List the top three steps of the feudal ladder. What is the feudal ladder? Who was included in the feudal ladder? Formation of the feudal class

- only those who earn enough income to support themselves. Typically this income was provided by land. The feudal lord owns the estate, and since his honor does not allow him to cultivate it personally, he places this responsibility on his holders. Thus, the feudal lord almost always exploits at least several peasant families. In relation to these holders, he is a lord (in Latin dominus, hence the Spanish don). Having an income is a practical condition for being a nobleman. But in terms of the amount of wealth between medieval feudal lords, there is a sharp inequality, on the basis of which a number of degrees are established, starting with squire and ending with king. Contemporaries very clearly distinguished these degrees and even marked them with special names. The hierarchy of these degrees is the medieval “feudal ladder”. (See also Feudal hierarchy.)

The highest level of the feudal ladder is occupied by princes with titles (kings, dukes, marquises, counts), sovereigns of entire provinces, owners of hundreds of villages, capable of bringing several thousand knights to war.

A step lower on the feudal ladder of the Middle Ages are the noblest of the nobles, usually the owners of several villages, leading a whole detachment of knights with them to war. Since they do not have an official title, they are designated by common names, the meaning of which is not clear and is somewhat loose; these names in different countries are different, but are used as synonyms. The most common of them are: baron - in the west, in Southern France and in the Norman countries, sire, or seigneur - in the east ("baron" means a husband, a man par excellence; "sire" is a leader and lord). In Lombardy they are called captains, in Spain - “ricos hombres” (rich people). In Germany they say “herr”, which corresponds to the name lord, in England - lord; These names are translated into Latin by the word dominus (lord). Later they were also called bannerets because, in order to rally their men, they attached a quadrangular banner (bannière) to the end of their spear.

Even lower on the feudal ladder stands the entire mass of the ancient nobility - knights (French chevalier, German Ritter, English knight, Spanish caballero, Latin miles), owners of one estate, which, depending on the wealth of the country, consists of a whole village or from part of it. Almost each of them serves some large owner standing higher on the feudal ladder, from whom he receives an estate; they accompany him on campaigns, which, however, does not prevent them from fighting at their own risk. They are sometimes called bacheliers, in Lombardy - vavasseurs. There is also the apt name miles unius scuti, which means a warrior with one shield, that is, a knight who does not have another warrior at his disposal.

At the last rung of the medieval feudal ladder are squires. Initially - simple military servants of the knight, they later became the owners of a certain amount of land (equal to what we now call a large estate) and in the 13th century. live as masters among their holders. In Germany they are called Edelknecht (noble servant), in England - squire (corrupted ècuyer - shield-bearer), in Spain - infanzon. They are in the 13th century. will form the mass of the nobility, and in subsequent centuries the citizen raised to the nobility will pride himself on the title of squire.

Thus, on the medieval feudal ladder, four steps can be distinguished, which in general outline correspond to modern military ranks: princes, dukes and counts are our generals, barons are captains, knights are soldiers, squires are servants. But in this strange army, consisting of troops at war with each other, where rank and position on the feudal scale are determined by wealth, common life eventually so mitigates inequalities that everyone, from general to servant, begins to feel like members of the same class . Then the nobility finally takes shape and then it finally becomes isolated and isolated.

In the 13th century. get used to strictly distinguish between two categories of people: nobles, or noble (gentilshommes), and non-nobles, who in France are called hommes coutumiers (people of custom, coutume "a) or homme de poste (that is, potestatis - subordinate people); the name roturier (commoner) not used in the Middle Ages. These categories become strictly hereditary. Noble families belonging to any of the levels of the feudal ladder refuse to enter into kinship with the descendants of non-noble families. Anyone who was not born of a nobleman cannot become a knight, even if he is rich enough to lead the life of a knight; the daughter of a non-nobleman cannot marry a nobleman; he who marries her enters into an unequal marriage and thereby dishonors himself; feudal families will not accept his wife, and the nobles will not treat his children as equal to themselves. This heredity, less strict in the documents of previous centuries, then becomes the predominant feature of medieval feudal society and prevails until the 18th century.

As the differences between the nobles are smoothed out, the nobility organized in the feudal ladder becomes increasingly alienated from the rest of the nation. The spirit of the nobility was most firmly established in France and Germany. In Spain, and especially in the south, it is weaker, due to contact with the rich population of the Moorish cities, in Italy and, perhaps, also in the south of France - due to the power of the merchant class. In England, where military-feudal habits early disappeared, a squire is no different from a rich peasant; here the boundary is set much higher - between the lords and the rest of the people; the privileged class consists only of the highest aristocracy, which is very small in number.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, special, different from those in ancient world, social relations are feudal. What does this mean? The feudal lords became the social elite. Only they were the owners of the land. Therefore, everyone who used the land depended on them. The feudal lords were not equal in nobility and wealth, but were divided into categories. Belonged to the highest rank king - owner of all land in the state. He allocated land to his associates and therefore became their lord (senior), and they were considered his vassals (servants). The king's vassals, in turn, allocated land to less noble feudal lords and thus became lords for them, and they became their vassals. Small vassals allocated land to even smaller ones, etc. So, each feudal lord was at the same time both a lord and a vassal. The king himself, lord of lords, was considered a vassal of God or the pope. Historians called such social connections vassalage .

