Feudalism
Feudalism is a term used to describe
the combination of military and legal customs of medieval Europe. These customs
became known to the world in the 9th century and flourished by the 15th
century. This concept was used in the past to understand how society could be
structured around the relationship derived from the holding of lands in
exchange for labor or certain services. François-Louis Ganshof (1944) was the
first to use this term, and he called feudalism a set of obligations that
revolved around the concepts of vassals, fiefs, and lords. Later on, Marc Bloch
(1939) included the concepts of clergy, peasantry, and nobility in his broader
definition of feudalism. Outside Europe, this term is used to describe the
political, economic, social and judicial spheres.
Vikings
The second term I have chosen to
describe is Vikings. Vikings are regarded as Norse seafarers who belonged to
the time of the 8th century to the 11th century. They were able to speak the
Old Norse language, and with time, Vikings began trading from northern areas of
Europe to other parts of Europe, exploring Iceland, Vinland, and Greenland. In
modern English, this term is used to describe North Germanic people whose
ancestors are believed to be belonging to the Viking Age. Viking communities
got established in many areas of Ukraine, Belarus, Europe and North America and
witnessed dissemination of Norse culture while focusing on their distinctive values.
It should be noticed that Vikings were famous for their ships, which were
considered a must part of their culture. Their ships allowed them to explore
different parts of the world and to trade things according to their desires.
Medieval Manor
The term Medieval Manor is used to
describe an agricultural estate. We can also call it vill; during the Middle
Ages, a large number of people in England had no connections with towns. For
long, they remained associated with an economic and social powerhouse of the
Middle Ages. A manor consisted of a village in which inhabitants used to work
together on the same land, tracts of the agricultural land, and a manor house
in which the Lord had full control. Medieval Manors also had orchards, lakes,
woods, and gardens, and it was easy for people to access bakeries and mills to
buy something good for themselves. The composition and size of manors varied
greatly, with some of them having the size of 550 acres and the others ranging
in size from 650 to 1,200 acres.
Economic contraction and the Black
Death
The fourth term I am going to describe
is the Black Death. The Black Death was actually an extensively large
demographic disaster of European history. It arrived in Italy in 1347 and
gradually moved across the continent, hitting Russia in 1353. About six million
people were killed as a result of this gigantic disaster, and this gave rise to
an economic contraction in multiple areas. The social, economic and cultural
lives of people were impacted greatly. After 1500, most of the economic
problems were solved, such as wages were increased and the consumption of
quality goods was ensured.
