FEUDALISM

[White Wolf]

For nearly a thousand years, the idea of a king having absolute power was more of a dream than a reality.

Following the collapse of great empires like the Carolingians around the 9th century, Europe fractured. Without a strong central government, kings and high lords couldn't simply command an army or collect taxes across the land.

To secure their kingdoms, they had to make a deal. This system became known as Feudalism.

A lord would grant a piece of land, called a 'fief,' to a nobleman or knight, who was then known as a vassal. In exchange for the land, the vassal swore an oath of loyalty and promised to provide military service when called upon.

This created a pyramid of power. A king gave land to his most powerful lords, who in turn granted smaller parcels to their own knights. At the bottom were the peasants and serfs, who worked the land in exchange for protection.

One of the most famous examples of this was in 1066, when William the Conqueror took England and replaced the English nobility with his loyal Norman followers, giving them land to solidify his rule.

This system wasn't uniform and often led to chaos, but it provided a measure of local order and defense in a dangerous time. It shaped European society, politics, and warfare for centuries.

Ultimately, events like the Black Death, the rise of professional armies paid with cash, and the slow centralization of power in monarchs led to the decline of feudalism by the 15th century. Its breakdown paved the way for the emergence of the modern nations we know today.

Sources: Medieval Charters, Academic Historical Texts