The lord and the vassal shared certain mutual responsibilities. The lord was obliged to protect the vassal, arm him, feed him and even entertain him so that he would not get bored. If he was lucky, he would find him a good wife. A vassal, who was like the child of a lord (this word originally meant “ Small child"), swore an oath to faithfully serve his lord, to be his adviser, to help him in everything. Being someone's vassal in the Middle Ages was not considered humiliating. On the contrary, the one who violated the oath of allegiance was considered a vile traitor and covered his name with shame. Many people even liked being the “little child” of the lord, because the duties of a vassal were not very burdensome, while the lord took care of the safety and prosperity of the vassal and his family. It was not for nothing that they were vassals of several, or even several dozen, lords at once.

A strict order of subordination of lower feudal lords to higher ones developed. He was conventionally named "feudal ladder" . On this “ladder,” each feudal lord occupied the “step” allotted to him and was content with the position that corresponded to his nobility.

At the end of the 13th century. one German feudal lord considered himself a vassal of 20 lords at once, and another - even 43!

The vassal listened only to his lord, to whom he swore allegiance (put his hands in his palms and said: “Sire, from now on I am your man”). Therefore, even the king could not count on support from foreign vassals. In the Middle Ages there was a rule: “The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal.”

Vassalage as such took shape first among the Franks (thanks to the beneficial reform of Charles Martell). In the middle of the 9th century. The king of the Franks, Charles the Bald, ordered that “every free man choose a lord.” Over time, vassalage spread throughout Western Europe.

Most historians call such relations between feudal lords feudal. But some historians consider feudal relations primarily between feudal lords and peasants.

Even at the dawn of the Middle Ages, peasants became dependent on feudal lords. Why? Most often, they lost their freedom as a result of royal land grants to warriors and servants. The land complained along with the peasants, since without their work it would not feed anyone. Material from the site

Often the peasant himself entrusted himself and his allotment to the church or feudal lord, if only they would protect his peaceful work in an atmosphere of rampant violence. Impoverished peasants became dependent, to whom landowners provided land in exchange for an obligation to work for them.

Consequently, the peasants did not lose their land, but their ownership of it. The land they used did not belong to them. They remained independent masters (unlike slaves in the ancient world), but had to work for the land owner, the feudal lord, and depended on him. This, they say, is feudal relations.

King - the supreme ruler in a monarchical state.

Vassalage - personal dependence of some feudal lords (vassals) on other, larger ones (lords).

"Feudal Stairs" - division of feudal lords according to nobility and position with the subordination of the lower to the higher.

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On this page there is material on the following topics:

• feudal staircase
• dialogue between lord and vassal
• report on the feudal ladder
• feudal ladder definition
• only feudal lords could be divided into lords and vassals

What is the feudal ladder? more correct definition)) and got a better answer

Answer from Anika SnEzhInKo_O[newbie]
Feudal ladders (or “feudal hierarchy”, or “feudal pyramid”) - a system within the feudal class, based on the “lord-vassal” relationship

Answer from Margosha[guru]
The hierarchy of secular feudal lords, that is, a kind of stepped ladder of “ranks”. On the top step was the king, who was considered a vassal of God, below were the counts and dukes, the vassals of the king, then the barons, who were the vassals of the dukes and counts, and at the very bottom were the vassals of the barons - simple knights who did not have their own vassals.

Answer from KsYufffKaaa![newbie]
This division, when the largest feudal lords stood on the upper steps of a kind of ladder, and the smaller ones on the lower ones, is called in history the feudal hierarchy-ladder.

Answer from Aliya Yesenbaeva[guru]
Feudalism (from the Latin feudum flax) - economic and social model, in which the main social classes of people are feudal lords (landowners) and the peasantry economically dependent on them; feudal lords are bound to each other by a specific type of legal obligation known as the feudal ladder.

In feudal relations, land owners (feudal lords) are lined up in a feudal ladder: the inferior (vassal) receives a land allotment (flax, feud or fief) and serfs from the superior (senior) for his service. At the head of the feudal ladder is the monarch, but his power is usually significantly weakened compared to the powers of large lords, who, in turn, do not have absolute power over all landowners below them in the feudal ladder (the principle of “my vassal’s vassal is not my vassal” ", operating in many countries of continental Europe). Peasants work on lands owned by feudal lords at all levels, paying them in corvée or quitrent.

