The feudal structure: the emergence and characteristics

Feudalism was an integral part of the European Middle Ages. In this socio-political system, large landowners enjoyed enormous powers and influence. The support of their power was enslaved and disenfranchised peasants.

The origin of feudalism

In Europe, the feudal system arose after the fall of the Western Roman Empire at the end of the 5th century AD. E. Together with the disappearance of the old ancient civilization, the era of classical slavery was left behind. In the territory of the young barbarian kingdoms that emerged on the site of the empire, new social relations began to take shape.

The feudal system appeared because of the formation of large-scale landed property. Influential and rich aristocrats, close to royal power, received allotments, which with each generation only multiplied. At the same time, the bulk of the West European population (peasants) lived in the community. By the 7th century there was a significant property stratification within them. The communal land passed into private hands. Those peasants who did not have allotments were poor, dependent on their employer.

The Serpent of the Peasantry

Independent peasant farms of the early Middle Ages were called allods. At the same time, conditions for unequal competition developed, when large landowners oppressed their opponents in the market. As a result, the peasants were ruined and voluntarily passed under the patronage of aristocrats. So gradually the feudal system arose.

It is curious that this term appeared not in the Middle Ages, but much later. At the end of the 18th century, in revolutionary France feudalism was called the "old order" - the period of the existence of absolute monarchy and nobility. Later the term became popular among scientists. For example, Karl Marx used it. In his book "Capital" he called the feudal system a precursor of modern capitalism and market relations.

Benefits

The state of the Franks became the first in which feudalism manifested itself. In this monarchy, the emergence of new social relations accelerated due to benefices. So called the state's salaries from the state servicemen - officials or military. At first it was assumed that these allotments would belong to the person for life, and after his death, the authorities could again dispose of the property at their discretion (for example, to hand over to the next applicant).

However, in the IX-X centuries. Free land fund is over. Because of this, property gradually ceased to be one-on-one and became hereditary. That is, the owner could now transfer the flax (land allotment) to his children. These changes, first, increased the dependence of the peasantry on their overlords. Secondly, the reform strengthened the significance of middle and small feudal lords. They for a long time became the basis of the Western European army.

Peasants who lost their own allods, took land from the feudal lord in exchange for the obligation to perform regular work on its plots. Such a temporary use in the jurisdiction was called a prelar. The big owners were not interested in driving the peasants off the ground completely. The established order gave them a noticeable income and became the basis for the welfare of the aristocracy and the nobility for several centuries.

Strengthening the power of feudal lords

In Europe, the peculiarities of the feudal system were also in the fact that large landowners eventually received not only large lands, but also real power. The state transferred to them various functions, including judicial, police, administrative and tax. Such royal letters became a sign that the land magnates were getting immunity from any interference in their powers.

Peasants against their background were helpless and disenfranchised. Landowners could abuse their power, without fear of state intervention. So, in fact, a feudal and feudal system actually appeared, when peasants were forced to labor obligations without looking back to the law and previous agreements.

Barschina and the quitrent

Over time, the duties of dependent poor people have changed. There were three kinds of feudal rent: corvée, natural and natural money. Darovoi and forced labor was especially common in the early Middle Ages. In the XI century the process of economic growth of cities and development of trade began. This led to the spread of monetary relations. Before that, the same natural products could have been in place of the currency. This economic order was called barter. When the money spread throughout Western Europe, the feudal lords switched to a financial quitrent.

But even so, the large estates of aristocrats in trade were rather sluggish. Most of the products and other goods produced in their territory were consumed within the farm. It is important to note here that the aristocracy used not only the labor of the peasantry, but also the work of artisans. Gradually the share of the land of the feudal lord in his own household decreased. Barons preferred to give land to dependent peasants and live off their dues and corvee.

Regional Features

In most countries of Western Europe feudalism was finally formed by the eleventh century. Somewhere this process ended earlier (in France and Italy), somewhere - later (in England and Germany). In all these countries, feudalism was almost the same. The relations of the big landowners and peasants in Scandinavia and Byzantium differed somewhat.

