaves, and demanded tribute. Europe became a patchwork of holdings of strong men. The holdings would change owners through wars and marriage, but there was always a man to control what was held. The people who were the poorest lived and worked for these men. They died in their wars and grew their crops. This was the feudal system.
Medieval feudal system:King is the most important person and rules all of the lands, then it goes to nobles which rule the lands FOR the king. Knights protects the land, and peasants farm the land.
It was like a pyramid, the royalty on the top then nobles and vassels and then knights and finally slaves (serfs) or farmers. Also there are more and more people as you get farther down the pyramid
The Church controlled the society and its relationship with God, the Nobility collected the taxes, fought wars, and took care of overseeing the land. The peasants worked the land, fought in the wars, and paid taxes. The serfs were slaves.
It was like a pyramid, the royalty on the top then nobles and vassals, and then knights and finally slaves (serfs) or farmers. Also, there are more and more people as you get farther down the pyramid.
the Feudal system was sustained by the rights and privileges given to the Upper Classes and in most cases enacted by laws
Charlemagne did not bring feudalism to Europe. He did bring a series of changes that improved feudal society at this time.
it was based on feudalism... there is a feudalism pyramid if you go on google images and type in feudalism pyramid
The crusade affected Europe in two ways. They increased trad between Europe and the Middle East, and the helped break down feudalism.
After the Roman Empire Collapsed
Feudalism existed in Europe between the ninth and the fifteenth centuries. It declined with the rise of the merchant class.