Today, we think of the Middle Ages as a time of knights and castles, but feudalism was actually an economic system that helped Europe grow more productive. Feudalism was based on land ownership.
The feudal system originated in Europe around the 5th century AD and was used as a way of organizing society into hierarchical groups, with different levels of privilege attached to each group. Feudalism began to decline around the 14th century, but it wasn’t fully abolished until the French Revolution of 1789.
Feudalism was based on relationships between lords and vassals — those who received land from their lord (the vassals) would provide military service or payment (known as “fiefs”) in exchange for protection and leadership from their lord. The lord would provide protection for his vassals, who would then provide resources such as food, horses, or even men to fight alongside him when necessary. This arrangement also allowed lords to gain wealth from taxes on their lands and gave them more power than kings did at the time.
The hierarchical nature of feudalism meant that all members of society were divided into three estates: those who prayed (the clergy), those who fought (the nobility), and those who worked (the peasantry).
