The Feudal State

From the ashes of the Roman Empire rose the feudal States of Medieval Europe. The feudal States were real estates, for feudalism did not know the meanings of Statehood. With the fall of Rome, the idea of a central authority and sovereignty vanished. The nobles and princes of the Germanic tribes carved out kingdoms and principalities of their own, big or small. But they did not possess absolute authority over their lesser nobles and princes.

Instead of it, they created bonds of loyalty based on reciprocal rights and duties between the lord and his vassals. It was a personal relationship. The lord protected the vassal in the enjoyment of his fief or estate, for which the vassal rendered military service and paid economic dues to his lord. The lord was called a duke or a king or an emperor, as the case may be, but he did not possess absolute authority over his vassals or nobles. The feudal State was a son of loose aristocracy of the feudal barons and princes. The result was confusion and conflicts in law and authority, therefore absence of both unity and sovereignty.

The feudal State was a class society, divided into two classes: the class of the ruling nobility who possessed all lands, and the class of the down-trodden serfs and peasants who tilled them. Every noble possessed at least a village as his fief; all the peasants who lived in the village were his serfs. Feudal relations existed between the noble and his serfs. He was to protect them while they were to cultivate his lands and provide him with food and clothes, etc.

They could not leave his village, nor marry without his permission. So feudalism did not grant liberty to the individual nor created unity in the State. It did not know common citizenship or central authority. It was based on personal loyalty and allegiance to the immediate lord. At the end of the Middle Ages in Europe, feudalism changed, when one of the feudal chiefs, dukes or Kings, became strong and subdued other noble and lords. In this way he transformed the feudal estate into a State. This change destroyed the medieval, feudal State and created the modern national State.

 

  • Add Your Comment

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.