Feudalism was the social structure in the Middle Ages. The exact definition of feudalism is “the dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (villeins or serfs) were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection (Google).” I will be discussing the “pyramid of power” some of the roles the people played such as: knight, serf, and noble, and the advantages and disadvantages.
The pyramid of power in feudalism was, from most powerful to least, the Pope, followed by monarchs, nobles, knights and vassals, then …show more content…
The knights were pretty much the army of feudalism. The knights owned land from the noble called fiefs, and on the knight had peasants and serfs of his own on his fief. The knight had his own castle on the fief. If the noble decided to pay a visit the a knight, the knight would have to accommodate the noble, and all of his party. That means the knight would have to serve the noble’s party the best food he had and the best rooms in the castle with toiletries.
The life of a serf was a hard one. You had to do lots of work to support you and your family, and give a portion of your harvest to the noble of that manor. Serfs usually had very bad housing and usually had simple clothes. The men wore tunics and stockings and the women wore long gowns and sleeveless tunics. The serf’s clothes were almost never washed. Except for the underwear.
Nobles were people that lived in luxury. They almost always had food like onions and pork. Nobles were the third most powerful people, under the Pope and the monarch, so they would have to be addressed with sincere respect. The people living on the manor would refer to the noble, when they were talking directly to the noble, as “my lord.” If a noble decided to visit a vassal, the noble would be treated like it was his own castle. The noble would send a knight or vassal to collect some of a serf’s harvest. In turn the knight would keep an amount per peasant or serf and give the rest
The pyramid of power in feudalism was, from most powerful to least, the Pope, followed by monarchs, nobles, knights and vassals, then …show more content…
The knights were pretty much the army of feudalism. The knights owned land from the noble called fiefs, and on the knight had peasants and serfs of his own on his fief. The knight had his own castle on the fief. If the noble decided to pay a visit the a knight, the knight would have to accommodate the noble, and all of his party. That means the knight would have to serve the noble’s party the best food he had and the best rooms in the castle with toiletries.
The life of a serf was a hard one. You had to do lots of work to support you and your family, and give a portion of your harvest to the noble of that manor. Serfs usually had very bad housing and usually had simple clothes. The men wore tunics and stockings and the women wore long gowns and sleeveless tunics. The serf’s clothes were almost never washed. Except for the underwear.
Nobles were people that lived in luxury. They almost always had food like onions and pork. Nobles were the third most powerful people, under the Pope and the monarch, so they would have to be addressed with sincere respect. The people living on the manor would refer to the noble, when they were talking directly to the noble, as “my lord.” If a noble decided to visit a vassal, the noble would be treated like it was his own castle. The noble would send a knight or vassal to collect some of a serf’s harvest. In turn the knight would keep an amount per peasant or serf and give the rest