UNIT III (1): FEUDALISM: ITS STRUCTURE

Meaning of Feudalism

The term ‘feudalism’ has been used by historians to describe the economic, legal, political and
social relationships that existed in Europe in the medieval era. The word ‘feudalism’ is derived
from two German words- ‘feudo’, which means a piece of land and ‘vassalism’, which means
holding something from a superior or lord. Therefore, the system which the kings of Europe
evolved during the period from eleventh to thirteenth century under which land was given to the
nobles and their tenants in return for military services and other services is known as feudalism. It
was a system of society in which all social, political and economic rights were closely related to
the system of land holdings. According to Prof. Stubbs, feudalism may be described as “a complete
organization of society through the medium of land tenure, in which from the king to the lowest
land-owner, all are bound together by obligation to service and defence: the lord to protect his
vassal, the vassal to do service to his lord.”

Structure

During the medieval period, in almost all parts of Europe feudal system became a live institution.
Inspite of its disadvantages, the system continued to remain for long. The main reason behind the
development of the feudal system was that it was a time in which warfares were common and the
peace was threatened at each and every moment. There was no security of life and property of the
people. The need of the hour was to provide security but that was not possible unless the monarch
(king) was supported by the lords. It has been observed that the system of feudalism existing in
different countries of Europe was not identical even though they had the following common
features or structure:

i. Feudalism held that God had given the country to the king who was its lord. The king
could give this land to nobles called vassals. These nobles were lords of their territory
or fief and could hand over a part of their fiefs to lesser lords and have vassals of their
own.
ii. Feudal system was hierarchical with king at the top and peasants at the bottom. In
between these two stood the nobles and knights.
iii. The king granted a piece of land to the nobles in return for military services. The feudal
lord (noble) enjoyed absolute power over his land and could tax inhabitants residing on
that land. Each noble had to promise his king about his loyalty, cooperation and help.
iv. With the passage of time, both the lords and their lands became hereditary and after the
death of a lord, his land was inherited by his son. However, the successor (son) had to
pay an inheritance tax to take up the fallen inheritance.
v. The lords as well as vassals had certain rights and duties. The lord was expected to
protect his vassal from any danger; to ensure him justice in the feudal court; to treat
well the wife and children of his vassal; to take the consent of the vassal if he wanted
 to build a castle on his fief. On the other hand, the vassal was expected to make
payments to the landlords on three occasions- the lord’s eldest son was knighted; the
eldest daughter of the lord was married; or if the lord was captured and money had to
be paid for his release.
vi. Every lord could hold courts for his tenants and the vassal was obliged to assist the lord
in his court. He was also expected to bring all his disputes before the lord’s court. There
was no uniform legal code; the words of the lord were law.
vii. The feudal lords maintained army consisting of mounted followers called knights.
There was no system of permanent military forces and the king had to summon the
feudal lords to provide fighting forces. The great lords in turn summoned their vassals
to provide soldiers to the king.
viii. The feudal lords considered themselves as superior than the rest of the community.
They lived a luxurious life and earned through taxation and extortion. Most of the
common people worked as peasants and serfs and cultivated the lands of the lords. They
had to pay a major portion of the produce to the lords. The serfs could be bought or
sold like slaves.

Merits of feudalism

1. The feudal lords had vast economic resources and manpower at their disposal. They built
big castles and maintained very loyal armies. They were capable of protecting their lands
and the country from the invaders, which otherwise would have created havoc. Thus,
under feudalism, there prevailed law and order.
2. Feudalism helped the growth of decentralized political administration. The king was not
only advised by vassals but at times he was forced to accept their terms and conditions.
This checked the growth of absolute monarchy.
3. Feudalism helped to preserve monarchy and monarchs sanctioned fiefs to vassals, who in
turn took an oath of loyalty and cooperation to fight for him.
4. No doubt the king and the vassals had personal interests, yet they were united against
invasions. This led to national defence and the rise of nationalism.
5. The constant conflict helped the growth of military techniques in terms of better arms,
training and organization.
6. It encouraged the concept of chivalry (respectful behaviour). The nobles and knights
became more mindful towards the poor and needy and women.
7. Feudalism brought stability and order in the society. The collective defence and law and
order within the feudal estate ensured protection and justice to the people.
8. Feudalism also developed a sense of duty and order. It was the king’s duty to protect the
rights of the vassals over their lands; and that of vassals to protect their serfs. Likewise, the
serfs had their duties towards nobles (feudal lords) and nobles towards kings.

