Examples of feudalism
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Examples of feudalism are helpful to fully understand feudalism and feudal society. Feudalism was practiced in many different ways, depending on location and period, thus a high-level encompassing conceptual definition does not always provide a reader with the intimate understanding that detailed historical examples provide. [citation needed]
Western European feudalism
10th century Normandy
When Rollo took Normandy from the French King Charles the Simple in 911 the ownership of Normandy was given quasi fundum et allodium — in absolute ownership, allowing Duke Rollo as seigneur to give everyday use of portions of land to his followers, in exchange for recognition of the lords' rights and agreeing to foi et homage - providing services and paying homage.[1] This continued until 1204 when Normandy once again became part of France, except for the Channel Islands where fiefs would in future be held for the English Crown in right of the ducal title.[1]
England
Feudalism in the 12th century
Stafford tenants were themselves
From the perspective of the smallest landholder, multiple networks of tenancy were layered on the same small plot of land. A chronicle of the time says "Different lordships lay on the land in different respects". Each tenant laid claim to a certain aspect of the service from the land.
Magna Carta was used in 1215 by the barons to force King John to respect feudal rights, limiting the power of the King by defying his rights under feudal law.[2]
France
From the 11th century, among the complexities of feudal arrangements, there existed no guarantee that contracts between lord and vassal would be honored, and feudal contracts saw little enforcement from those with greater authority. This often resulted in the wealthier and more powerful party taking advantage of the weaker.
Such was (allegedly) the case of
Hugh: You are my lord, I will not accept a pledge from you, but I will simply rely on the mercy of God and yourself.
William: Give up all those claims over which you have quarreled with me in the past and swear fidelity to me and my son and I will give you your uncle's honor [Chizes] or something else of equal value in exchange for it.
Hugh: My lord, I beg you through God and this blessed crucifix which is made in the figure of Christ that you do not make me do this if you and your son were intending to threaten me with trickery.
William: On my honor and my son I will do this without trickery.
Hugh: And when I shall have sworn fidelity to you, you will demand Chizes castle of me, and if I should not turn it over to you, you will say that it is not right that I deny you the castle which I hold from you, and if I should turn it over to you, you and your son will seize it because you have given nothing in pledge except the mercy of God and yourself.
William: We will not do that, but if we should demand it of you, don't turn it over to us.[3]
While perhaps an embellishment of the truth for the sake of Hugh's cause, and not necessarily a microcosm of the feudal system everywhere, the Agreement Between Lord and Vassal is evidence at least of corruption in feudal rule.
The feudal system was almost completely wiped out in France by the revolution in 1789 by eliminating the rights of the seigneur.[1]
Holy Roman Empire
Portugal
Portugal, originally a part of the
Portugal has its roots in a feudal state in northern
Despite their
North American colonies
Semi-feudal systems accompanied colonialism in some European settlements in North America:
- New York Constitution of 1846
- Seigneurial system of New France (now Canada), which was abolished in 1854 under British rule, though transitional rent payments persisted until 1970
"Semi-feudal" (non-Western European) feudalism
Outside of a medieval European historical context, the concept of feudalism is generally used by analogy (called 'semi-feudal), most often in discussions of
Byzantine Empire
Pronoia, the 11th-century system of land grants in the Byzantine Empire, makes a useful contrast to feudal tenure in the European West. Another distinction between the European West can be made in that paroiki (people who lived and farmed on the land of the Pronoiars) owed no debt or loyalty to the pronoiars (the recipients of the Pronoia).[5] This system was adopted by Serbia and then the Ottoman Empire after the fall of the Byzantine Empire at their hands, which called their land grants timar and the recipients of the land grants "timariots".
Russia
In contrast to Western Europe where feudalism created a strong central power, it took a strong central power to develop feudalism in Russia. A lack of true central power weakened and doomed the Russians to outside domination. The Russians developed its system of land/lord/worker, loosely called feudalism, after it had created a strong central power. Lacking a feudal system of vassal loyalty made it impossible for any prince, early on, to gain enough influence and power to project a strong force against any invaders.
In contrast to other European forms of serfdom and feudalism there was a lack of vassalage and loyalty to the lord whose land the serfs worked. It took a much longer period for feudalism to develop but when it did it took on a much harsher form than elsewhere in Europe. Serfs had no rights whatsoever; they could be traded like livestock by their lords. They had no ownership of anything, including their own families, all of which belonged to their lord.[6]
Another major difference was the lack of independent principalities; this was due to the lack of vassalage. Separate lords did not command their troops to protect their lands.[7]
Armenia
The
Pakistan and Bangladesh
The Taluqdar I or Zamindar I system is often referred to as a feudal or feudal-like system. Originally the system was introduced in the pre-colonial period to collect taxes from peasants, and it continued during colonial British rule. After independence Zamindari was abolished in India and East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh), but it is still present today in Pakistan. In modern times historians have become very reluctant to classify other societies into European models and today it is rare for Zamindari to be described as feudal by academics; it is still done in popular usage, however, but only for pejorative reasons to express disfavor, typically by critics of the system.
