ABSTRACT
The invasion of the Germanic tribes played an important role in the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. Subsequently, these tribes established their state in different parts of the erstwhile Roman Empire. The interaction between German and the Roman institutions had a profound impact on the European polity, society, and economy during the seventh to fourteenth century CE. This interaction took place in two phases under the ‘founder’ and ‘successor, German states.
During the period of dominance of the ‘founder’ states, the Germans followed the Roman estate system, but the political and legal structures of these states displayed a dualism. Under the ‘successor’ states especially of Visigoths, Lombards and the Franks, the fusion between German and Roman institutions led to the growth of a new type of political, social, and economic structure widely known as feudalism.
Feudalism has been given different connotations by scholars. Economically, it is seen as a mode of production determined by the relationship between landlord and the peasants. In political terms, it represents a decentralised polity where the executive powers of the ruler were delegated to the local lords. Socially, feudalism is said to represent a hierarchical society dominated by the landed aristocracy and where individual relationship is bound by loyalty and protection. In military terms, feudalism represents the importance of mounted cavalry in warfare, bestowing them a higher social status.
The components of classical feudalism, which developed under the Franks, were a direct outcome of the political, social, and military measures adopted by Charlemagne to sustain monarchy within a decentralised political structure.
Charlemagne also balanced various components of the Frankish state comprising of the feudal aristocracy, military leaders, landowners, and the warriors. The provinces were divided into counties and were given to counts and dukes to administer the local areas and provide military assistance in return for land grants. The counts appointed their own sub-vassals who in turn held land from the former. Charlemagne also appointed missi dominici (emissaries of the master) and vassi dominici (direct vassals of the emperor) in the counties for effective integration of the provinces with the centre and to supervise the activities of the counts and dukes.
After the end of the Carolingian rule, power of the monarchy declined all over Europe. This was followed by the rise of autonomous states by the princes and the powerful local lords. In France, England, and Germany, however, powerful national monarchies were created between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, which restored the authority of the monarch.
The nobility in medieval Europe consisted of a hereditary aristocracy identified by birth, landed wealth and participation in warfare. With the grant of land and devolution of central authority all over Europe, the nobility held wide control over the territories assigned to them. But the king’s power of patronage ensured the loyalty of the nobles towards the rulers. After the breakdown of the Carolingian empire, the fragmentation of the empire as territorial principalities of princes, counts, and dukes brought about a change in the composition of the nobility. With the proliferation of castles for protection against rising insecurities the castellans (vassals of the counts) and the knights (stationed as garrison heads in the castles) strengthened their hold over the castles. But such devolution of power from the counts to the castellans and the knights was clearly visible only in France. In Germany, Italy, and England, power of the counts and the princes persisted.
Knights, as a social category in medieval Europe, consisted of several social ranks. Knight originated from the milites , who served the castellans and the princes. But during the twelfth and the thirteenth century as the construction of castles multiplied and warfare became a specialised activity, the milites transformed into knights. This together with the ideology of chivalry paved the way for the entry of knights among the ranks of nobility in the thirteenth century. The ideology of chivalry was a knightly code of values which emphasised bravery, loyalty, generosity, warfare skills, and courtly behaviour. This facilitated the incorporation of knights into the ranks of aristocracy to which they had not been born.
Rural lordship ( seigneurie ) was an important component of the feudal economy of medieval Europe through which the landlords appropriated the surplus generated by the dependent peasants (serfs) and ruled over the entire inhabitants of his administrative territory known as manor. The three main components of the manor were demesne (lord’s land), virgates (land of the dependent peasants), and allods (land of the free peasants) besides the communal land. All peasants of the manor were subject to the seigneurial domination of the lord. The serfs had to perform forced labour ( corvee in France) in the demesne on certain days of the week. The additional sources of income for the feudal lords including taxes like taille and tithe along with banalites or exploitative monopolies over the services of the manor.
Agricultural production in medieval Europe was organised through the manor system. The agrarian expansion in the initial phase caused mainly by the introduction of new technologies brought about an increase in agricultural production besides an increase in the area under cultivation. This in turn brought about a demographic increase all over Europe. This increased the amount of labour available for the lord and at the same time also led to fragmentation of land among the peasants as the limits of expansion had reached their limits by the end of the twelfth century. The demand for luxury goods and gradual increase in monetisation raised the monetary needs of the lords. This led to conversion of labour rent into money rent and decline in demesne production. The condition of most of the peasantry deteriorated due to high rent in money and decline in the productivity of land caused by fragmentation and excessive use of land. Increase in the money rent rendered many peasants land less and led to the creation of a class of hired labourers.
