MANORIALISM

The "feudal" relationship was the reciprocal relationship between the lord and vassal. The second key relationship that gave structure to feudal society was that between the land owner (whether a lord or vassal) and those who lived on and worked the land - the peasants and serfs. This relationship is referred to as the "manorial" relationship since the estate was often termed a manor.  While reciprocal, it was based on severe exploitation of the peasant class.

Critical to understanding this relationship is recognizing how violent the times were. The vast majority of Europe's population were not in a position to defend themselves. Most were peasants (sometimes referred to as villeins). The vast majority of this class worked the land; only a small proportion had roles such as blacksmiths, craftspeople and artisans.  In the peasant class, some were small land owners. Others were those who worked land that they rented (tenant farmers) and some members of the agricultural class were transient workers. For these peoples in the Middle Ages, the desperate need was for security. Facing threats from bandits, maurauding invaders, or aggressive military lords, these agricultural peoples could not turn to a state or empire for protection. Instead, they were forced to turn to the nearest feudal lords and their armies. Those who already lived/worked on the manor of a powerful feudal lord benefited from the protection of his vassal army.  Others moved into or were absorbed into these protected manors - and they had to accept the terms laid down by the feudal lord.

In return for the protection of the lord and his army, peasants gave up all chance of economic betterment and virtually all freedom. Those who were free workers or small farm owners would commit their labor and their wealth to a feudal lord/vassal in return for protection. Peasants who owned their own land would have their farms absorbed into the lord's manor - they retained their ownership of the land, but they would give over virtually all control and freedoms to that feudal lord.

Over time, some peasants even were forced to give up their freedom of movement in return for the right to live in a protected area or the right to run into the castle walls of the feudal lord. These people, who did not even have the right to leave the manor, came to be called serfs. A serf was a person who was tied to the land. The serf had to stay and work on the manor; if she or he left, the land owner could punish them, sometimes with death. The status of serf was inherited by the children, thus serfdom took root and continued in parts of Europe for centuries.

Both free peasants and serfs owed an extraordinary number of obligations to the land owners in exchange for protection. First and foremost they owed their labor. Without the backbreaking labor of the agricultural workers, land would not have value. For the vassals who gained fiefs, it was critical that land carry with it workers to make it productive. Thus peasants/serfs were responsible for working portions of the manor. If they were fortunate enough to have their own land that they farmed for themselves, they also owed a portion of that production from their land to the lord or vassal. In addition, peasants/serfs had to do any odd jobs that were needed (called boon work); this included things like taking care of animals, cutting wood and fixing fences.

Finally, with whatever goods/food/resources they were able to accumulate or save, the peasants/serfs had to pay taxes to the feudal lord/vassal.  For instance, to get married, to have a son inherit the family farm, to gather firewood or graze animals in the lord's lands - for all of these activities, the agricultural worker had to pay a tax in the form of goods or food. Recognize peasants and serfs also owed taxes, usually 10% of their production, to the Catholic Church (this was called a tithe.)

Bottom line, this agricultural class found it impossible to accumulate any wealth and for centuries remained in a situation of extreme poverty and almost complete lack of freedom. What the peasants and serfs did receive in return was the protection of the lord's army and if needed, the right to run behind the protection of the castle walls of the lord. Castles are in fact very visible symbols of the need for protection in the Middle Ages; to be able to cower inside these walls and survive war, or attacks by bandits and Vikings, peasants and serfs gave up their wealth, their freedom and any possibility of betterment.  It is important to understand why people would enter into this kind of unequal relationship. The answer is simple - only by giving into the demands of the military elite, only by agreeing to this exploitative reciprocal agreement, could a defenseless peasant hope to survive the violence of this age.  To survive, to achieve some kind of stability, millions of people suffered repression, impoverishment and exploitation.  It took centuries for those in the agricultural laborer classes to break free of the social and economic stratification created during the Middle Ages, and remnants of this class difference certainly still exist in Europe today. (see summary description)

THE ROLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

We have discussed two out of the three principle groups that made up Middle Ages Europe: the military elite ("those who fought") and the peasant/serf class ("those who worked".) The third group were those in the Catholic Church ("those who prayed".) These were the officials of the church, from the pope and bishops to the village priest. Service in the Catholic Church was the third primary role people could fulfill in what was a very basic and simple social/economic system.

The situation of the Church in the Middle Ages was both powerful and vulnerable. The Church was a powerful institution in terms of land ownership, and more importantly, in terms of moral and religious authority. The vast majority of Europeans throughout the Middle Ages were Christians, and in Western/Central Europe to be Christian meant to be Catholic; if one was not an obedient Catholic, one was a heretic. There was no other recognized Christian church in Western/Central Europe until the 16^th century. Religious questions were decided by the Church. Moral issues were based on Christian doctrine and defined by the Church. The pope was the earthly authority for European Christians, and since the vast majority of Europeans in the Middle Ages were deeply religious, this translated into a great deal of influence for the Church.

In addition, the Catholic Church sustained scholarship and literacy during the Central Middle Ages, producing stunning illustrated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells. Although the emphasis was narrowly focused on theological studies and religious issues, the continuance of Western literacy and intellectual pursuit during this period was almost entirely left to the Catholic Church.

