Feudal society WESTERN EUROPE

- The foundation of the medieval economy, as well as in ancient times, is agriculture

- Late Roman society: landowners, labor - column (tenants) and edges, there are

More and free people who are engaged in different crafts, trade, soldiers, etc.

- Early Middle Ages: A new layer of landowners, to the members of warrior

family Germanic kings, part of the old Roman landowners who remained loyal

new ruler, could be held, with the dependent labor on estates, appear

and free peasants, mostly immigrant Germans (and other nations) who have less

possessions, sufficient for survival.

- In the early Middle Ages dominates trade in goods (natural economy), money

There are more like accounting unit, as less cash, cash dispose

only the richest of the gold and silver buying luxury goods from Byzantine and Arab

countries.

- Rulers paid their officials and military land, ie. Feud (lazy)

- To IX. century gradually appear feudal and vassal-senior relations

- IX-XI. st. classic era of feudalism in Western Europe

- Feud: land assets is regulated so that it is divided into a part that directly belongs

holder-feudal and the part that is assigned to the enjoyment of dependent peasants - serfs.

- In the early Middle Ages feud is autarkic (self-sufficient) economic units,

produces enough food and crafts homemade for your needs,

however, production surplus is very small or non-existent, it is a bad trade

developed

- The origin of the serfs (process komendacije): the era of wars and hunger free peasants with

small land compelled the surrender (sell) their own possession wealthy holder

In order to maintain the life, over time the number of peasants is growing and the number of small free

holders fall, also, gradually clears a legal difference between a farmer and columns

(Landless-tenant)
- In some countries (eg, England and northern Europe), free peasants were able to take place

as a strong social stood until the end of the Middle Ages, classical feudalism strongest

expressed in France, on the Mediterranean long survives colonate

- Serfs against feudal obligations are not the same in all countries; It is common for pressure -

tilling the land belonging directly feudal and a certain part of the yield with kmetskog

selišta

- Leno: indivisible landed ruler who gives the citizen the lifelong use,

this it then transferred to its successor (which has the same obligations to the ruler)

- Vassal-senior relationship: lifelong contract of two free people of which would

powerful protect weaker gotten something in return, entering into such a contract constituted

is a kind of ritual, a vassal could get lazy from seniors, but not necessarily, if it is already

a country already

- Senior vassal provides legal and physical protection, the vassal is required senioru give soldiers in

the event of war or a pay certain agreed fee

- Someone's vassal could have their own banners, such as some senior could have

own seniors, even the weaker vassal king could be a powerful king

- Feudal pyramid (king - lords - medium nobility - lower nobility (Knights) -

freelancers - serfs)

- There is a church that has a special political and economic relations with individual rulers

and their vassals and lands with serfs

- Medieval Europe (after the Carolingian) was not a Europe of national states but

Europe fiefdoms of different sizes between which existed a complex, including multiple

vassal-senior relationships, the kingdom of the country with a weak central authority