HIST108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Middle Ages, Suzerainty, Absolute Monarchy
Document Summary
Church function as ruling institution maintaining medieval order. Maintained peace and order in the public sphere. Concept of feudalism, some historians put a question mark on the validity on this concept in regard to politics because no one used this term in the medieval ages. 19thc karl marx used to describe the economy of the middle ages after slavery but before modern capitalism. A mutual and lifelong bond between and lord and his vassals - the central feature of vassalage. Formally established relationship between the lord and his vassal. An estate of land held from a lord in return for a specified service, usually military service. Charlemagne (king of franks 768-814; emperor 800-814) and his carolingian empire. Political and economic disorder: caused by the disintegration of the carolingian empire and the vikings raids. In the absence of central government, landowners took public power in their hands. Voluntary submission to greater feudal lords by lesser freemen.
