In the Low Middle Ages, feudal society was essentially agrarian, so land was the greatest wealth anyone could own, that is, land was the economic base of the feudal system. With regard to political aspects, the monarch was the ultimate and absolute authority; however, feudal lords held military and judicial power and the right to mint their own coins, so the monarch became just a symbolic figure.
The illumination depicts serfs plowing the land of a feudal lord
The feudal society was composed of a well-defined social organization: the clergy performed the functions religious, the nobles exercised the military functions and the serfs produced the means of subsistence and paid the taxes. Serfdom was a very peculiar form of the feudal society system; the serf was a peasant who received the land for his exploitation but did not own it.
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In this sense, the serf was bound to the feudal lord, owing to him fidelity, obedience and personal obligations, as well as the payment of different taxes. Serfs could be ex-slaves, peasants or other free men who were given houses and land to cultivate. These servants were submitted, spontaneously or not, to the power of the great lords.
In this context, the Church, in addition to having a large number of fiefs and consequently being the largest landowner, was responsible for the dissemination of cultural and religious values of the Age Average. In this way she directed and controlled for a long time the mentality of medieval man.
By Lilian Aguiar
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
AGUIAR, Lilian Maria Martins de. "Characteristics of Feudalism"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/caracteristicas-feudalismo.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
