Samurai Vs. Knights In Medieval Europe

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The legendary Samurai warriors of Japan, while it may seem like nothing could compare to them they are quite similar to the proud and loyal warriors of the European Middle Ages: Knights. The knights of Medieval Europe were fiercely loyal and were willing to fight and die for their lord. In this essay I will discuss the similarities between the two and by the end you will see that they are not so different. One example of a similarity between Samurai and Knights is the social order the two had. In Japan during feudal times the top of the social order is the emperor. The emperor was mostly symbolic and did not have much actual power, while in Europe the equivalent of the emperor was the Pope which was the absolute ruler of all in medieval Europe.…show more content…
Samurai made up approximately 10% of the Japanese society, knights were the European equivalent of the samurai and were warriors that were loyal and served a lord in exchange for land. Under the samurai were the peasant farmers. Peasant farmers accounted for roughly 80% of the Japanese people. The Medieval European version of peasant farmers were peasant serfs. Peasant serfs made up the majority of the population, were bought to a land and gave part of their crops to knights and lords. Right under the peasant farmers were the artisans and trades people. At the bottom of the Japanese social pyramid were the merchants. Merchants although low in social status were fairly high in riches. In Japan during feudal times loyalty to a lord was hereditary (passed from generation to generation)while in Europe knighthood was also hereditary but the son could choose not to be a knight. The difference between the two warrior classes was that in Europe (England specifically) there was a contract that was signed by both parties as an agreement to what they would give and take. The similarities between Samurai and Knight when it came to training
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