Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and

15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. Although derived from the Latin word feodum or feudum (fief), then in use, the term feudalism and the system it describes were not conceived of as a formal political system by the people living in the medieval [2] period. In its classic definition, by Franois-Louis Ganshof (1944), feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key [2] concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs. There is also a broader definition, as described by Marc Bloch (1939), that includes not only warrior nobility but all threeestates of the realm: the nobility, the clerics and the peasantry bonds of manorialism; this is sometimes referred to as a "feudal society". Since the publication of Elizabeth A. R. Brown's "The Tyranny of a Construct" (1974) and Susan Reynolds' Fiefs and Vassals (1994), there has been ongoing inconclusive discussion among medieval historians as to whether feudalism is a useful construct for understanding medieval society
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Kathleen Joy D. Montenegro III-St. John

Church
The church was a pillar of the feudal society. The early part of the feudalism, the period of consolidation after Charles the Great till Crusaders, the society was divided into three segments: one that rules - the feudal; one the prays - the church; and one that works - everyone else. Later part another group emerged made of independent city masses and produced profit. This four division of feudal society is well described into Tarot cards and all other decks. The spiritual role of the church was an integral part of everyone lives at that time and people could not imagine the life without it. Church cared about the soul and salvation, while the landlord secured the peace, land, and justice. People's lives were strictly submitted to the church since birth to death. Church was power in Tarot cards that did care about you. In medieval time, people who were desperate often flocked to church as the last resort of help.

The prestige of the church was unshakable till outbreak of the Black Death. Church also accumulated significant wealth and became the largest landholder feudal Europe. By 1300's the church owned about 1/3 of all land or had some interest in it in the Western Europe. From wealth church created enormous power that was a source of abuse and disconnect with the masses. Since medieval period the opulence of Church and the impoverishment of the many was hitting everyone eyes. Church also played administrative roles, since it inherited roman based bureaucracy, and was only force capable dealing with education, writing, notary, and bookkeeping. The church was for very long time under control of much more powerful nobility, but during Crusades, it became independent of them. Prior that time, landlord often decided who will be appointed to various beneficiaries and posts, but later the church did not ask anyone. It became the power on its own. Church was also only international institution that was able to cement various kingdoms and states and provided diplomacy within medieval framework. The role of the church was weakened with emergence of the fourth economical class as the medieval cities expanded in size and wealth and produced intellectual elite of their own. With the breakdown of the feudal land based, agricultural economy toward production and craft, church was unable to dominate urban class at the end of the feudal era.

Women
One of my bugbears around these sites -- "feudal" is a next to meaningless term. But I'll assume you mean "medieval." Medieval society is, like all pre-modern societies, patriarchal, and women are subordinate to men. Nevertheless, their roles can vary tremendously. Marriage is the most important transition stage in a woman's life, normally arranged be her family, though she is supposed to be able to give or withhold consent. The age when she marries can vary greatly -- upper-class women as early as possible, often in the early to mid-teens, middle-class and peasant women often somewhat later, in their late teens or early twenties. But that also varies from area to area and period to period. Childbearing is fundamental, there is very little in the way of birth control and in any case the high levels of child mortality mean that families wouldn't want to limit the number of children they had, in case they wind up with none surviving. In most parts of Europe, the custom is for a woman to have a dowry from her family, property which will be under her husband's management but which is meant for her support and remains hers if she is widowed. In some areas and times there's also the "morning gift," which the groom gives his bride the day AFTER consummating the marriage as a final seal on the vows. Peasant women -- the vast majority -- are a vital part of the operation of agriculture. Remember that there is no sharp division between "work" and "home" on a farm, so you can't say men go to work and women stay home. Men are supposed to do the heavy muscle-work, like the plowing and harvesting, but women are also working very hard -- not just cooking and cleaning in the cottage, but often a lot of the sowing and part of the harvesting work. For instance, at those intensive parts of the agricultural year, you'd often have women following the plows sowing seed, or following the mowers at harvest to gather up the sheaves or gleaning. Besides this, there may be animals to feed and care for and a garden to tend. Finally, textile work -- spinning wool or flax into thread, weaving thread into fabric, sowing fabric into clothing -- is a staple woman's task. Middle-class women, from merchant families in the towns, will also have plenty of work to do. Their households may be more substantial, with servants and apprentices to manage, and this is often her job to do. She may have an aspect of the business or a side-business of her own. For instance, the brewing of beer was often a woman's work, at first just for her own household but many women would start to do it on a more commercial scale and brew beer for the rest of the neighborhood or town. Also, textile work continues to be women's work and could also approach a commercial scale. Upper-class women's roles varied. They still were expected to do textile work, though now it's more luxury embroidery rather than the fundamental sewing of clothing. On the whole, however, they were expected not to do any productive work. Still, they often had an important role in the management of noble households, overseeing servants, etc. A lot would depend on the noble woman's personality and abilities; many were doubtless idle ornaments, whose only role was to bear children and keep up appearances; others could be very influential power players in high

society. In her husband's absence, a noble woman could end up running her husband's lordship and even directing the defense of his castle from enemies. Where chivalry was popular, the women could take on an important role as "scorekeepers" among the men competing for status and reputation. The death of a husband would make a decisive difference in a woman's life. As a widow, she often became socially and economically vulnerable, lacking a legal protector. Any property that was not part of her dowry might pass directly to her children or, if she didn't have any, to her husband's other relatives. On the other hand, especially in the royal families, a capable woman might end up as regent to an underage son, and thus become the de facto ruler of the kingdom until he came of age. In general, women had less access to education than men did -- which among lay people was limited in any case. Still, merchant-class women could often pick up basic literacy and numeracy and upper-class women could get a quite substantial literary education, more through private tutors than through actual school attendance. The story of Abelard and Heloise, for instance, shows that a well-to-do and ambitious Parisian townsman could (and would) contract the brightest up-and-coming intellectual star of the Paris schools as a tutor to his daughter. Presumably this education was meant to enable her to "marry up," though in this case it didn't work out that way.

