The states of Western Europe in the Middle Ages are notwere holistic. Each represented several large feudal estates, which, in turn, were divided into smaller ones. For example, in Germany there were about two hundred small states. Most of them were too small, and they were joking about saying that the head of the sleeping ruler was on his land, and his outstretched legs were in the possession of his neighbor. This was an era of feudal fragmentation, which seized the countries of Western Europe.
This topic will be very interesting not only for students, for whom it is summarized in the textbook "Universal History. 6 class ", as well as adults, perhaps a little forgotten school.
Feudalism is a political system that arose inThe Middle Ages and acted on the territory of the then European states. Countries under this management order were divided into sections called feuds. These lands were distributed by monarchs-suzerains in the long-term use of noble subjects - vassals. Owners, whose management fell into the territory, were obliged to pay tribute to the state treasury every year, and also send a certain number of knights and other armed soldiers to the army of the ruler. And for this vassals, in turn, not only received all the rights to use the land, but could manage the work and fate of people who were considered their subjects.
After the death of Charlemagne in 814, hissuccessors failed to keep the state created by it from disintegration. And all the prerequisites and reasons for feudal fragmentation began to emerge precisely from the very moment when the Frankish grandees, or rather, the counts who were officials of the empire, began to seize the land. At the same time, the free population living there, they turned into their vassals and forced peasants.
The feudal lords owned estates, calledsenoria, who were actually closed farms. On their territories, all the necessary goods for life were produced, starting with food products and ending with materials for the construction of castles - well fortified structures where the owners of these lands lived. It can be said that feudal fragmentation in Europe arose also thanks to this kind of natural economy, which fosters the complete independence of the nobles.
Over time, the position of the graph began to be passed oninheritance and entrenched in the largest landowners. They ceased to obey the emperor, and medium and small feudal lords were turned into their vassals.
With the death of Charlemagne in his family beginQuarrels that lead to real wars. At this time, the largest feudal lords begin to support them. But, finally tired of the constant hostilities, in 843 the grandsons of Charlemagne decided to meet in the city of Verdun, where they signed an agreement according to which the empire was divided into three parts.
In accordance with the agreement, one part of the landpassed into the possession of Louis German. He began to rule the territory, located north of the Alps and east of the Rhine. This state was called East-Frankish. Here they spoke German dialects.
The second part was given to the management of Charles, who worethe nickname is Bald. These were lands located west of the rivers Rhone, Scheldt and Maas. They began to be called the West Frankish kingdom. Here they spoke in languages that later formed the basis of modern French.
The third part of the lands, together with the title of emperor,went to the oldest of the brothers - Lothar. He owned the territory along the river Rhine, as well as Italy. But soon the brothers quarreled, and between them the war began again. Louis and Carl united against Lothar, took his land from him and divided them among themselves. At this time, the title of the emperor already meant practically nothing.
It was after the division of the former state of CharlesGreat in Western Europe began a period of feudal fragmentation. Later, the possessions of the three brothers turned into countries that exist to this day - Italy, Germany and France.
In addition to the empire of Charlemagne, there wasanother large European state. In 1066, the Duke of Normandy (an area located in the north of France), subdued the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united them and became the king of England. His name was William the Conqueror.
To the east of the German lands were already formedSlavic states, such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Kievan Rus. And on the river Danube, where the nomads who came here, eventually came the Hungarian kingdom. In addition, in the northern part of Europe there were Sweden, Denmark and Norway. All these countries were united for a while.
So what was the reason for the feudalfragmentation? The reason for the collapse of the empires of that time was not only civil strife of rulers. As is known, the lands that are part of the state of Charlemagne were united by force of arms. Therefore, the reasons for feudal fragmentation are also in the fact that there was an attempt to collect in a single empire completely different peoples who did not want to live together. For example, the population of the West Frankish Kingdom was called the French, East German - the Germans, and the people living in Italy - the Italians. It is interesting that the very first documents, compiled in the languages of the peoples living here, appeared precisely in the days of the struggle for power of the grandchildren of Emperor Charlemagne. So, Karl Lysy and Ludovic German signed a contract, which said that they swear together to resist their elder brother Lothar. These papers were compiled in French and German.
The causes of feudal disunity in Europe inmuch depended on the actions of the Counts and Dukes, who were some kind of governors in various parts of the country. But over time, when they began to feel almost unlimited power, the feudal lords ceased to obey the chief ruler. Now they served only the owners of lands on whose territory their estates were located. At the same time, they obeyed directly to the duke or the count, and even then only during military operations, when they marched at the head of their own army. When peace came, they were completely independent and controlled their lands and the people who inhabited them, as they saw fit.
In order to create his army, dukes andgraphs gave part of their territories to smaller landowners. Thus, some became seniors (main), and others - their vassals (military servants). Entering into the ownership of the feud, the vassal knelt before his lord and swore to him in fidelity. In return, the gentleman handed his subject a tree branch and a handful of earth.
The main feudal lord in the state was the king.He was considered a lord for counts and dukes. Their possessions included hundreds of villages and a large number of military detachments. On the step below stood the barons, who were vassals of counts and dukes. They usually owned not more than three dozen villages and a detachment of soldiers. The barons were subordinated to petty feudal lords-knights.
As a result of the hierarchy formed, the feudal lordmiddle income was a seignior for small, but at the same time himself was a vassal for a larger grandee. Therefore, there was a rather interesting situation. Those nobles who were not vassals of the king, were not obliged to obey him and carry out his orders. There was even a special rule. It read: "The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal."
The relations between the estates resembled a ladder,where the lower steps were small feudal lords, and on the upper ones - the larger ones, headed by the king. It was this division that later became known as the feudal ladder. The peasants did not enter it, since all the lords and vassals lived at the expense of their labor.
The causes of feudal fragmentation of the WestEurope also consisted in the fact that the inhabitants of not only individual regions, but also villages, did not really need any connections with other settlements. All the necessary things, food and labor tools, they could make themselves or simply exchange from neighbors. At this time, it was precisely the flowering of the natural economy, when trade in itself ceased to exist.
Feudal disunity, causes and consequenceswhich had a significant impact on the military power of the royal army proper, could not contribute not only to its strengthening, but also to the growing authority of the central government in the eyes of large landowners. The feudal lords managed to acquire their own squads by the tenth century. Therefore, the personal army of the king could not fully resist such vassals. In those days, the ruler of the state was only a conditional head of the entire then hierarchical system. In fact, the country was under the rule of the nobles - dukes, barons and princes.
So, all the main reasons for the feudalfragmentation were identified in the process of studying the cultural and socio-economic development of Western European countries in the Middle Ages. Such a political system led to an increase in terms of material welfare, as well as a flourishing in the spiritual direction. Historians came to the conclusion that feudal fragmentation was a legitimate and objective process. But this applies only to European states.
Here are common for all states, without exception, the causes of feudal disunity, summarized in two paragraphs:
● Availability of subsistence farming.On the one hand, it provided a fairly sharp rise in prosperity and trade, as well as the rapid development of land ownership, and on the other - the complete absence of any specialization of individual regions and extremely limited economic ties with other lands.
● The settled way of life of the squad.In other words, the transformation of its members into feudal lords, the privilege of which was the right to own land. In addition, their power over the peasant class was boundless. They had the opportunity to execute the trial of people and punish them for various faults. This caused some easing of the influence of the policy of the central government on separate territories. Also, the prerequisites for the successful solution of military tasks by the forces of the local population appeared.
Processes taking place in Western Europe startingfrom the tenth century, could not bypass the principality, where the Eastern Slavs lived. But it should be noted that the reasons for feudal disunity in Rus had a special character. This can be explained by other socio-economic trends, as well as by local traditions of succession to the throne.
The division of the state into principalities wasis due to the great influence that the local nobility, known as boyars, used. In addition, they owned huge land allotments and supported the local princes. And instead of obeying the Kiev authorities, they agreed with each other.
As in Europe, feudal fragmentationbegan with the fact that the numerous heirs of the rulers could not share power. If in the Western countries the Salicy right of the legacy of the throne, demanding the transfer of the throne from the father to the eldest son, then on the Russian lands had the effect of the Ladder's Law. It provided for the transfer of power from the elder brother to the younger one, and so on.
Numerous offspring of all the brothers grew up, andeach of them wanted to rule. Over time, the situation became more complicated, and the aspirants to the throne constantly and relentlessly wove intrigues against each other.
The first serious conflict was the military conflictthe heirs of Prince Svyatoslav, who died in 972. The winner was his son Vladimir, who later baptized Rus. The disintegration of the state began after the reign of Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, who died in 1132. After that, feudal fragmentation continued until the lands began to unite around Moscow.
The process of fragmentation of Kievan Rus covers the period from the 12th to the beginning of the 14th century. In this era the princes led long and bloody internecine wars for the expansion of landed estates.
Here are the most important reasons for feudal fragmentation, briefly and clearly articulated in four paragraphs, acting only in Russia:
● Strengthening of internecine struggle due to twotrends that existed in the rules of inheritance of the Kiev throne. One of them is Byzantine law, which allows to transfer power from father to elder son, the second is Russian custom, according to which the elder in the family should become the heir.
● Significant weakening of the role of Kyiv as acentral authority. This was due to the raids of the Polovtsians who made the trip across the Dnieper dangerous, as a result of which the outflow of population from Kiev to the north-west began.
● Significant weakening of the threat from the Pechenegs and Varangians, as well as the defeat of the Khazar Kaganate and the establishment of relations with the rulers of the Byzantine Empire.
● Creating Yaroslav the Wise specific system.After his death in 1054, Russian lands were swallowed up by a whole series of internecine wars. The Old Russian integral state from the individual monarchy was transformed into a federal one, which was headed by several authoritative princes of Yaroslavich.
We hope that this article helped to supplement knowledgenot only schoolchildren who are now studying the topic "Causes of feudal fragmentation" in the textbook "Universal History. 6th grade". It will refresh the memory of university students events that occurred in the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, such a topic as feudal fragmentation, the reasons and consequences of which we described in sufficient detail, will be rather interesting.
