FREEMEN IN FEUDALISM IN THE MIDDLE AGES FREE
They could, however, save enough money to free themselves.
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Slaves did the hardest work and probably received poor clothes and food. They were often put to death when they could no longer work. Slaves, who were most often taken in raids, were the lowest rank of Norse society. Women generally took the same societal rank as their fathers, brothers or husbands. He might be a tenant on a farm, working the land and doing farm work in exchange for room and board. A man might be among the medieval freemen, for instance, but not own any property. There were richer and poorer in each category. Within these three broad categories were many gradations and degrees. In return, the jarl’s retainers were expected to support him, go with him on raids and follow him into battle.
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Jarls protected the honor, prosperity and security of their followers. A jarl’s retainers or followers expected to be rewarded with good food, drink and clothing as well as with treasure and a share of land.
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Jarls were rich, and held their wealth in property, number of followers, treasure, ships and estates. Jarls, too, might become strong and rich enough to make himself a king, or they might lose much of what they owned and move down into the ranks of the karls. He might then become among the medieval freemen, but he probably wouldn’t be able to improve his circumstances much from there. A slave might be allowed to sell the handicrafts produced in their free time and buy his or her freedom. Medieval freemen might get into debt to the point where he might have to sell himself as a bondsman until he could pay off his debt. While these three classes might have seemed rigid, there were mechanisms for moving both up and down in social status. Kingship, however, didn’t become a strong centralizing force until later. As the Viking Age progressed, power began to centralize in the hands of a few strong leaders, who became the kings of Sweden, Norway and Denmark beginning in the 9th century. And the medieval freemen were among the few who, over time, could move among classes, at least among the lower ones. There were three broad social classes: the nobles or jarls, the middle class or karls and the slaves or thralls. The feudal system was also characterized by the traditions of chivalry and knighthood, with their emphasis on honor and service.In the early Viking Age, no national kings existed. In the feudal regime, where the judges and executors of civil law were usually illiterate, custom and law were largely one and the same. Practically, the king was elevated by war, inheritance or election. Theoretically, the king was the vassal of God and governed by divine right. The secular feudal regime was headed by the king, the lord of all vassals. By the 12th century, the Church was a feudal and hierarchical structure of mutual protection and service headed by the pope. At the top of the feudal hierarchy were the church and the king, as the feudal system had both secular and religious regimes. The power of the landed aristocracy created by this system lasted until the Industrial Revolution. In the Middle Ages, land proprietorship and management became the sole source of wealth. The barons in feudal Europe often owned more than one manor or estate. The freemen included nobles, clerics, professionals, most merchants, artisans, and peasants who owned their land with little or no obligation to any feudal lord. Free serfs built villages around the baronial villas. The serf often tilled a plot of land owned by a lord or Baron.
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Originally, feudal societies were composed of slaves, serfs, and freemen. Although the origins of the feudal system lay in Italy and Germany, its most characteristic development came in France. Thus, under the Feudal System, European society was divided into two distinct classes, those who were landholders and those who were tied to the land.Īfter the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Barbarian tribes introduced feudalism into Europe. However, in practice, the feudal system was the economic dependence and military support of the common man to his superior in return for protection. Essentially, the Feudal System granted large tracts of land to lords, who offered the protection of their estate and their court to those who swore allegiance to them. Its structure varied from nation to nation and manor to manor. The feudal system lasted for approximately six centuries.