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When great empires fall, the long-established systems of power fall with them. As cities burnt, rural and agricultural societies lost the metropolitan political machines that kept their commerce, trade, and livelihoods running.
Feudalism was a social structure that reigned supreme for hundreds of years in different parts of the world at different times. In most regions where feudalism occurred, it was the connecting bridge between ancient empires and modern capitalist society.
The terms "vassal," and "serf" are often used interchangeably, but there are important differences between these two groups that made up the feudal peasant classes. Serfs are the peasants who physically worked farmland, keeping barely enough of their harvests to feed themselves and giving the lion's share to their superiors. Vassals, on the other hand, while still considered part of the peasantry, served as the middlemen between the serfs and the nobility. Vassals often owned small plots of their own land, and were responsible for collecting crops and taxes from the serfs.
In every place that feudalism developed, it was preceded by the fall of a great and powerful empire. In Western Europe, for example, feudalism can be traced back to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
It is often hard to pinpoint the exact reasons and events that led to a certain social era in history, but, since feudalism developed independently in numerous regions at various times, it is easy to track the similarities in the histories of these societies.
Feudalism also reigned for centuries in India, Eastern Europe, and East Asia. For instance, the feudal era of Japan lasted for around 700 years, after over 1,000 years of imperial rule.
One of the primary differences between feudal society and modern society is the concept of ownership. Nearly all of the land in a feudal kingdom, or fiefdom, was owned by the local royalty. The land was split into segments called fiefs, that peasants were allowed to inhabit in exchange for a life of unpaid labor in order to feed the manors and castles of the upper castes. Small plots of land, known as "commons," were available to the serfs to use for their personal crops and survival. In feudal society, serfs owned nothing. It is, however, important to note the difference between serfs and indentured servants and slaves. While it is true that serfs were denied the right of ownership, they were granted a degree of autonomy that made them unable to be traded, bought, or sold.
In all cases of feudalism, surviving members of nobility scrambled for some semblance of control in the new, anarchic landscape they found themselves in. New kings and kingdoms appeared, claiming territories as their own and doing with them as they pleased, now that they had escaped the grip of imperial bureaucracy.
The feudal period in Western Europe is most associated with the Middle and Dark Ages, but, as previously mentioned, some scholars argue it can be traced back to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
The Gupta dynasty, which reigned for 200 years between the 4th and 6th centuries CE, adopted a policy of "complete non-interference," putting land rights entirely in the hands of the lords and vassals of the empire, requiring only taxes in return. This caused both the ruling and land-owning classes to thrive, but only for a time, until the complete authority of the landowners made the imperial authorities obsolete.
In Eastern Europe, feudalism was also indirectly caused by the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the far less organized rule of the Byzantines. Feudalism in the east of Europe took on a shape similar to Western feudalism, although its fiefdoms may have been even less 'successful' than those in France and England. There were other striking differences as well.
The rise of feudalism in India is unique in that, although accompanied by the fall of an empire, it was introduced by that very same empire in an attempt to divide the burden of bureaucracy throughout its lands.
Some scholars argue that there was no "true" form of feudalism in Eastern Europe, based on the argument that hereditary chains of royalty were not as common, nor was there a middle class of knights to speak of in many places. Regardless, the three pillars of feudalism—lords, vassals, and fiefs—were present and prominent in the region for centuries.
China's journey through feudalism occurred much earlier than the rest of the world's. Beginning in the Shang dynasty of the second millennium BCE, a feudalist political system known as Fengjian was practiced for thousands of years, up until the early 20th century.
The widespread poverty and oppression of feudalism in Western Europe is often overshadowed by romantic tales of chivalrous knights and gallant kings. In reality, conflict between fiefdoms was far less common than conflict between revolting peasants and the knights whose primary job, as opposed to saving princesses, was to keep the peasants docile and productive.
Japan, which has been 'ruled,' to various degrees, by an emperor since around 600 BCE, broke into numerous feudal factions after the rise of the samurai warrior class, who vehemently defended the nobility that employed them, even against the empire. As the empire lost its influence, regional shogunate daimyō lords came to control their respective lands with the help of their large and highly respected samurai warrior class. Below the samurai was the commonplace middle class of vassals, and the lower class of farmers, merchants, and artisans. There was, however, a class so far below the rest it wasn't even considered part of the official four-tiered class system: the burakumin, or "village people." These included butchers, actors, and criminals. These people were completely ignored by the rest of society.
Thanks to the cultural fascination with samurai and seppuku, feudal Japan is likely the second-most discussed era of fiefdom in history. Starting around the 10th century CE and lasting until the 18th century, the Japanese feudal era shared many similarities with European feudalism, but also diverged in some striking ways.
Fengjian was more complex than later forms of feudalism. The importance that Confucianism placed on education and wisdom created an additional member of the feudal middle class: the gentry. Merchants were also a unique addition to Chinese feudal society, and while they were still considered peasants for many centuries, their existence was necessary in a feudal society as large as China's.
