Unit 2 Essay: Feudalism

Unit Essay: Feudalism

In order to get credit for this project you must write an essay on the following topic:

Feudalism

Feudalism was the economic, political, and social system used in Europe for over six hundred years during the Middle Ages. While a modern person would recognize elements of modern government in the societies of Classic Greece and Rome, the system set up in Europe during the Middle Ages was based upon a complex hierarchical arrangement between the various classes of European society. The primary purpose of this system was to regulate relationships between these classes, and this system differs sharply from modern political arrangements. Using knowledge that you have gained from the lessons within this unit, write a detailed, five-paragraph essay of 600 words or more explaining how feudalism was a hierarchical political system very unlike the democratic system we use today. 

Despite needing some good background information on feudalism (which the film Inside the Medieval Mind will provide), this is actually an easy essay to organize and write: group your body paras around feudal economic, social, and political institutions and throughout the essay discuss the difference between this system and modern society and political structures.

Some background information to use:

feudalism

lord

vassals

fief

manorialism

serfdom

gentry

Trehal