fuedal society was characterized by?

Question

world history

Answer 1

Feudal society is a sometimes debated term used to describe the medieval social order of western and central Europe and sometimes Japan (particularly in the 14th to 16th centuries) characterised by the legal subjection of a large part of the peasantry to a hereditary landholding elite exercising administrative and judicial power on the basis of reciprocal private undertakings. The term's validity is questioned by many medieval historians who consider the description "feudal" appropriate only to the specifically voluntary and personal bonds of mutual protection, loyalty and support among members of the administrative, military or ecclesiastical elite, to the exclusion of involuntary obligations attached to tenure of "unfree" land.

The King
Few kings had enough wealth to keep a standing army and depended on their barons to provide knights and soldiers. Kings had to work hard however to keep the barons under control. In many cases, especially in France and Germany, the barons grew very powerful and governed their fiefs as independent states.

The Bishops
Bishops could wield as much power as the barons. They ruled over areas called dioceses and all the priests and monasteries within them. The regular collection of tithes and other taxes from their dioceses made many bishops extremely wealthy.

The Barons
Barons were the most powerful and wealthy noblemen, who received their fiefs directly from the king. When William of Normandy conquered England in 1066, he had about 120 barons. Each provided the king with a possible army of 5,000 men.

The Lords
Lords ruled over fiefs or manors, renting out most of the land to the peasants who worked for them. They were also the warriors of medieval society. As trained knights, they were bound by oath to serve the great nobles who granted them their fiefs, and could be called to battle at any time.

The Peasants
The peasants were at the bottom of the feudal tree. They were the workers who farmed the land to provide food for everyone else. Most peasants worked for a lord who let them farm a piece of land for themselves in return for their labour.

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Answer 2

Feudal society was characterised by the inequitable distribution of wealth and absolute power over peasants that worked the land. All land was consolidated in the hands of the King and his gentry. Peasants worked the land for a right to live on the land and for food.

Answer 3

The oppression of the many by the few! We really haven't come that far.