Western European Feudalism

Feudalism was a system of land distribution and power exchange practiced during the Middle Ages. It depended on the king losing power and the nobles gaining it in exchange for protection. What exactly was this system? Why did it end? Let's explore those questions and more!

Western European Feudalism History

The feudal system has specific terms. Let's look at the right quickly before we go any farther!

The feudal system was an exchange of power that developed in the eighth and ninth centuries and lasted until the fifteenth. The king would give fiefs to the nobles. In exchange, the nobles would pledge their loyalty to the king. They would create armies to protect him and the kingdom if he were attacked. The Nobles would then grant land to lesser nobles or knights in exchange for the vassals providing soldiers. Then the lesser nobles would give land to serfs, and they would work it, providing labor in exchange for protection.

Fig 1: Feudal System Hierarchy

The feudal system made it impossible for the king to centralize power. The king had limited ability to tax because he had to have the approval of the nobles. He couldn't create a standing army because he needed the nobility to raise and maintain it. This means he could not go to war without the nobles' approval.

Conditions in Western Europe that Caused Feudalism

What caused the feudal system to take root in Europe? Let's travel back to the Carolingian Dynasty. Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor and king of the Franks, died in 814. His son Louis the Pious then became emperor. When Louis died, they could not decide which of his sons should be emperor, so the empire was divided into three sections, with each of his sons ruling one.

The three kingdoms were invaded by the Vikings, Muslims, and Magyars. The kings could not defend their kingdoms, so they went to the nobles for help. The nobles agreed to aid the defense of the kingdoms in exchange for land. The king granted them land, and they assisted with the war against the invaders.

Fig 2: Treaty of Verdun

The peasants also went to the nobles for aid. The peasants needed to be protected from the invaders. The nobles protected them in exchange for their labor on the lands. This strategy evolved into the feudal system over the next two centuries.

The Feudal System in Europe Middle Ages

There are three hallmarks of feudalism. The king had to lose power, the economic system had to be based on agriculture, and the social system had to be one where everyone relied on each other to keep the system going. It was a complicated system where the power exchange between the king and nobles prevented them from having a centralized power. Instead, each overlord ran his territory however he deemed to. Most kings had minor authority over their feudal lords.

Let's look at the people who lived outside the feudal system to some degree: clergy and towns. The king granted the clergy land. However, the clergy was not loyal to him but to the pope and the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church was the largest landholder in Europe! They even had their own serfs who paid rent.

The king couldn't tax the Church and was limited in his ability to tax their serfs. Plus, nobles were required to pay a yearly tithe of ten percent of their wealth to the Church. The king had no control over clergy members who committed crimes because they were tried in Ecclesiastical courts.

If the king disagreed and went against the Church, then he could be excommunicated until he realigned with the Church. Excommunication meant that the king was no longer a member of the Church. If this was not enough to get the pope to return to the pope for forgiveness then the pope could issue an interdict, which meant that there would be no religious sacraments–funeral rites, weddings, baptisms, etcetera–performed in the kingdom until the king appeased the pope.

The other group that operated outside of the feudal system were the towns. Towns consisted of people who were not tied to the land. They worked and made profits without farming, and as towns grew, nobles lost power. Towns would eventually create the middle class.

The Collapse of Feudalism in Western Europe

Four events weakened feudalism and led to its collapse in Western Europe.

1. The Avignon Papacy and The Great Schism
2. The Bubonic Plague
3. The Hundred Years' War
4. Evolution of the Town

Let's take a closer look at each of them!

The Avignon Papacy and The Great Schism

In 1309 the Church lost a lot of its territory in Italy and was forced to move its headquarters to Avignon, France. The loss of land meant a loss in income, so the pope sold indulgences to anyone. Before, indulgences were given to the knights who fought in crusades as a token of their doing God's work but now anyone could buy one. They also increased the fees for sacraments. People began to believe that the Church was too greedy and materialistic.

The Avignon Papacy was considered corrupt, but the Great Schism resulted in a greater loss of power. The pope died, and his successor, Urban VI, was wildly unpopular and had to be replaced. The new pope was Clement VII. When Clement and Urban died, two more popes were named, Benedict XIV and Gregory XII. When neither of those popes would step down, a third pope was created, John XXIII. Eventually, John and Gregory stepped down so a different pope, Martin V, could be created.

Benedict was excommunicated, and when he died, another pope was created, Clement VIII, but he stepped down and recognized Martin as pope. The Great Schism lasted from 1337 to 1453 and resulted in a fracture of the power of the Catholic Church. Countries went to war with one another, over which the pope was correct.

Fig 3: Pope Martin V

Bubonic Plague

The first instance of the Bubonic Plague in Europe began in 1346 and continued until 1352 but would continue to resurface in Europe. At least a third of the European population died. A large number of peasants died during the plague, which caused a shortage in labor. Peasants could negotiate better arrangements with lords because they could leave and work for a different lord. This stripped some of the power from the overlords.

Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years War saw the introduction of the English long bow and the decline of knights in favor of soldiers. The English longbow could pierce the armor of knights and gave the English an advantage over the French. Plus, gunpowder was introduced as a weapon. Kings created royal gunpowder workshops to keep the innovation away from the nobility. The army provided by the nobles was replaced with a standing army paid by and loyal to the king.

The nobles lost a lot of power during the Hundred Years' War as kings no longer had to rely on them for soldiers, and gunpowder used in cannons could break down their fortified castles.

Fig 4: Knight

Evolution of the Town

The nobility had been drastically weakened during the 14th century, and many envied the wealth that towns had acquired. They would heavily tax the towns or even raid them. Towns turned to the king for protection and signed charters with him that allowed them to self-govern if they paid taxes to the king. The king also chose middle-class lawyers from these wealthy towns to act as advisors and bureaucrats instead of the nobles. The nobility lost even more power.

Consequences of the Collapse of Feudalism

Kings were able to centralize government as lords lost power. This led to the kingdoms moving forward and evolving. Lords would try to prevent progress but were often unable to. The centralization of power would lead to more powerful kings and different forms of government like royal absolutism and constitutional monarchies.

The Feudal System in Europe Middle Ages in a Nutshell

The feudal system began in the 8th century and lasted until the 14th. It was a power exchange between kings, nobles, knights, and serfs. As Europe evolved and no longer needed feudalism, the king took back power and began centralizing his kingdom.