Feudalism developed in Western Europe between the 9th and 10th centuries as a political, social, and economic system. Power was decentralized as kings granted land to nobles in exchange for military service. Society was strictly stratified with kings, nobles, clergy, and peasants. Peasants or serfs were bound to work lands granted by lords and owed labor services and taxes. The feudal system predominated until the 15th century and was characterized by hierarchies of reciprocal obligations between lords and vassals.

1. UNIT 2. FEUDALISM
As you know, the Middle Ages was the historical period which ran from 476, the date of the fall of the Western
Roman Empire, to the 15th century (1453/1492). This period can be divided into different stages:
- The High Middle Ages (S.V - XI): Byzantine Empire, Germanic kingdoms, origins of Islamic civilization,
Carolingian Empire and FEUDALISM: ruralisation.
- The Late Middle Ages (S. XII – S. XV): resurgence of cities.
1. THE FOUNDATIONS OF FEUDAL EUROPE.
From the 9th and 10th centuries, a political, social and economic system called feudalism developed in Western
Europe. This system survived until the Early Modern Period. The most important characteristics of this system are:
- The kings lost power and shared it with the clergy and nobility.
- The society was divided into closed groups.
- The economic system was based on peasants working on the land.
We can find the origins of this system in the 9th century, because Western Europe lived under a climate of violence
and insecurity. This system or the process related to the loss of the king´s power was favoured by:
 The fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and the invasions of the Vikings from the peninsulas of
Scandinavia and Jutland; Saracen pirates from the North Africa; and the Magyars or Hungarians from Eastern
Europe.
 The desire of nobles to increase their power.
 FEUDAL-VASSAL RELATIONSHIPS.
The weakness of the monarchies prevented kings from forming their own armies, so they could only pacify their
kingdoms by relying on nobles and knights. To do this, they established a feudal or vassal pact with nobles through
which they obtained their loyalty in exchange for land.

2. HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE.
1. THE KING.
The king was at the top of the hierarchy of personal relationships.
 He granted fiefs to the nobles, also known as manors, in exchange for their loyalty.
 He was considered as a first amongst equals; in other words, the king was the highest noble in the kingdom.
Therefore, his power was limited to his own fiefs, known as the royal domain or lands of the crown.
 He could only administer justice and collect taxes on this land.
2. VASSALS.
 Through the feudal pact, nobles received fiefs (manors). The vassal therefore became lord of the lands in the
fief and on the serfs who worked them.
 Clergymen, such as bishops, could also receive feuds and act like feudal lords.
 Therefore, members of the nobility became direct vassals of the king. They obeyed him and helped him with
his armies when the king demanded it (auxilium). In addition, senior nobles and clergymen met with the king
in the royal curia or court. In it, they functioned as vassals, giving the king advice (consilium).
3. MINOR NOBILITY.
Nobles with lower lineage became vassals of the great nobles, from whom they had received important fiefs. The
lesser nobility and knights obeyed their immediate lord and went to war when he summoned them.
Social groups that shared power with the monarch enjoyed many privileges.

3. 4. SERFS.
Peasants who worked in the fiefs were at the bottom of the hierarchy.
They were the serfs of a lord and they were forced to work the lands and to pay different kind of taxes. The feudal lord
offered protection to peasants in his fief. This model of the relationship between serfs and lords is known as serfdom.
Under this model, the serfs obtained certain benefits from their lord:
 The right to protection by the lord’s army against attacks from the outside;
 The right to live on the lands of the fief and to work on them.
In return, the serfs who lived and worked in the fief had to accept the manorial and jurisdictional privileges, as well as
meeting other obligations.
OBLIGATIONS OF SERFS:
- SERFDOM: People became serfs by birth and were not free to leave the fief in which they were born. They
were therefore forced to accept the privileges of the feudal lord.
- LEGAL REGIME: The manorial jurisdiction was very hard on serfs. The lords could even carry out abusive
practices, known as feudal abuses, such as mistreating their serfs.
- LABOUR SERVICE: People were obliged to do certain tasks for the lord. These labour services, known
as corvées, included vigilance and repairing the walls of the feudal castle.
THE MANORIAL SYSTEM:
Serfs did not own any land, as it all belonged to the lord, and they worked on it through the manorial system.
o The lord granted serfs a plot of land known as a mansus. The serfs obtained enough from their work to
subsist and be able to pay taxes.
o In return, the serfs had to work on the demesne, which were the lands that the lord reserved for himself. They
were usually the most productive.
o In addition, the lord also granted communal spaces for hunting or collecting firewood, although he kept the
best land for private use for these tasks.
2. FEUDAL SOCIETY.
Feudal society was organised into three groups or social orders which would later be known as estates. These
were closed groups, as it was very difficult to change the social order.
1) The KING was at the top of the social pyramid.
2) NOBILITY and CLERGY were also important social classes, with a lot of privileges.
o NOBLES: People belonged to this privileged group by birth. There were different categories of nobility:
- The high nobility was very powerful and influenced the decisions of the kingdom.
- There was low and middle nobility composed of knights and lords with fewer possessions.
To rise in rank within the nobility, nobles had to acquire merits in wars, or marry into families of middle or high nobility,
or even royal families. The nobles lived in castles and could form their own army of knights. They could come to the
aid of their lord when he demanded the oath of allegiance. They created rituals in which the nobles were armed
knights and customs like competing in games known as tournaments.
o CLERGY: Members of this privileged group were part of the Church. One of their privileges was to
receive a tax for maintaining priests and the costs of the Church: a tithe (diezmo). Peasants had to give a
tenth part of their crops or livestock. The clergy was divided into two groups:
- Regular clergy, belonging to monastic orders, lived a secluded life in monasteries and convents.
- Secular clergy. This was the clergy who did not live in monasteries, for example, priests and
bishops.
3) The third estate: PEASANTS OR COMMONERS, also known as LABORATORES: “those who work”. They
did not have any privileges. They maintained the rest of society through their work and by paying taxes.

4. 3. FEUDAL ECONOMY.
Farming and livestock rearing were the basis of the feudal economy. However, these activities were not very
productive. Although the serfs had resources like communal lands, which were usually used as pastures, they often
had to ask the lord for loans, meaning that their dependence was increased.
The technical means used to grow crops were very rudimentary and, therefore, the land had a low yield.
 The serfs began to implement some innovations in agricultural uses, such as using manure to fertilise the soil
and the mouldboard plough, which enabled better soil rotation.
 To increase the productivity of the land, the serfs started using a three-year rotation system. This consisted
of alternating crops of grains and pulses with fallow, when the land is left uncultivated to help regenerate it.
Picture where you can see the daily life during this period of time: feudalism system.
Castle ofthe lord
Castle of the lord