Feudal Europe and Japan

Post-Classical period

Feudal Europe

Fall of Rome

• 476 AD Rome invaded

• Adios to:– centralized gov’t– Loss of Greek and

Roman learning – common language– Transportation and

communication halts

Long-Term Effects

• Constant warfare and invasions

• Cities abandoned as economic and political centers

• Population becomes mostly rural• Political, economic, and cultural face

of Europe changes• Feudalism develops

The 4 Stages of Middle Ages in Europe

• Stage 1 (476-750) – – Several smaller

kingdoms form after Rome:

• Franks in France• Visigoths in Spain• Saxons in Germany

– No unity.

• Stage 2 (750-814) – Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne defeats Muslims who had invaded France through Spain.

Stage 3 and 4

• Stage 3 (815-1050) – – Carolingian Empire falls

apart – Feudal system.

• Stage 4 (1050-1300) – – Rise of national monarchs– First agricultural revolution

allows for population increase.

– Trade resumes – Cities repopulated.

Origins of European Feudal System

• Central economic feature of Medieval Europe: strong agricultural base for a warrior society

• Charles Martel (Carolingian Dynasty)– grants nobles rights over tracts of land, to yield the

income with which they can provide fighting men for his army

– requires an oath of loyalty in return (8th C)

• Full-fledged European system by the end of the 10th C.

What exactly is Feudalism anyway?

• System of land holding that dominated Western Europe

• Essential part of the political organization: militarily and economically

• Appears to have origins in Germanic tribesFrankish?

European Feudal System

• System at the top:• King owned the

land (manors); contracted to noblemen (lords/vassals)– Fielty (aka Oath of

Fidelity)– Fief

Feudalism for the Uppercrust

Relationship based on:1. Regular supply of

troops (Castle Guard)2. Financial aid in

exchange for the lands (from the vassals to the lord)

3. Advice and participation in judgments (court service to the lord)

Manorialism

• Large estates that were able to meet all of their own needs

• Smaller farmers ceded land to nobles for protection

• Made up of fields, a small town with a mill and workshops, a church, and a castle

Feudalism for the masses

• Seignoralism: Relationship between vassals and serfs– They worked the vassal’s land and owed

him a percentage of their food. Sometimes, they had to work 1-5 weeks a year in the manor, among other duties.

– He provided military protection.

Feudal Social Pyramid• Above all

these, is the POPE

Growth of Towns

• Late Middle Ages• Developed near monasteries• Formed by artisans,

craftsmen, merchants (beginning of guilds): protection

• Formed near junctions of: rivers, roads, portsTRADE

• Created the Bourgeoisie

NOT THE DARK AGES!

•

Purse cover, from the Sutton Hoo ship burial in Suffolk, England, ca. 625

Chi-rho-iota page, folio 34 recto of the Book of Kells, 8th or 9th century

NOT THE DARK AGES!

•

Gospel of St. John title page, Lindisfarne Gospels, Northumbria, England, ca. 698-721

Saint Matthew, folio 18 verso of the Ebbo Gospels, Hautvillers, France, ca. 816-835

Initial R with knight fighting a dragon, folio 4 verso of the Moralia in Job, Citeaux, France, ca. 1115-1125

NOT THE DARK AGES!

Scene One, Bayeux Tapestry, Bayeux Cathedral, Bayeux, France, ca. 1070-1080.

Ambrogio, Lorenzetti, Peaceful City, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, Italy, 1338-1339

Feudal Japan

In Japan

• Not much is known about Japan until around the 5th C. CE

• The evolution of SHINTO (the way of the spirits)—native Japanese religion; name adopted to distinguish it from Chinese influences

• Around the 5th/6th C, rapid adoption of Chinese influences in Japan

• Beginning around 1165, the feudal epochShogun Period (Kamakura Period)

Feudal Japan

• DECLINE of centralized government by the 11th C– Bakufu

• Emperors still reigned, but didn’t rule: provincial lords named shoguns had power

More about feudal Japan

• After the 11th C, the warrior-elite gave out land in exchange for gathering groups of retainers who owed loyalty & service to the lords– Samurai

Shogunates

• Controlled the ineffective/puppet emperors

• Regional leaders’ families; hereditary titles

• Reciprocal relationships with daimyos b/c of loyalty oaths and obligations

Three Successive Shogunates

• 1st (Kamakura Bakufu) was weakened by Mongolians & fell

• 2nd (Ashikaga Bakufu) became weakened by regional wars from 1467-1568

• 3rd (Tokugawa) after initial strengthening fell into total decline and ended by the 18th C.

Feudal Japan

Feudal Codes

• Bushido (Japan)– Stressed:

• Self-denial• Indifference to

adversity• Generosity to the

less fortunate

• Chivalry (Europe)– Stressed:

• Honesty• Courtesy• Defense of the

helpless

What are similarities between the two regions?

• Europe: • Japan: