In a very real sense, the fall of the Roman Empire occurred when its subjects in western Europe and the Italian peninsula found they could no longer look to the armed might of Rome to protect them and to provide law and order in their communities. To put it in modern day terms, it would be tantamount to having a gang of armed thugs descend on your farm and tell you to pack up and leave within the hour. You tell them, "I'll call the police!" But when you do, no one answers.
Faced with these circumstances, people were forced to look to their own devices. They found the only hope they had lay in going to the most wealthy man in their region and seeking his help, since he already had armed retainers protecting his estates. He agreed to protect them and their holdings, provided they:
1. Sign their land over to him, in exchange for a life estate that would pass to his eldest son upon his death, and to his son's eldest son, et cetera;
2. Provide so many days military service to his protector every year, as circumstances required, and have his sons of military age pledged to the same service;
3. Pay a tax each year to his protector from the yield of his harvest.
Thus, born of military necessity, the feudal system began, with its ever expanding system of liege lords and vassals, which superceded the now absent Roman emperor and his legions.
No comments:
Post a Comment