Feudal Society has its origins in early medieval Germanic (Frankish) society. There was a formative period in the 9th to
11th century, a transformatory period which saw the urban revolution and an expansion, both internally and externally (11th century -1350), and
late feudalism from the Renaissance up to the French Revolution. This chapter exclusively deals with the formative period.
A.) THE FEUDAL ECONOMY
The monetary economy of the Roman Empire was but a distant memory. Coins (of poor quality, both regarding their silver content and their artistict
value) continued to be struck, and feudal rents were accounted for in ROMAN CURRENCY. But in fact, money was used very little; the economy
was based on sustinence, and services more often than not were paid for in goods.
The crucial economic factor was land property. There were two kinds of land : ALLODIAL LAND - land held by the person (family) who owned it
outright, and FEUDAL LAND, land belonging to a FEUDAL LORD, but held by a VASSAL who benefitted from it, and who had sworn an oath of fidelity
(FEUDAL OATH) to his lord, promising military assistance when required. As the market economy was very rudimentary, even the royal court was
organized to produce what it consumed. A king and his COURT would not live in a capital city, but move from one place to another, these places
being a royal palace or a CURTIS. There he and his court would stay until the locally stocked provisions ran out, and he would come back next
year. The offices of the royal court originated from household- offices : there was the keeper of the stables (MARSHAL) which became responsible
for commanding the army in case of war, the royal cup-bearer, the MAYOR of the palace, which became responsible for the administration of the
region etc.
Almost everybody was a farmer. There was little division of labour; this was more developed in the land holdings of MONASTERIES, which were
centres of education and progress. Some SERFS living on monastery land, concentrated on their special talents as barrelmakers, wheelmakers,
bookbinders etc.
B.) WAR AND SOCIETY
Under CHARLEMAGNE, the Frankish Empire had expanded. In the 9th and 10th century, the successor states were in permanent peril of attack - the
SARACENS raided the south, especially the Rhone valley, from their stronghold in FRAXINETUM (Le Freinet). The MAGYARS raided the east, from their
basis in Hungary, and the VIKINGS raided the north and west, coming by boat. For defensive purposes, the few towns were walled, CASTLES and
BRIDGES were established in threatened areas. In addition, a cavalry was established to defeat the enemy in the field .
A Frankish army consisted of foot soldiers - freemen, simple farmers - and of cavalry. Cavalrymen had to keep hoses at their own expense, as well
as acquire armour. They had to spend a lot of time for training their battlehorse (as the horse's instinct leads it to run away from danger). So, only
men with considerable estates could afford to be cavalrymen - noblemen. 10th century bishop ADALBERO OF LAON legitimized the division of society
in three estates by their individual function : The function of the CLERGY (1st estate) was to educate, the function of NOBILITY (2nd estate) to protect,
the function of the COMMONERS (3rd estate) to nourish. According to FEUDAL LAW, these estates were not to mingle. Clergymen were not permitted
to fight nor kill, noblemen were not permitted to trade, commoners were not permitted to buy noble land. There were dress codes for each specific
group. As to castles, the old large mountaintop forts surrounded by earthen walls, intended to house the area's entire population (including the
livestock) in case of attack, had proven ineffective. They were replaced by smaller castles with stone walls, located on steep hilltops or surrounded
by moats, with drawbridge. Such stonen castles could be held by a small number of defenders against a lsarge invading army. As they required a
limited amount of food, they could often outlast the besieging force (as the besieging force, because of large numbers, ran out of food first). As these
castles required enormous effort to build, and the old nobility was notoriously rebellious and irreliable, the feudal lords building castles often
commissioned trusted servants with the defense. In time, these servants rose from the status of serfs to that of noblemen; in German, it was a new
nobility, in German referred to as DIENSTADEL (service nobility).
C.) LAW AND SOCIETY
In 10th century, the law of the successor states of the Carolingian Empire had three roots ; (a) POPULAR LAW, tracing back to pagan times, before the
Frankish conquest. The Frankish Empire did not have a unified law; the various regions were permitted to continue to live under their traditional law
(revised by the Frankish court, to make sure that both the position of the Frankish king and of the Catholic church were respected), (b) CHURCH LAW
and (c) ROYAL LAW. Over time, popular law and royal law amalgamated to worldly law, while church law was kept distinct until the times of the French
Revolution. Church law dealt with affairs regarded as church responsibilities, such as marriage and DIVORCE, the legitimacy of children, HERESY,
sacrileges etc. Worldly law dealt with ordinary crimes such as injury, murder, theft.
