Feudalism was a system of social society present during the high middle ages in Europe between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. Feudalism can be understood as a hierarchical society where the king owned most of the land, he would distribute it out to lords, who would then lease the units of land to the peasants and serfs. The units of distributed land are known as fiefs, the king would give fiefs to the nobles, and those who received them were known as the vassals. The serfs and peasants were tied to the land they leased, and in return for the land and protection given to them by the lord, they would give regular payment of produce. This social hierarchy is often displayed as a pyramid, with the king at the top, then the lords, knights and peasants and serfs at the bottom.

Eventually, by the 13th century with the rising popularity of coinage, money was paid by the lords to their sovereign instead of offering military service (which worked out fine since the monarch could use the money to pay for mercenaries instead). Money was distributed by the monarch instead of land, and both a rich merchant class grew and serfs were able to buy their freedom. All of these factors working together gradually weakened the mediaeval system of feudalism built on land ownership and reciprocated loyalty.

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— CHAPTERS —
0:00​ Introduction
0:54 Introduction to Feudalism
1:46 The Feudal Pyramid
4:35 Consequences and Effects of Feudalism
5:43 The Decline of European Feudalism
7:40 Outro

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