The Three Orders

The Second Order: The Nobility

– Priests considered themselves part of the first order, while the nobles belonged to the second order in the social hierarchy.

– Nobles held significant influence in society due to their control over land, established through the practice of vassalage.

– Vassalage was a system where nobles pledged loyalty to the king, who served as their seigneur (senior), and in return, the king offered protection.

– The vassalage relationship involved formal ceremonies and vows exchanged in a church, often accompanied by symbolic gestures like receiving written charters, staffs, or clods of earth representing the land.

– Nobles enjoyed privileges such as complete control over their properties, the ability to raise feudal levies (troops), holding their own courts, and minting their own currency.

– Nobles owned extensive lands, including their own residences, fields, and pastures, as well as the homes and fields of their tenant-peasants.

– Peasants worked on the noble’s lands, acted as foot soldiers when needed, and also managed their own farms.

The Manorial Estate

– Lords had their own manor-houses and controlled villages where peasants lived. Some lords had authority over hundreds of villages.

– Manorial estates varied in size, ranging from a dozen families to fifty or sixty families.

– The estate provided for most daily needs, including grain cultivation, maintenance of tools and weapons by blacksmiths and carpenters, stonemasons for building upkeep, spinning and weaving by women, and children working in wine-presses.

– The estate encompassed woodlands and forests for hunting, pastures for grazing cattle and horses, a church, and a castle for defense.

– Castles, which became larger residences for knight’s families from the thirteenth century, served as centers of political administration and military power under the feudal system.

– The manor relied on external sources for items like salt, millstones, and metalware.

– Lords seeking luxurious goods and imported furnishings, musical instruments, and ornaments had to acquire them from other regions.

The Knights

– Localized wars in Europe during the ninth century necessitated the rise of knights as skilled cavalry.

– Knights were linked to lords through a system of land grants called “fiefs.” The lord provided land, including a house, church, and other facilities, in exchange for the knight’s protection and military service.

– Knights paid regular fees to their lords and practiced fencing and tactics to maintain their skills.

– Knights could serve multiple lords, but their loyalty primarily lay with their own lord.

– Minstrels, traveling singers, gained popularity in France from the twelfth century. They entertained nobles in manors, often from a minstrels’ gallery, with songs and stories about brave kings and knights.

– Minstrels played a significant role in disseminating tales and legends in a time when literacy was limited and manuscripts were scarce.

The First Order: The Clergy

– The Catholic Church had its own laws, owned lands granted by rulers, and had the power to levy taxes, making it a powerful institution independent of the king.

– The Pope, residing in Rome, headed the western Church.

– Bishops and clerics guided the Christians in Europe and constituted the first “order.”

– Villages typically had their own churches, where people gathered on Sundays for sermons and prayers led by priests.

– Certain restrictions applied to becoming a priest: serfs, physically challenged individuals, and women were prohibited. Priests were also forbidden from marrying.

– Bishops held a position of religious nobility and had access to vast estates and grand palaces.

– The Church collected a tithe, which was a tenth of the peasants’ agricultural produce, and received monetary endowments from the wealthy for their own welfare and the well-being of their deceased relatives.

– Some Church ceremonies mirrored the formal customs of the feudal elite. Kneeling in prayer, with hands clasped and head bowed, imitated the posture of a knight taking vows of loyalty to his lord. The use of the term “lord” for God also reflected feudal culture and found its way into Church practices.

– Feudal customs and symbols were shared between the religious and lay worlds of feudalism.

Monks

– Devout Christians formed religious communities called abbeys or monasteries.

– Monks and nuns took vows of lifelong dedication to prayer, study, and manual labor.

– Monasteries grew in size and had large buildings, schools, hospitals, and landed estates.

– Some monks chose to be friars, moving and preaching among the people.

– By the 14th century, there was growing uncertainty about the purpose and value of monasticism in England.

The Church and Society

– Despite adopting Christianity, Europeans retained beliefs in magic and folk traditions.

– Christmas and Easter gained significance, replacing old pre-Roman and spring festivals.

– Holidays provided relief from work for peasants, allowing them to engage in festivities.

