Feudalism is the political system that took place in the Medieval Europe, in which the society is structured by an exchange of land for a service between the land owner and the villains. It is composed of several dimensions that work together to balance each other off. There are political, social and cultural dimensions of feudalism. The political dimension consists of kinship and vassalage. The social dimension of feudalism consists of manorialism, and the cultural dimension consists of the ideas, beliefs, values, and religious points of view that people in that era possessed. The religious component of the social dimension is the most important aspect of feudalism, besides, the other two dimensions resolve around this aspect. Politically,
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The first class was composed of the monarchs or kings who were the owners of the land. Then, these leased the land off to a lord and they owned castles. Lords ruled over the peasants and knights. And the peasants were the ones who worked hard on the land and produced food, while knights were also peasants but they served their lord’s army. Specifically, the social dimension of feudalism consisted of manorialism, a strict hierarchy and reciprocity. Manorialism is an economic system by which the Lord of the land exploited the serfs or tenants who worked his estate, or fief. Villains had to work land in order to use it and feed themselves. A “holding” is a name for a large piece of land, which is like a county. Villains live in holdings and work the land under manorialism. This is where reciprocity comes into play. Reciprocity is a system of obligations and benefits. This is found in the Character of Liberties document where knights receive a special privilege. Henry I say, “(…) to those knights who render military service for their lands I grant my own gift that the lands of their demesne ploughs be free from all payments and all labor.” If knights offer military service, they will enjoy benefits granted by the king. Only knights, due to the hierarchy, are able to benefit from the king in such a way. The hierarchy in place is fixed because people are born into ascribed status and no one is allowed to move up the ladder. If a slave is at the very bottom of the hierarch, we will always remain there with no chance of bettering his social
The first class was composed of the monarchs or kings who were the owners of the land. Then, these leased the land off to a lord and they owned castles. Lords ruled over the peasants and knights. And the peasants were the ones who worked hard on the land and produced food, while knights were also peasants but they served their lord’s army. Specifically, the social dimension of feudalism consisted of manorialism, a strict hierarchy and reciprocity. Manorialism is an economic system by which the Lord of the land exploited the serfs or tenants who worked his estate, or fief. Villains had to work land in order to use it and feed themselves. A “holding” is a name for a large piece of land, which is like a county. Villains live in holdings and work the land under manorialism. This is where reciprocity comes into play. Reciprocity is a system of obligations and benefits. This is found in the Character of Liberties document where knights receive a special privilege. Henry I say, “(…) to those knights who render military service for their lands I grant my own gift that the lands of their demesne ploughs be free from all payments and all labor.” If knights offer military service, they will enjoy benefits granted by the king. Only knights, due to the hierarchy, are able to benefit from the king in such a way. The hierarchy in place is fixed because people are born into ascribed status and no one is allowed to move up the ladder. If a slave is at the very bottom of the hierarch, we will always remain there with no chance of bettering his social