(a) Define feudalism. (b) State any five demerits of feudalism.

Answer Details

(a) Definition of feudalism

Feudalism was a social, political and economic system that prevailed in medieval Europe (and in similar forms elsewhere) in which land was the basis of power and social relations. Under it, the king owned all the land and granted large estates (fiefs) to nobles or lords in return for their loyalty and military service. The lords in turn allotted portions of land to peasants or serfs, who worked the land and rendered services and dues to the lord in exchange for protection and the right to farm. Society was rigidly divided into fixed classes (the king, the nobility, the clergy and the serfs) with the serfs at the bottom, tied to the land and owing obligations to their overlords.

(b) Five demerits of feudalism

1. Exploitation and oppression of the serfs: The peasants were made to work for the lords under harsh conditions, paying heavy dues and services while receiving little in return.
2. Rigid class stratification with no social mobility: Society was divided into fixed classes and a person born a serf remained a serf; there was little or no opportunity to rise.
3. Denial of freedom and rights: The serfs were tied to the land and to their lords, could not move about freely and were treated almost like property, lacking basic liberties.
4. Concentration of power and wealth in a few: Land, wealth and political power were held by the king and a small class of nobles, breeding gross inequality.
5. It bred constant conflict and instability: Rivalry among the lords and their private armies led to frequent wars and disorder, weakening central authority.
6. It retarded economic and technological progress: The self-sufficient manorial economy discouraged trade, industry, invention and the growth of towns.