The decline of feudalism is a mirror image of its rise. New centralized powers and the world's first nations reigned in the power of the kings and lords of regional fiefdoms, and a gradually more organized working class became too powerful to oppress.
In Europe, the Bubonic Plague was a pivotal moment in the course of feudalism. As the Black Death tore through Europe, the peasantry that feudal lords depended on so completely was decimated.
The Black Death is of course one of the worst tragedies in history, but there was one silver lining: for the first time in centuries, there was a shortage of labor, putting the power into the hands of the laborers. This shift would lay the groundwork for Europe's most important revolutions and would usher in a new era of civilization.
Another big step in the transition between feudalism and nation states was the signing of the Magna Carta in 1205 CE. Signed between King John of England and a group of barons (feudal lords), this hugely influential document made peace between the growing central power of the king of England and the now, suddenly far less powerful, barons. As a result, serfs also began to gain more autonomy and more leverage in society.
After thousands of years of constant feudalism under various dynasties, Chinese feudalism finally came to an end with the 1911 Revolution. After years of conflict between the ruling Qing dynasty and the people of China, the dynasty, along with the Chinese system of monarchy and feudalism, fell to the ground. From its ashes rose the Republic of China, the precursor to today's People's Republic of China.
The modern era of the West came screaming into existence with the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. What started as a peasant's revolt, disturbed by the incompetence of the French ruling class, turned into an complete overhaul of society, banishing feudalism and the monarchy in France once and for all.
Just as empires rose and fell across the world, so did feudalism. The most famous and most researched period of feudalism is that of Western Europe, during the Middle Ages. But it has occurred in many other places.
In India, the "complete non-interference" policy came to an end concurrent with the Mughal conquest of the Indian subcontinent. Indian feudalism had been weakened by uncaring landowners who bore little-to-no allegiance to their respective lords, and as the Mughal Empire swept across the land, imperial rule once again took the place of feudalism.
After close to 800 years of shogunate feudalism, roaming samurai, and an effectively meaningless imperial court, the power of empire returned in full force during the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Emperor Meiji was able to rebuild Japan's imperial army and place all of the island back under imperial control after going to war with the shogunates and daimyos who were weakened by centuries of fighting amongst themselves.
Classical feudalism may be a thing of the past, but remnants of this unfair and uncivilized political structure can be seen throughout today's most 'progressive' powers. Knowing what we know today about feudalism, it is easy to see how many scholars use the concept of "neo-feudalism" to describe the situations of working classes around the world. Low-income workers are, after all, forced to give the lion's share of their wages to landlords and other entities who keep necessities like heat and electricity behind a paywall. Terms change, and kings become prime ministers or presidents and corn becomes coin, but is history really that far behind us?
Sources: (Owlcation) (Unacademy) (ThoughtCo.)
See also: How did normal people survive winter in the Middle Ages?
While the balance of power in feudalism was profoundly imbalanced, there did still exist a middle class. Under the monarchs and nobility, and above the peasant class, were the groups of clergy members and knights, who were held in high esteem under the philosophy of chivalry. Feudal societies outside of Europe had an extremely similar, if not identical, middle class. In Japan, for example, samurai lived under the code of bushido, which was, in effect, Eastern chivalry.
Feudalism, depending on who you ask, evokes images of knights in shining armor, decadent castle feasts, lonely samurai, and hardworking peasants tending the fields. But while there were certainly knights, castles, peasants, and fields, it wasn't all so simple or idyllic. In truth, feudalism is one of the many things that made Europe's Dark Ages so dark, and held back societal and technological progress in regions around the world. While it is seen by many historians as a necessary step between the ages of ancient empires and the modern world we find ourselves in today, the transition wasn't exactly graceful or pretty. Feudalism was a time of greed and uncivilized opulence for a small ruling class, and an era of endless labor and destitute living conditions for the rest of society.
So, how did these times of darkness come about, and how did they lead to the societies we live in today? Read on to find out.
Serf and turf: A history of feudalism around the world
What was life under feudalism really like?
LIFESTYLE Dark ages
Feudalism, depending on who you ask, evokes images of knights in shining armor, decadent castle feasts, lonely samurai, and hardworking peasants tending the fields. But while there were certainly knights, castles, peasants, and fields, it wasn't all so simple or idyllic. In truth, feudalism is one of the many things that made Europe's Dark Ages so dark, and held back societal and technological progress in regions around the world. While it is seen by many historians as a necessary step between the ages of ancient empires and the modern world we find ourselves in today, the transition wasn't exactly graceful or pretty. Feudalism was a time of greed and uncivilized opulence for a small ruling class, and an era of endless labor and destitute living conditions for the rest of society.
So, how did these times of darkness come about, and how did they lead to the societies we live in today? Read on to find out.