Why Did The Feudal System Develop In Europe?

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How did the feudal system develop in Europe? In my opinion, I think it evolved from weakness’ in Charlemagne’s empire. Charlemagne was a successful ruler but his short comings showed after his passing. During Charlemagne’s reign, he failed to set up an administrative and legal system that would have defined how his territory was to be run by his successors. When Charlemagne’s three grandson’s began to rule his territories, they decided to divide the territories by separating French speaking people from the German speaking people. It was difficult to oversee the day to day activities of the people with no administrative system in place. The aristocratic families such as people with titles like Duke or Count , who had been appointed by Charlemagne to rule the local people, provided the weak administrative system. After some time, the empire Charlemagne had built was falling apart. His lands were unable to fight off attacks from the Vikings and Muslims. Two hundred years later, the Normans brought the feudal system to Europe.…show more content…
It was common to give land to men who served in the military. The land given to the man for his service was called a fief, which is a Germanic word for “property.” (Fiero, p. 130) The feudal system was set up as such: a lord presided over his vassals. The vassals were required to fight for their lord a certain number of days a year, typically forty. There were other obligations as well, like contributing to the ransom of a captured lord. The noble people in feudal society provided the military and political system for about ninety percent of Europe’s population. The feudal system was a crude form of government for the people of Europe. You can see in figure 5.14 of our text, a vassal bending a knee to his lord. This painting is a good example of how the society showed the status of a soldier. Certain decoration or type of chain mail could show a soldier’s
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