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The Middle Ages began when the western Roman Empire fell in the 5th century.
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This period lasted for hundreds of years.
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Without the Romans to provide protection,
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medieval Europe became a violent and dangerous place.
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Frequent foreign invasions by Vikings, Magyars, Muslims and other raiders
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weakened European rulers so that they could not maintain law and order.
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Ceasing the opportunity, wealthy nobles seeking to expand their power and land holdings,
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began fighting one another for territory.
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Out of this chaos emerged a new political and social system called feudalism.
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Because European kings weren't strong enough to control the battling nobles who were challenging their power,
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they struck a deal with them instead.
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In a formal ceremony, a monarch would give a noble a 'fief' or grant of land.
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The monarch also promised to protect the noble.
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In exchange, the noble swore an oath of loyalty, vowing to be faithful to his lord, the monarch,
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and to supply him with armed warriors and other services.
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Through this feudal contract, the noble became the vassal of the king or queen.
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The monarchs vassals became lords themselves by subdividing their fiefs
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and acquiring vassals of their own.
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Like their over lords, these lesser nobles had to publicly promise their loyalty and support
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in return for land and protection.
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Often the same man was both lord and vassal;
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lord to a less powerful noble below him,
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and vassal to a more powerful noble above him.
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Feudal society had a strict social order.
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The monarch was at the top.
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Directly below him were the upper nobility.
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Even though they were below the king, it was these local lords who controlled most people's lives.
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The social hierarchy continued down through the rest of society.
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Just under the nobility were the knights, mounted warriors who did battle for their lords.
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Nobles also sometimes hired 'men at arms', soldiers who had the same equipment as knights,
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but not their social standing.
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The peasants were at the bottom of the social order.
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They were generally poor, uneducated laborers who lived and worked on the land owned by the nobles.
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The peasants were the economic backbone of society,
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growing the crops and producing the other goods that everyone needed.
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The peasants were considered part of the land they lived on.
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When a noble received a fief of land, he received the peasants who lived on it too.
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Peasants couldn't leave the land without the lord's permission,
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and they had to obey the lord's laws.
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They also had to work for the lord, farming his lands
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and giving him regular payments of what they produced.
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In return the peasants were allowed to farm some of the lord's land for themselves.
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Perhaps more important during this chaotic period,
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they enjoyed the stability and protection of the lord's laws and his armies.
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These were big benefits during the Middle Ages
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when competing lords, bandits, and raiders from outside Europe were a serious threat.
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A main source of protection during the Middle Ages was a castle.
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An army that was barricaded inside a castle was incredibly difficult to defeat,
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and nobles safe inside their castles were able to build up their armies
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and expand their power.
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But the castles were more than just strongholds for the nobility.
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They also protected the entire community.
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During times of trouble, the local peasants gathered for safety inside the castle walls,
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and often helped to defend the castle.
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Under feudalism, the over lords, lesser lords, knights, and peasants all depended on one another for survival.
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Life may not have been easy for most people,
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but feudalism turned chaos into orrder,
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and offered stability during a violent and uncertain age.
