The Decline of Feudalism

World Studies: Feudalism and Transitions

Feudalism developed as a political system based on small
local units controlled by lords bound by an oath of loyalty to a
monarch. The decline of feudalism in Europe resulted from
interactions between the Muslim world and European states.
These interactions influenced the rise of new ideas and
institutions.
 Causes
• Political – Magna
Carta
– Hundred Year’s
War
– Peasants’ Revolt
• Cultural – Muslim
influence – Crusades
• Social – Bubonic
plague
 Magna Carta
• In the year 1199, John became the king of
England. Immediately, he created many
enemies.
– CATHOLIC CHURCH: Regularly fought
with clergy and imposed high taxes on
church property
– NOBLES: Heavily taxed barons and made
arrests without lawful judgement
– FOREIGN RELATIONS: Lost most of the
land that England had previously controlled
in France
 Magna Carta
• In June of 1215, angry nobles forced King
John to sign a document known as the
Magna Carta, which translates to “Great
Charter”
– The nobles agreed that the monarch could
continue to rule and in turn, the monarch was
required to observe common law and traditional
rights of the Church.
– Initially, this document was intended to protect
the rights of nobles and the Church, however
over time, the people of England viewed it as a
foundation for the protection of liberty for all
 Hundred Year’s War
• England and France fought a series of battles
between
1337 and 1453 over the ownership of land in
France
– Early English kings had initially been feudal lords over
French fiefs, but French kings began to dispute this
arrangement
• The Hundred Year’s War forced monarchs on
both sides to create large professional armies and
no longer rely on nobles to provide knights
 – The common people gained influence and power as
they were needed to serve as soldiers, workers, and
taxpayers
• The war created a certain sense of nationalism on
both sides, replacing the loyalty that once existed
for local lords
Learn More About the Hundred Years War!

Peasants’ Revolt
• The peasants were heavily-taxed to fund the Hundred Years
War
• They tried to appeal to the law courts and King, but were
unsuccessful
– By the mid-1350s, “treason laws” existed to punish any peasants
or wives that did not bend to their masters’ and husbands’ will
• A series of wide-spread revolts began to take place, including
the taking of the Tower of London in 1381
• The aftermath of the Peasants’ Revolt saw an improvement of
the treatment of common people. Parliament was forced to
curtail taxation. Lords began selling serfs their freedom in
exchange for money or contracts that detailed the length of
service
Learn More about the Peasant's Revolt!
Military orders such as the Knights Templar were known for their chivalry, wealth, and participation in the Crusades
 The Crusades
• In 1095, Pope Urban II called for crusade to win back the Holy Land
that had been conquered by Muslims
– This was in response to a cry for help from the Byzantine Emperor
Alexius Comnenus, who was suffering loss of land to Muslim conquest
– The Church treated Muslims as enemies
• There were four major crusades and many, many smaller episodes
– Crusaders were not only knights, but also lords and vassals. Many of
which never returned from battle. This left the manors and fiefs
understaffed
– Lords needed to hire workers as well as trade with other fiefdoms in
order to survive, creating trade and towns that supported it
• Through trade, crusading, and Muslim conquest, Europe was
introduced to Eastern achievements in science, math, and science–
an intellectual powerhouse that dominated the hemisphere after the
fall of the Roman Empire. These advances helped to jumpstart the
Renaissance.
Learn More About the Crusades!
The Bubonic Plague
• The Bubonic Plague
first hit Europe in the
mid1300s and occurred
every decade well into the
15th century, wiping out a
significant portion of the
population– nearly a third!
• It is believed that the
disease spread through
fleas carried by rats that
lived on trade ships coming
from Central Asia
• During the Middle Ages,
people would go for
• many months without

bathing • Homes were dirty
and filled • with rats
• Trash, human waste, and
dead animals littered the
crowded city streets
• The plague was a bacterial
infection marked by vomiting,
With an estimated 24 million
deaths, the Plague had a
negative effect on trade and
the general economy,
feudal lords could no
longer staff their land,
and the workers that
WERE available
demanded freedom,
money, and more rights.
Many even rebelled.
With a weakened
economy, the manor
system could no longer
be sustained and thus
resulted in a loss of
power for the lords,
shifting the control to the
monarchy
 fever, and massive black-and- Learn More About the Bubonic
Plague!
blue lumps called buboes

Conclusion
• There were many reasons • Bubonic plague

why • feudalism eventually • Feudalism was replaced

dissipated: by a stronger central
– Political government that
• Magna Carta focused on the power of
• Hundred Year’s War the monarch and
• Peasants’ Revolt • influence of the
– Cultural
• Muslim influence
Church
• Crusades
A decrease in population, shift in
– Social • job specialization due to long-
periods of war, and the establishment of The Decline of English
the Magna Carta all contributed to the Feudalism, 1215-1540.
decline in feudalism University of Manchester
No single event is responsible for this
decline; several political, cultural, and Press, 1968.
social factors contributed to the abolition
of this institution All of these factors, • Encyclopedia Britannica
coupled with Europe’s adoption of Online.
Eastern medicine and scholarship led to http://www.britannica.com/
what would eventually become known as
the Renaissance in Europe, an age of • Ohio’s Learning Standards,
enlightenment following the Dark Ages.

References
• Bean, John Malcolm William. Grade
7 Social Studies.
Ohio Department of Education.