Answer from ANECHKA[newbie]
Feudalism (from the Latin feudum flax) is an economic and social model in which the main social classes of people are feudal lords (landowners) and the peasantry economically dependent on them; feudal lords are bound to each other by a specific type of legal obligation known as the feudal ladder. The word "feudalism" was used by English jurists in the 17th century to designate a type of property; as a socio-political term it is used by Montesquieu. The idea of ​​feudalism as a stage in the socio-economic history of mankind, corresponding in Europe to the Middle Ages, is developing in French historiography early XIX century, especially by Guizot.
The word "feudalism" was used by English jurists in the 17th century to designate a type of property; as a socio-political term it is used by Montesquieu. The idea of ​​feudalism as a stage in the socio-economic history of mankind, corresponding in Europe to the Middle Ages, develops in French historiography of the early 19th century, primarily in Guizot.

Answer from Alexey Obmachevsky[newbie]

The feudal ladder is an indispensable attribute of the functioning of feudal society.

In this era, the system social inequality has become complex and branched; on the other hand, the most extreme forms of inequality—slavery and tyranny—generally disappeared, although remnants and isolated cases of both continued to exist.

The feudal ladder characterized primarily the European society of the Middle Ages, including Russian. In general, this structure looked like this:

• Monarch;
• High-born nobility;
• Petty service nobility.
• Clergy. At the same time, the clergy had a special status.

Peasants were not included in the feudal ladder.The supreme feudal lord in the Western European kingdom was considered the king, who, in turn, was recognized as a vassal of the Pope. The remaining priests and monks were equated in status to large, medium and small feudal lords, depending on their rank.

Of course, the rights and responsibilities of the clergy were different from those of the nobles, but they could also own lands and serfs. This whole “pyramid” was supported, of course, by the peasants. They were completely subordinate to the feudal lords and usually did not have their own subordinates, as well as their own land.

Land is the basis of the feudal system

It is clear that the basis of feudal society was land ownership. The king granted land plots to his vassals - dukes and counts, who in turn allocated land to the barons, and those to the knights. For this, the vassals had to bear military service in the army of their overlord, defend his possessions, but the overlords were also obliged to protect their subordinates from attacks and plunder.

The vassals also served on the council of their overlord. Feudal lords also differed in terms of additional rights and opportunities. Counts and dukes could, independently of the king, administer justice on their lands, collect taxes, and sometimes mint their own coins.

"My vassal's vassal is not my vassal"

This rule was in effect in many European countries. The subordinates of someone's vassal were not obliged to obey that overlord. This system, however, led to increased feudal fragmentation. Therefore, special measures were used to maintain centralized power. For example, the obligation of knights, that is, the “smallest” nobles, was established to obey directly the king. However, the rule did not apply everywhere: in England, absolutely all nobles were obliged to swear allegiance to the king and serve directly to him.

Feudalism is a system that included 2 classes: feudal lords and dependent peasants. It appeared in the Middle Ages in Europe. This system was called “vassal”. The meaning of the relationship between feudal lords and their subordinates resembled a ladder with steps.

The vassalage was formed between the seventh and ninth centuries in the Frankish kingdom. It took full shape only when Louis the Pious wanted all his subjects to be someone’s “people.” The king in those days was considered a vassal of the Pope himself, the head catholic church.

The basis of the feudal ladder was that the vassal distributed state lands for temporary use to his subjects and associates. The king's vassals were dukes and counts. They, in turn, considered the barons their vassals, and they considered ordinary knights. For such generosity as land, the vassal was obliged to obey his master in everything, to be counted in the army and to defend the honor of the overlord. If the master was captured, the vassal was obliged to ransom his lord.

In fact, the vassal had to do everything for the benefit of the owner. The master, in turn, was obliged to cover and look after his vassal.

How the feudal ladder system was structured

Top of the stairs occupied by the king. Below it were located dukes and counts. Even lower than them were the barons. The lowest level was occupied knights who did not have a title. The main feature was that the peasants could not get into this staircase and had nothing to do with her.

Everyone who entered the feudal ladder was lords for the peasants. They had to work for them. For the peasants, this was coercion, since due to the feudal lords there was not enough time for their own small plots of land. The strict feudal lord tried to take everything he could take from his wards, which is why peasant riots and uprisings arose. The upper strata of medieval society accepted this system and were even happy with it.

Counts and dukes had the right to mint their own money, that is, coins. They could collect taxes on the lands that belonged to them. Moreover they had rights hold court and make some decisions without the will of the king.

In some European countries there was this rule: “My vassal’s vassal is not my vassal.”

If we look at England, then in those days there were slightly different laws. The king owned all the lands of the state and not only them. He took the oath of allegiance from all the feudal lords of the state. All feudal lords had to do what the king wanted and fulfill his whims. The relationship between the lord and the vassal was secured by the fact that the vassal took an oath of allegiance to his lord. He was performing homage. Homage is, in its own way, a ceremony that formalized a person’s dependence on the lord.