Demerits of feudalism
 Though feudalism served the needs of time, it had some serious shortcomings.

1. It hampered the growth of a strong central government. Some of the feudal lords grew so
powerful that they hardly bothered about the king. They maintained their own armies and
minted their own money.
2. There were often skirmishes (short fights between groups) and wars amongst feudal lords
and sometimes between the feudal lords and the kings. So, at times, it disturbed the peace
and tranquillity of the society and economy.
3. It led to emergence of class distinction in the society because the fiefs were not granted on
the basis of merit but on hereditary basis.
4. The feudal lords were self-interested, their tyranny led to the sufferings of commoners and
serfs. Serfs were the worst sufferers. Often, wars by feudal lords and war expenses led to
the overtaxing of common people.
5. The loyalty of the people was more to the feudal lords than to the nation or king, which
was a hindrance to the growth of nationhood.
6. The church had become a very big feudalistic organisation. It had vast lands and worked
like feudal lords. It also challenged the supremacy and authority of the king, which resulted
in prolonged conflict for supremacy between the church and the king.
7. Finally, during this period, education, literature and fine arts were greatly neglected
because greatest importance was given to the fighting spirits and training of the knights.

Decline of feudalism

The feudalism which flourished between 11th and 13th centuries began to decline towards the close
of the 13th century in France and Italy. However, in other parts of Europe, it continued to exist for
some time and ultimately ended by 1500. The main factors which contributed to the decline of
feudalism were as follows:

1. In course of time the feudal lords began to assert themselves too much. They tried to
weaken the kings. They made every effort to deceive them and extract maximum money
from them by fair or foul means. Thus, the kings became hostile towards them and thought
of bringing them under control. The kings received support from the newly emerged middle
classes and freemen who were not under the control of the lords. The middle classes
consisting of traders and businessmen provided the kings with money with which they
began to maintain independent armies. The discovery of gun-powder also greatly helped
the kings to reduce their dependence on feudal lords.
2. The liberation of the serfs due to enormous growth in trade and commerce also greatly
contributed to the decline of feudalism. With the growth of trade and commerce, a number
of new cities and towns grew which provided new opportunities for work. The serfs got an
 opportunity to free themselves from the feudal lords by taking up work in trade and industry
in new towns.
3. By 13th century, strong national governments emerged and people began to be defended
and protected by their kings. They now did not feel the necessity of having feudal lords to
protect or defend them.
4. Under feudal system, the knights who were the vassals of the feudal lords were specially
trained to fight wars. But their number was very small and gradually began to decrease
specially after the ‘War of Roses’ and ‘Hundred Years War’. Moreover, the people were
also now not prepared for many wars as they wanted peace and prosperity. This led to the
weakening of the power of feudal lords.
5. The bubonic plague (Black Death) of 14th century which took a heavy toll of human life
led to the scarcity of labour force in Europe. That increased the bargaining powers of the
serfs and when their demands could not be fulfilled by the lords, they rebelled against their
lords. This weakened the power of feudal lords.
6. The feudal lords had established their strength and supremacy because they had their own
castles and forts and their knights were trained to fight with swords. But the invention of
gun powder made their warfare methods outdated and considerably reduced their strength.
7. The Crusades or the Holy wars also contributed to the decline of the feudal system. During
Crusades, a large number of feudal lords lost their lives which gave a serious setback to
the feudal system. Some of the feudal lords who returned alive from the Crusades were
forced to grant freedom to towns which they once controlled. As a result, a number of serfs
got freedom.
8. The theory of ‘Divine Rights of Kings’ became quite popular, especially in England. It was
now believed that the king was the representative o0f god on earth. His every order was a
command and must be obeyed by all. Any disobedience meant displeasing god. This
strengthened the position of the king and weakened those of the nobles.
9. Monarchy became hereditary in Europe. In order to keep the dynasty on the throne, each
king crushed the feudal lords so that they did not raise their head at any time.
Thus, feudalism which once had been a basis of social, political and
economic systems in Europe came to an end. Had the feudal lords kept the masses
by their side by taking care of the welfare of the people, the feudal system would
not have met the fate which it met.