Fief

Shogunate, it was not stable and secure in the beginning. There were still people that did not consent to the Tokugawa rule. The Tokugawa took the fiefs resulting in the rebellion of the samurais. “The Tokugawas who destroyed their rice-bowls, privileges and families by confiscating the fiefs of their lords on different grounds or by reducing the size of the fiefs” (Sakoku Policy). This later resulted in the Shimabara Rebellion and the samurais were abandoned. However the Tokugawa were able to…

The Middle Ages lasted from around the 5th century until the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. After the fall of Rome, the government or or no single state tried to reunite the people who lived on the European continent. The Catholic Church soon tried to take over and help reunite the people. The Catholic Church was a big part of Europe. It was the only church in Europe during this time so it had a major…

of their own land. Their territories were known as fiefs. They ruled like kings through a form of government known as feudalism. Under feudalism, a king gave a fief in return for a vassal’s loyalty and service. The vassal promised to protect the king and fight in his army as a knight.…

In medieval Europe, a fief was a piece of land granted to someone who vowed to provide a specified military service. 9. Fiefs were given to vassals, or sworn supporters of the king or lord who were committed to giving military service. 10. The Pope was the leader of the papacy, which was the dominant government of the Roman…

A Comparison of Japanese and European Feudalism Feudalism is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “the system of political organization prevailing in Europe from the 9th to about the 15th centuries having as its basis the relation of lord to vassal with all land held in fee and as chief characteristics homage, the service of tenants under arms and in court, wardship, and forfeiture.” Feudalism dictated much of the Medieval era in Europe, but lasted much longer, and more successful, in Japan,…

Feudalism Feudalism was a complex form of government in medieval times that can be characterized in many different ways. Andrew Smith, author of “Feudalism vs Manorialism”, puts it concisely, “Feudalism was characterized by the granting of fiefs, chiefly in the form of land and labor, in return for political and military services - a contract sealed by oaths of homage and fealty”. The feudal structure was crucial to the survival of the Europeans after the devastating fall of the Roman Empire.…

oaths and contracts between a lord and its vassals (Biel 9). With it, came trust. If you didn’t trust the person, they weren’t given the better jobs, or given more to govern over. "The earliest fiefs given to vassals by their lords were gifts such as armor, weapons, or horses. By the year 1000, the typical fief had become a parcel of land" (Biel 9). Among peasants, the illiterate ones of the feudal system, contracts didn’t exactly ensure one keeping his side of the deal. Along with the ownership…

The definition of feudalism you are likely find in a 21st century textbook is that it was the dominant form of political organization in medieval Europe. It was a system of hierarchy pertaining to social relationships wherein a lord granted land to a free man, who in turn swore fealty to his lord as a vassal and agreed to protect the land as well as other service. In the feudal system, a vassal could also be a lord, granting portions of the land he holds for his lord to other free vassals. The…

invasions led to a central government that had little power and influence. Feudalism seemed like a good way to fix all of the disorganization, but there ended up being many fights between the different social classes and people who lived on different fiefs. Feudalism impacted all areas of European life, but it mainly influenced the economic side of Europe. The fact that they were all treated differently…

Let 's go back to approximately 1500 years ago, when the Middle Ages, or Dark Ages, began. During this era, life changed drastically for several Europeans. Not only did education and politics slowly wither away from people’s lives, but the economy broke down completely and left many citizens in an appalling situation. Without a strong and central government, the people had to take on a new approach, to ensure that societies and villages could run smoothly again. This new idea was called the…