However, in terms of the basic elements of military power and protection, the Church was weak. The Church needed protection for Church lands and Church officials, especially the many monasteries and abbeys dotted throughout Europe. Like the peasant, the Catholic Church had to turn to the local military elite for protection of their lands - and very often these Church lands were absorbed into the manor of a local lord. In return for protection provided by the lord and his vassals, the Church paid a portion of what was produced on its lands (taxes.)

The Church also gave up power. In some parts of Europe, feudal lords demanded the right to choose local Church officials, such as the abbot of a monastery; they would often appoint to those positions family members, friends.  Sometimes the Church office went to the highest bidder! This practice of political leaders choosing religious authorities was called lay investiture.  Not surprisingly, corruption spread in the Church due to this heavy handed power of feudal lords and the influence of political interests. It was not until the late 1000's that the Catholic Church was able to break free of this interference from the feudal lords. (see links to Church history)

The obvious point is that during the Central Middle Ages feudal lords, because they had the military power and the ability to protect, ruled their manors and were able to make extensive demands on anyone living in that region, from the most vulnerable peasant to the officials of the Catholic Church.

LEGACIES OF FEUDALISM

Europe ultimately emerged out of the feudal age with the rise of central states in parts of Europe; central states and leaders ended the local power of feudal lords.  However, many political, social and cultural elements of the feudal Middle Ages and in particular the Central Middle Ages continued to deeply influence the development of "modern" Europe.   There were, and still are, many legacies from the Medieval period in modern Western culture.

*  One obvious long- term consequence was the growth of regional differences. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Europeans developed for centuries on a more local, regional basis. Customs, local language, and traditional cultures became more and more diversified, laying the foundations for what later became "national" differences between European peoples.  The "unity" of the Mediterranean and European world under Rome was gone - forever.

*   Another area of long term impact was in social relations - the strong, deeply stratified class system in European societies. During the Middle Ages, the military elite and the Catholic Church established a strong presence in European civilization. The military elite became the aristocracy or nobility in European societies. This feudal based elite became the noble class of Lords, Counts, Dukes (and many other titles) who have clung to their social dominance until this century; such aristocratic titles and distinctions still survive in many parts of Europe.

On the other side of the scale, the exploited and vulnerable peasants and serfs also remained at the absolute bottom of the society for centuries. In fact, in parts of Europe, serfdom was maintained until the 19^th century!  Even in areas where serfdom disappeared, the peasants remained impoverished and exploited by aristocratic landlords until the 20th century.   In other words, social classes and stratifications were established during the Middle Ages and profoundly influenced the social and economic relations of Europeans to the present day.  There are many parts of Europe today where great estates, castles and powerful aristocratic families still cast a social and even economic shadow over local villages and peasants. (see gallery of castle photos)

*   The Middle Ages also laid the foundation for the dominant role of Christianity in Western culture. During the Middle Ages, Christianity, more specifically the Catholic Church, provided the common basis of morals, religious practices and spiritual understanding. The Church supported the oaths that tied the society together. In law, art, and scholarship during the Middle Ages, Christianity was permanently woven into the emerging culture and structures of Europe. Although the Catholic Church did ultimately lose its unchallenged authority in the 16th century and other Christian churches later emerged, European culture will remain Christian to its very core.

*   The feudal age also impacted developing European civilization for centuries in terms of military culture. Today in Western based cultures, concepts of loyalty, honor, chivalry, and nobility are all deeply rooted in the (often romanticized) age of knights and lords. Images of knights, castles and swords have a strong resonance in Western cultural memory. The values of the feudal era are built into the very language and vocabulary of European civilization. The importance of King Arthur and the Round Table is not whether he was a "real" king or not, but the powerful pull and inspiring effect that this era, these images, had and still have for many in modern Western societies.

*  Finally, in the area of law and politics, the Middle Ages built up the significant and critical concepts of contractual or mutual obligations. What held feudal society together were feudal based ideas of oaths, duties and expectations - these became the bases of common law (law based on the traditions and experience of the common people.)  For example, the duties of political leaders under feudal law (in other words "you as the leader must do this for me") contributed to the idea of political obligations and limits on kings in counties like England. The expectations based on established feudal relationships (in other words, the idea that "I can expect this of you") were later called and asserted as rights by Europeans!

This political tradition is major legacy.  The political power and precedent of Caesar was abolished, instead later European monarchs had to deal with a powerful nobility, and a feudal tradition in which a leader *owed* something to subjects and had concrete limits and obligations - these proved to be powerful ideas!   Unless one understands the hundreds of years that Europeans built up a traditional foundation of duties, responsibilities and reciprocally-based feudal laws during the feudal era, one cannot understand the later political and legal developments of modern Europe and the common law underlying modern Western legal traditions - in particular the later evolution of constitutional government.

In the final chapter, we discuss the High Middle Ages - the period when feudalism began to erode, and Europe moved towards structures and institutions we call "modern."

Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
Castles/Abbeys/Medieval Buildings
Knighthood, Chivalry and Tournaments
Lancelot Or, The Knight of the Cart  (By Chretien DeTroyes)
Medieval Art
Song of Roland (Famous Medieval Ballad)