Has its own characteristics and social hierarchy in medieval Asian countries. For example, the feudal system in India was characterized by great state influence on large landowners and peasants. In addition, there was no classic European serfdom. The feudal system in Japan was characterized by an actual dual power. With the shogunate, the shogun had even more influence than the emperor. This state system was kept in the layer of professional soldiers who received small land allotments - samurai.

Increase production

All historical socio-political systems (slave system, feudal system, etc.) changed gradually. Thus, at the end of the eleventh century, slow production growth began in Europe. He was associated with the improvement of working tools. At the same time, there is a division of the specializations of workers. It was then that artisans finally separated from the peasants. This social class began to settle in cities that grew with the buildup of European production.

The increase in the number of goods led to the spread of trade. The market economy began to take shape. An influential merchant class appeared. Merchants began to join the guild in order to protect their interests. In the same way artisans formed city shops. Until the XIV century, these enterprises were advanced for Western Europe. They allowed artisans to remain independent of the feudal lords. However, with the beginning of accelerated scientific progress at the end of the Middle Ages, the shops became a relic of the past.

Peasant uprisings

Of course, the feudal social system could not but change under the influence of all these factors. The boom of cities, the growth of monetary and commodity relations - all this took place against the backdrop of the strengthening of the people's struggle against the oppression of large landowners.

Peasant uprisings became an ordinary event. All of them were brutally suppressed by the feudal lords and the state. The instigators were executed, and ordinary participants were punished with additional duties or torture. Nevertheless, gradually, thanks to insurrections, the peasants' personal dependence began to decrease, and cities became a stronghold of the free population.

The struggle of feudal lords and monarchs

The slave-owning, feudal, capitalist system - all of them, one way or another, influenced the state power and its place in society. In the Middle Ages, large landowners (barons, graphs, dukes) practically ignored their monarchs. Regularly there were feudal wars, in which aristocrats figured out the relationship between themselves. At the same time, the royal power did not interfere in these conflicts, and if it interfered, it could not stop the bloodshed because of its weakness.

The feudal system (the heyday of which fell on the XII century) led to the fact that, for example, in France, the monarch was considered only "the first among equals." The state of things began to change with the build-up of production, popular uprisings, etc. Gradually, in the West European countries, nation states with a solid royal power emerged, which was gaining more and more signs of absolutism. Centralization became one of the reasons why the feudal system remained in the past.

The development of capitalism

The gravedigger of feudalism was capitalism. In the 16th century, rapid scientific progress began in Europe. He led to the modernization of working equipment and the entire industry. Thanks to the great geographical discoveries in the Old World, they learned about new lands lying overseas. The appearance of a new fleet led to the development of trade relations. There were unprecedented goods on the market.

At this time, the leaders of industrial production were the Netherlands and England. In these countries there were manufactories - enterprises of a new type. They employed wage labor, which was also divided. That is, the manufactories employed trained specialists - first and foremost artisans. These people were independent of the feudal lords. So there were new types of production - cloth, cast-iron, printing, etc.

Decomposition of feudalism

Together with the manufactories the bourgeoisie was born. This social class consisted of proprietors who owned the means of production and large capital. Initially, this layer of the population was small. Its share in the economy was tiny. At the outset of the Middle Ages, the bulk of manufactured goods appeared in peasant holdings, dependent on feudal lords.

However, gradually the bourgeoisie gained momentum and became richer and more influential. This process could not but lead to a conflict with the old elite. Thus, in the 17th century, social bourgeois revolutions began in Europe. The new class wanted to consolidate its own influence in society. This was done with the help of representation in the highest state bodies (General States, Parliament), and so on.

The first was the Netherlands revolution, which ended with the Thirty Years' War. This uprising was also of a national character. Residents of the Netherlands got rid of the power of the mighty dynasty of the Spanish Habsburgs. The next revolution took place in England. It also received the name of the Civil War. The result of all these and subsequent similar upheavals was the abandonment of feudalism, the emancipation of the peasantry and the triumph of a free market economy.