These laws were detailed lists of WERGILD (penalty) to be paid, the amount of money to be paid depending on the severity of the crime and the status
of the victim. If the victim was a nobleman, the wergild could be two or three times the sum for a freemen. The application of the law required that both
parties involved, the perpetrator and the victim respectively his family, were willing to accept a peaceful settlement. For it was the right of the harmed
party to seek retaliation by the way of FEUD. At times of weak central authority, such feuds were frequent.
Traditionally, the central unit of Frankish (Germanic) society was the family. If a man was killed, his family had to be compensated for the loss. Land
belonged to the family rather than to the individual; if the man died, it went to his next of kin, for instance his son or brother. The church worked hard
to change the land inheritance law, to make land property individual property. For only if land was individual property could the church hope for the
transfer of land to the church in the will of noblemen fearing for the fate of their soul after death. Monasteries acquired large landholdings this way, and
contributed to the individualization of medieval society.
D.) EXPANSION OF THE FEUDAL SOCIETY
Feudal society originated in the homelands of the Franks, in Belgium, northern France and along the lower Rhine. As the Frankish Empire included
many non-Frankish peoples, feudal law developed as supra-national law ("national" here understood as popular law, the law sets of the individual
peoples, such as the Frisians, Alamanni etc. Feudal law Frankish style was introduced in the christian principalities of Northern Spain, and, by
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR in England in 1066. It was introduced in the kingdoms of Scandinavia and eastern central Europe in the context of their
conversion to christianity. The introduction of feudal law and individual land property meant that Norman noblemen could marry the daughters of
(defeated) Anglo-Saxon noblemen and legally claim their entire estates.
Feudal society had a problem - a constantly growing population. The land property was often split among the sons, and there were always noblemen
which hardly had enough land holdings to afford a noble lifestyle. On the other hand, the expenses increased, as armour became more sophisticated,
as did castle architecture. In order to keep up with growing expenses, noblemen had to extend their landholdings. One way was to acquire more fiefs
by entering the service of another feudal lord. Another was to acquire land by marriage - marry the (if possible only) daughter of another nobleman
and inherit his lands. The third was conquest. After William the Conqueror conquered England, Norman lords pursued a policy of conquest of their own,
beyond the borders of England, in Wales and lower Scotland. Similarly, the nobility of northern Germany expanded into the Slavic lands to the east of
the Elbe.
Also the number of commoners increased, The introduction of the THREE FIELDS ROTATION SYSTEM resulted in better harvests. The hook plough
opened clay soils up to farming; forests were cleared and large regions turned into farmland. Swamps were drained; the FRISIANS in the marshlands
along the coast of the North Sea started to erect DYKES, protecting marshland from hitherto regular flooding. This process is called INTERNAL
EXPANSION. In the 11th century, in some areas the internal expansion approached limits, and commoners migrated to marginal regions in search of
new lands to cultivate, such as Wagrien in eastern Holstein, just conquered from the local heathen Slavs.
E.) THE FEUDAL STATE
At the top of the feudal state was the king. The noblemen, as far as they were holders of royal FIEFS, were bound by FEUDAL OATH. All subjects were
to pay HOMAGE, swear the OATH OF ALLEGIANCE to him. On the other hand, the king had to swear to respect the land's law, and his subjects' individual
PRIVILEGES, before homage was paid to him.
The position of king was hereditary, but required confirmation in form of the CORONATION, conducted by an archbishop, and the inauguration by the
king publicly swearing to keep the laws and privileges, and the nobility paying homage and swearing allegiance. In case the throne was vacant, the
higher nobility took the liberty to elect a new king, thus creating the ELECTIVE KINGDOM. If there were several contenders, a DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM
took place. Only in the 10th century did the kingdoms stabilize, with the effect that at times contenders had to fight over the throne.
The king, when passing a new law, acted in representation of the entire country. When he was engaged in warfare outside of his country, he had to
depend on his personal resources - the income from his royal estates, and the service of those noblemen who were his vassals. But the noblemen
who did not hold royal fiefs were not obliged to participate. However, if the land was threatened by an invasion, the king might require more than his own
resources to meet the challenge. In such an occasion, a DIET was called to assemble. Such a diet would meet in the open, and there a debate was
held as to if and how to assist the king in the defense of the country. At such a diet, clergymen, noblemen and commoners assembled. Requirement
for attendance were free birth and ownership of allodial land. Only land owners were able to contribute materially, The clergy was thus represented by
the abbots of land-owning monasteries, the commoners by wealthy merchants who dominated the cities. For many areas, such Diets are documented
from the early 13th century onward, and their contribution generally lay in the granting of taxes. In the 14th century, these diets were reorganised; they
met (mostly) in 3 ESTATES - the clergy, nobility and 3rd estate. Every estate had to approve the king's request for taxes; in case one estate refused, the
request was denied. These diets form the nucleus of modern parliament.
This page is part of World History at KMLA Last revised on September 18th 2001/i>