– Pilgrimage to shrines and churches was a common practice among Christians.

The Third Order: Peasants, Free and Unfree

– Cultivators were divided into free peasants and serfs.

– Free peasants were tenants of the lord, providing military service and labor-rent.

– Women and children in peasant families performed various tasks for the lord.

– Peasants were subject to a direct tax called ‘taille,’ while clergy and nobles were exempt.

– Serfs were bound to the lord’s land, giving a portion of their produce and performing labor.

– Serfs had no wages, required permission to leave the estate, and faced restrictions on using certain facilities.

– Lords had control over serfs’ marriages and could charge fees for approving their choices.

England

– Feudalism emerged in England in the 11th century.

– The Angles and Saxons settled in England in the 6th century, giving rise to the name “England.”

– William, the Duke of Normandy, invaded England and defeated the Saxon king in the 11th century.

– France and England frequently clashed in wars over territory and trade.

– William I mapped the land and distributed it to 180 Norman nobles who had migrated with him.

– The nobles became tenants of the king and were required to provide military assistance.

– They granted lands to knights who served them, mirroring their own service to the king.

– Private warfare was prohibited in England.

– Anglo-Saxon peasants became tenants under various levels of landholders.

Factors Affecting Social and Economic Relations

– The feudal system was perceived as stable and unchanging by the clergy and nobility.

– Various processes were gradually transforming the system.

– Environmental changes occurred over time and had subtle effects on the system.

– Changes in agricultural technology and land use had a more pronounced impact.

– These changes influenced and were influenced by the social and economic relationships between lords and vassals.

– The following processes will be examined individually to understand their effects on the feudal system.

The Environment

– From the 5th to the 10th centuries, Europe was predominantly covered with forests, limiting available agricultural land.

– Peasants dissatisfied with their conditions could seek refuge in the forests.

– Europe experienced a cold climatic period during this time, with severe winters and a shortened growing season.

– In the 11th century, Europe entered a warm phase, leading to increased temperatures and a longer growing season.

– The warmer climate allowed for easier cultivation of the soil and expansion of agricultural activities.

– Environmental changes, including a receding forest line, facilitated the expansion of cultivated land in many parts of Europe.

Land Use

– Initially, agricultural technology was primitive, with only wooden ploughs drawn by oxen available to peasants.

– The ploughs were inefficient and unable to fully utilize the soil’s productivity, resulting in labor-intensive farming.

– Fields had to be dug by hand, usually once every four years, requiring significant manual labor.

– Crop rotation was ineffective, with half the land left fallow and the other half planted with winter wheat or rye.

– This system led to soil deterioration and frequent famines, causing hardships and chronic malnutrition.

– Despite the difficulties, lords aimed to maximize their incomes by forcing peasants to cultivate all available land and work beyond their legal obligations.

– Peasants engaged in passive resistance by prioritizing their own fields, retaining more of their harvest, and avoiding unpaid extra services.

– Conflicts arose between peasants and lords over the use of pasture and forest lands, with peasants considering them communal resources while lords claimed them as private property.

New Agricultural Technology

– Technological changes in agriculture during the eleventh century included the use of heavy iron-tipped ploughs and mould-boards for deeper digging and better soil utilization.

– Improved methods of harnessing animals, such as the shoulder-harness, increased their power.

– Water-powered and wind-powered mills became more prevalent, aiding in tasks like milling corn and pressing grapes.

– The switch from a two-field to a three-field system allowed peasants to rotate crops and increase food production.

– Food availability doubled, with the inclusion of crops like peas and beans providing vegetable proteins and animal fodder.

– The average size of peasant farms decreased, allowing for more efficient cultivation and reduced labor requirements.

– Technological changes were often initiated by lords due to their financial resources, but peasants took initiative in extending arable land and setting up small forges and smithies.

– The transition to money-based transactions weakened the personal bonds of feudalism, as lords preferred cash rent and cultivators sold crops for money rather than bartering goods.

– The use of money influenced prices, leading to higher prices during poor harvests.