These developments brought about a crisis in the feudal mode of production in the fourteenth century. The crisis manifested itself in the form of a decline in productivity, sharp rise in the prices of the food grains, starvation deaths alongside large-scale mortality due to famine, and black death that drastically reduced the population of Europe. The demographic decline of this level also brought about a change in the landlord-peasant relationship. The decline in population adversely affected the rent in money for the feudal lords due to decline in peasant holdings. This along with an increase in wages (caused by shortage of labour) improved the condition of the peasants as well as the bargaining power of the peasantry vis-à-vis the feudal lords. But a renewed attempt of the feudal lords to increase rent and reintroduce servile conditions for the peasantry led to peasant revolts all over Europe, which brought about significant changes in the landlord-peasant relationship thus loosening the bond of serfdom.
Eastern Europe did not undergo the kind of crisis faced by the landlord of the west. The crisis in feudalism of the fourteenth to fifteenth century was well managed by the feudal lords of Eastern Europe due to the fundamental difference in the settlement pattern and landlord-peasant relationship between Eastern and Western Europe. Eastern Europe did not witness the kind of agrarian expansion that was seen in Western Europe. The landlords of Eastern Europe were able to establish firmer control over the peasantry by using their political power as they were able to influence policy decision.
Several reasons have been cited for the growth of towns in Europe such as proliferation of castles, attempt of the feudal lords to develop economic potentiality of their manor with a view to enhance their income, and economic needs of the monasteries, which stimulated urbanisation. From the point of view of merchants, wherever they found an ideal location, security, and freedom, those areas developed as centres of exchange. Town formation thus started in the form of castles ( burgs ) and then in the form of its extension burgus and finally as manufacturing centres. Some towns such as Cologne and Mainze also saw their growth as transit points in international trade. The growth of pilgrim centres such as Jerusalem, Rome, and Constantinople also stimulated the process of urbanisation.
The merchants organised themselves into guilds through which they regulated commercial activities and worked as agencies to seek some kind of recognition by the feudal lords. Artisans also organised themselves into their own guilds which controlled prices and wages and regulated hours of work. Gradually, the merchants of the towns also won freedom from providing feudal services and autonomy regarding managing their own legal matters through charters issued by rulers and the feudal lords in return for money. These charters granted freedom to the inhabitants of the town as well as the right to buy and sell urban properties within the town.
The eleventh century CE is considered as the period of revival of long-distance trade. The crusades, the demographic expansion, and internal growth of Europe have been cited as the chief reasons for this revival.
Revival of trade saw several developments, which further stimulated both local and long-distance trade. Transportation and shipping saw some important new innovations. An efficient credit system in the form of credit letters replaced the earlier debased coins. New commercial partnership also developed to ensure availability of capital.
The articles of trade include both goods of mass consumption as well as luxury items. Food grains, salt, and spices were the prominent articles of trade. Textile was another major object of exchange. The development of mining and metallurgy promoted the exchange of such commodities as iron, copper, zinc, silver, and small quantities of gold as well as lead and tin. The forests of Eastern Europe were the major source of timber which was in great demand for construction of houses and shipping industry all over Europe.
Although exchange took place in practically every part of Europe after its revival in the eleventh century, some regions dominated the trade network. These were Northern Italy, North-West Europe, and North-East Europe. All these regions had important commercial cities situated on water as well as land routes. They were further connected with the international trade routes.
Periodic fairs were important centres of exchange and continued to play an important role in the promotion of trade and commerce till the emergence of commercial towns. Most prominent among these in the medieval period was the fair at Champagne which was spread out in a manner to last the whole year. Most of these were organised by regional lords or counts for whom tolls collected from the sale of goods at the fair were a major source of income.
The agricultural and industrial growth of Europe was supported by efficient technology which laid the foundation for the scientific and technological revolution in the post-Renaissance period. In the agricultural field, the noticeable innovations were use of heavy wheeled plough, improved harness of the oxen, use of horse as the draught animal, and improvement in the tools such as hoes, forks, and shovels. Besides, shifting from two-field to three-field rotation and use of water and windmills also augmented productivity.
In the industrial sector, the textile industry saw some important innovations. The use of stamp mills, water mills and vertical pedal looms increased textile production by many folds. Metallurgy was another industry that benefitted greatly from the innovation of water mills. Passion for mechanisation during the latter part of medieval Europe led to development in the field of machine design which promoted the manufacture of crank and mechanical clocks. Paper manufacturing and printing industries were other important areas of technological innovations. The invention of looking glass further stimulated the printing industry of late medieval Europe.
Military innovations in Europe during the period under study were equally impressive, which enabled the Europeans to conquer different parts of the world during 1600–1800 CE. Horse stirrup, saddle, and finally gunpowder were some of the notable military innovations of this period. The growth of the chemical industry further helped in increasing the use of gunpowder. Whereas the growth of heavy metallurgy helped to cast heavy cannons.
Marine and shipping knowledge were the other fields of technological developments of medieval Europe which enabled European mariners to undertake long sea voyages. The new type of rudders, triangular sails, and the method of rigging enabled construction of large ships that could carry more weight while the astrolabe and compass allowed better navigation.