Merchants
Merchants during the feudal system, tended to be Jews or other "foreigners." Lombards (from the most entrepreneurial part of Italy), and Greeks, tended to perform this function in northern Europe, Dutch (and other western Europeans) in Eastern Europe, etc. Merchants were basically independent of the feudal system, being neither landowners nor peasants. As such, they were regarded with suspicion by the local elites. Their main selling point was that they had good connections with foreigners who could help them produce scarce goods. Hence, they were likely to be "foreign" (rather than local) members of a given society; most locals would not want to take on such a "foreign" role, at least at home. Merchants weren't particularly well respected, but they were tolerated, and were allowed to live a bit outside the usual rules because they performed an essential (trading) service. Merchants usually raised from the people of the cities, that is craftsmen. They usually did not originate from the peasants and as such had no allegiance to the feudal lords. They also could originate from the city aristocracy, especially in Italy.

Knights
In the feudal system, knights were the lowest ranking of the nobility, although each major noble was a essentially a knight. There were landed and unlanded knights. But basically, their job was to support their lord, whether that be a regional duke, count, baron,etc...or the King himself. Knights enforced the rules/laws of their lord who in turned enforced the rules/laws of the King. But the essential job of the knight, which was what they were trained to do, was fight. They were the samurai of Europe. They spent much of their childhood and teenage years learning how to use weapons and tactics in battle and spent their adult lives fighting for their lords. In times of no war they needed an outlet for their aggressive behavior and that is why the tournaments (jousting, armed combat trials) were invented, to give the fighters something to do.

Peasants
In the Middle Ages, there was a definite structure in society. You were born into a class of people and generally stayed in that class for your entire life. Working hard did not change your status. Your clothing, food, marriage, homes, etc., were determined for you. After the rank of king, the hierarchy was the nobles, the knights, the clergy (religious people), the tradesmen and the peasants. For peasants, life was hard. They worked long hours every day just to ensure that their family had a roof over their head and food to eat. If your parents were peasants, you probably would be a peasant as well. Most of the peasants were farmers, but some were tradesmen, such as millers or tavern owners. The farmers leased their land and also paid taxes to the lord and to the king. Most farmers were not free, but rather were serfs. They were required to stay with the land and had to work several days a week for the lord of the manor. There were some free peasants, but most did not leave their lord.

Clothing

Because they were poor, their clothing was usually rough wool or linen. The women wove the fabric and made the clothes. Peasants generally had only one set of clothing and it almost never was washed. Men wore tunics and long stockings. Women wore long dresses and stockings made of wool. Some peasants wore underwear made of linen, which was washed regularly. The most common colors for peasant clothing were brown, red or gray. Both men and women wore clogs made of thick leather. In cold weather, both men and women wore cloaks made of sheepskin or wool. They also wore wool hats and mittens. Children basically dressed in the same style as the adults.

Food

Peasants generally lived off the land. Their diet basically consisted of bread, porridge, vegetables and some meat. The main crops were corn, wheat and beans. Near their homes, peasants had little gardens that contained lettuce, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, beets and other vegetables. They also might have fruit and nut trees. If the peasant was wealthy enough to have cows or goats, the family would have cheese and milk. Many peasants died when the weather was too wet or too dry. If their crops didnt grow, they didnt have food to eat.

Homes

Peasants lived in towns on the lords manor. Houses were constructed of stone or of branches covered with mud and straw. The roofs were thatched. There were generally two rooms in the home. The rooms had dirt floors and a few furnishings in the common room, such as stools, tables, chairs and chests. The second room contained the beds for the whole family. Often in the winter, the animals also lived in the common room. An open fireplace was in the common room. There were small windows without glass. Candles were used to light the inside of the house.

Childhood

Often, children were named after a close relative or a saint. In a peasant household, everyone was needed to work in the fields. Often children as young as age 2 were left alone. Many accidents happened. Peasant children were poor and did not have many toys. Children did not go to school or have tutors, so few knew how to read.

Marriage

Virtually all marriages were arranged by the parents. Peasants generally married people from their own village. Men were the head of the household and the wife was his property to be treated in any way he wanted. Men were allowed to divorce their wives, but women were not allowed to divorce their husbands. Adultery and divorce were less common among the peasants.

Religion

Religion was very important to the peasants. They believed that faith could take them to a world that was certainly easier than the one in which they lived. Peasants generally observed the Sabbath and celebrated church holidays.

King
The king owned every square inch of land in the country. He was therefore entitled to a large proportion of the income from all that land and the properties on it (which is why William commissioned Domesday Book, in order to set out exactly what income could be expected from the whole country). The king was the head of the military and also controlled such elements as finances (including the production of coins), food production (by regulating and taxing the milling of flour), religion (by building new churches, chapels and cathedrals and by appointing his own favourites to important positions in the Church hierarchy). His word was law, so he was also the head of the legal system.