China
The
The
After King Ying Zheng of Qin, known to posterity as the
Tibet
Whether Tibet constituted a feudal social system or if peasants could be considered serfs is still debated.[15] Studied districts of Tibet between the 17th and 20th-century show evidence of a striated society with land ownership laws and tax responsibility that resemble European feudal systems. However, scholars have pointed out key differences that make the comparison contested and only limited evidence from that period is available for study.[16] Scholar Geoff Samuel further argued that Tibet even in the early 20th century did not constitute a single state but rather a collection of districts and a legal system of Lhasa with particular land and tax laws did not extend over the entire country.[17]
However, according to Melvyn Goldstein, for the 20th century, the Tibetan political system can not be categorized as feudal.[18]
Japan
The Tokugawa shogunate was a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in the 17th century lasting until 1868. It marks a period often referred to loosely as 'feudal Japan', otherwise known as the Edo period. While modern historians have become very reluctant to classify other societies into European models, in Japan, the system of land tenure and a vassal receiving tenure in exchange for an oath of fealty is very close to what happened in parts of medieval Europe, and thus the term is sometimes used in connection with Japan.[19] Karl Friday notes that in the 21st century, historians of Japan rarely invoke feudalism; instead of looking at similarities, specialists attempting comparative analysis concentrate on fundamental differences.[20]
Modern traces
Scotland
For full discussion, see Scots feudal law
Scots law is quite different from English law. One scholar explained it in 1924 as follows:
- It is a law of Roman and feudal origin which has been adapted in eight centuries by legislation and by judicial decisions to the needs of the Scottish people, and during the last century has, little by little, been combined with the English law by a slow operation of fusion.[21]
The system of land tenure in Scotland was until recently feudal. In theory, this meant that the land was held under The Crown as the ultimate feudal superior. Historically, The Crown would make a grant of land in return for military or other services and the grantees would in turn make sub-grants for other services and so on. Those making grants – the "superiors" – retained a legal interest in the land ("dominium directum"), and so a hierarchical structure was created with each property having several owners, co-existing simultaneously. Only one of these, the vassal, has what in normal language would be regarded as ownership of the property ("dominium utile").
The Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 abolished the feudal system of land tenure in Scotland and replaced it with a system of outright ownership of land. Since the Act became fully effective on 28 November 2004, the vassal owns the land outright, and superiority interests disappeared. The right of feudal superiors to enforce conditions was ended, subject to certain saving provisions of a restricted nature. Feu duty was abolished although compensation may be payable. The delay between royal assent and coming into force was caused by the great number of transitional arrangements needed to be put into place before final abolition and because of the close relation that the 2000 Act has to the Title Conditions Act 2003.[22]
England
Unique in England, the village of
In the New Forest Common Rights created 900 years ago still exist for around 500 commoners who exercise their rights to graze certain animals and collect wood for fuel.[24] Managed by Verderers, who uphold the law in the Court of Verderers.
Sark
The tiny island of
North Korea
North Korea has been described as a feudal state because of its caste system,
See also
- Russian serfdom
- Irish Land League
- Neo-feudalism
- Refeudalization
References
- ^ a b c "Jersey & Guernsey Law Review – June 2008 THE CUSTOMARY LAW about THE FORESHORE (1)" (PDF). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ "Magna Carta in context". Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ Geary, P. (2010). Readings in Medieval History (Fourth ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto.
- ^ a b Bloch, Marc. Feudal Society. Vol. 2. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.
- ISBN 978-0521521901.
- ISBN 9781780233819.
- ISBN 9780691007649.
- ^ Hua, Yu (11 April 2013). "In China, Feudal Answers for Modern Problems". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-52591-6 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 0-520-01440-5.
- ^ "History of the Zhou Dynasty". China Education Center Limited. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ^ Gernet, Jacques (1964). Ancient China – from beginnings to Empire. London: Faber & Faber. pp. 99, 105–6, 115, 122.
- ^ Loewe, Michael (2006). The Government of Qin and Han Empires. Indianapolis: Hackett. pp. 21, 37, 41.
- ISBN 9780674024779.
- ISBN 978-0-520-24928-8
- ^ Childs, Geoff (2003). "Polyandry and population growth in a Historical Tibetan Society". History of the Family. pp. 423–428.
- S2CID 163321743.
- ^ Goldstein, Melvyn (1988). "On the Nature of Tibetan Peasantry". The Tibet Journal. XIII (1): 61–65.
I did not argue in the paper in question that the Tibetan political system of the 20th century should be categorized as a feudal system, and in fact, have specifically rejected that argument in dissertation and in a later paper in which I argued that Tibet possessed a centralized type of state.
- S2CID 145750386.
- .
- ^ H Lévy-Ullmann "The Law of Scotland" (1925) 37 Juridical Review 370-91, quoted in Hector MacQueen, "Private Law, National Identity and the Case of Scotland" (2012) p 12 online[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 9781841130446 – via Google Books.
- ^ Beckett, J. V. (1989). A History of Laxton: England's Last Open Field Village. Oxford. p. 271.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "HISTORY OF THE NEW FOREST NATIONAL PARK" (PDF). Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ Ewen, A. H.; Carteret, Allan R. de (1969). The Fief of Sark. Guernsey: Guernsey Press.
- ^ Harris, Bryan (21 June 2017). "North Korea begins journey from feudalism to crony capitalism". Financial Times.