Feudalism

 

In the 9th century Charlemagne, after becoming the emperor of the Sacred Roman Empire, resumed the barbaric sovereign custom to give feuds to the most deserving warriors. This way medieval feudalism was born. Feudalism is a medieval form of government according to which the king, the emperor or a great landowner would organize the work of his subjects through a hierarchy of persons who would not be rewarded with gold, but with lands. The feudal society was divided into three classes: the king, the feudal lords and the serfs. Feudal lords were the owners of the land, which they ruled both politically and militarily instead of the state. They would divide their land among the peasants, who had all the means to till it at their disposal. Feudal lords would administrate the justice for all the inhabitants and oblige villages to use their own mills, ovens, taverns… forbidding every form of competition. They imposed taxes on trade, tolls on roads and bridges and expected ordinary and extraordinary work services and taxes. In such conditions social turnover and the rise of social groups or individuals were difficult and slow.