A Fourth Order? New Towns and Townspeople

– The expansion in agriculture led to population growth in Europe, increasing from roughly 42 million in 1000 to 62 million in 1200 and 73 million in 1300.

– Improved food availability contributed to longer lifespans, with an average European living 10 years longer by the thirteenth century compared to the eighth century.

– Towns began to grow again from the eleventh century as agriculture supported higher population levels. Peasants needed selling centers and access to tools and goods, leading to the development of periodic fairs and small marketing centers that gradually evolved into towns.

– Towns formed around castles, bishops’ estates, or large churches, offering opportunities for paid work and freedom from lordly control, attracting serfs and free peasants seeking independence.

– Many people in towns were free peasants or escaped serfs, providing unskilled labor, while skilled individuals like shopkeepers, merchants, bankers, and lawyers emerged as towns grew.

– Guilds played a crucial role in economic organization, controlling product quality, prices, and sales. Guilds were organized by craft or industry and met in guild-halls for formal functions.

– Trade routes with West Asia developed, Scandinavian and English merchants engaged in trade, and commerce and crafts grew in France.

– Town merchants became wealthy and powerful, rivaling the nobility in influence and power.

Cathedral-towns

– Wealthy merchants made donations to the construction of cathedrals in France during the 12th century.

– Cathedrals were built with labor, materials, and money from various contributors.

– The construction of cathedrals led to the development of small towns around them.
– Cathedrals were designed for optimal acoustics and featured stained glass windows.

– Stained glass windows depicted biblical stories through pictures, serving as a means of communication for illiterate people.

The Crisis of the Fourteenth Century

– Europe’s economic expansion slowed down in the early fourteenth century due to multiple factors.

– Climate change, with colder summers, reduced crop-growing seasons and caused storm damage and flooding.

– Intensive ploughing and land clearance led to soil exhaustion and reduced pasturage.

– Severe famines and cattle deaths occurred between 1315 and the 1320s.

– Trade suffered from a shortage of metal money and reduced silver content in currency.

– The arrival of ships and rats carrying the bubonic plague (Black Death) in the mid-fourteenth century devastated Europe.

– The plague caused a significant reduction in the population, estimated at 20% of the entire European population.

– Cities and enclosed communities were particularly hard-hit by the plague.

– The population of Europe decreased from 73 million in 1300 to 45 million in 1400.

– The resulting depopulation led to a major labor shortage and imbalances between agriculture and manufacturing.

– Agricultural prices dropped, while wage rates increased significantly, with a rise of up to 250% in England after the Black Death.

Social Unrest

– Lords faced a decline in income due to lower agricultural prices and increased labor wages.

– In response, lords attempted to abandon money-contracts and reinstate labor-services, which led to peasant opposition.

– Peasant revolts took place in Flanders (1323), France (1358), and England (1381).

– The intensity of these rebellions in prosperous areas indicated peasants’ determination to protect their previous gains.

– Despite harsh repression, the revolts prevented the complete restoration of old feudal relations.

– The advancement of the money economy made it impossible to reverse the changes.

– Feudal privileges of earlier times could not be reinstated due to the resilience of peasant opposition.

Political Changes

– European kings in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, known as “the new monarchs,” strengthened their military and financial power.

– They established standing armies, permanent bureaucracies, and national taxation.

– The dissolution of feudalism and slow economic growth allowed kings to increase their control over subjects.

– Monarchs introduced professionally trained infantry and artillery, gaining firepower and overcoming aristocratic resistance.

– Increased taxation provided revenue for larger armies and expansion of territories.

Ggc- Opposition to monarchies, including rebellions and wars, often centered around the issue of taxation and regional liberties.

– The nobility shifted tactics and became loyalists, maintaining influence through permanent administrative positions and patron-client relationships.

– Money became important for non-aristocratic elements, like merchants and bankers, to access the court through lending money to the kings.

 – France and England experienced different power structures and developments: France with absolutism and suppression of the Estates-General, while England established a Parliament and underwent political transformations, including the execution of Charles I.

– Today, France has a republican form of government, while England retains a monarchy, reflecting the divergent paths taken after the seventeenth century.

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