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Middle Ages Feudalism

1467 Words6 Pages

The Middle Ages were an extremely large part of history and were made possible by the governmental system of feudalism. Feudalism was the hierarchical governmental system of obligations in the Middle Ages. Manorialism, supported by feudalism, was the economic system of land ownership in the Middle Ages. The bailiff played an important part in keeping feudalism, manorialism, and therefore the Middle Ages alive. Feudalism was an extremely influential part of the Middle Ages and was supported by the bailiff.
Feudalism was the hierarchical system of political and military obligations in Europe during the Middle Ages. Feudalism had many defining characteristics, including hierarchy and fiefs. The ranks in a feudalistic society (from lowest to highest) …show more content…

The Church was more powerful than the government in the Middle Ages. It became more powerful than the government, as it included and cared about individuals as opposed to society. (lord and Epperly 40-41) The church showed that it had more power than the government with the conflict between Pope Gregory and Emperor Henry, in which religious disagreements between the two led to pope Gregory excommunicating Emperor Henry. The church also managed quite a bit of money, food, and land and provided those as well as faith to the European people. (Ahlin 2-3) After the fall of Rome, the church became one of the only stable organizations, and was looked to for answers during difficult times. (lord and Epperly 41) The Church and Great Chain of Being supported feudalism. The Great Chain of Being is the theory that every living thing has a place in a hierarchical order. (Melani) The chain went from inanimate objects like rocks to elements to plants to animals to humans to angels to God. (Melani) Placement on the chain was determined by how much "spirit" or "matter" that something had. The more spirit something had, the higher it was on the chain. The more matter it had, the lower it was on the chain. this is why God, fully spiritual, is at the top and rocks, fully material, are at the bottom. (Melani) People feared disorder, and it was believed that political rebellion or trying to move on the chain would break it. This is because when lords believed they had the "divine right" to their jobs, rebelling against them was considered a sin towards God. Therefore, the feudal order stayed in place because peasants feared facing the wrath of God by attempting to change position on the great chain of being. This could be enforced because of the Church’s great strength in the Middle Ages. (Melani) The church was a large part of government and feudalism in the Middle

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