![]() ![]() Iona was burnt in 802 AD, and 68 monks were killed in another raid in 806 AD. We know no historical details of the raids in Scotland, although they must have been extensive. Over the next few decades, many monasteries in the north were destroyed, and with them any records they might have kept of the raids. Alcuin suggested that further attack might be averted by moral reform in the monastery. It is clear from the letter that Lindisfarne was not destroyed. In 793 AD, an anguished Alcuin of York wrote to the Higbald, the bishop of Lindisfarne and to Ethelred, King of Northumbria, bemoaning the unexpected attack on the monastery of Lindisfarne by Viking raiders, probably Norwegians sailing directly across the North Sea to Northumbria. ![]() For these reasons, feudalism in Europe came to an end.Yet the most significant development of the period was an indirect result of Scandinavian involvement in the affairs of Britain - the emergence of two kingdoms of newly unified territories, England and Scotland. The invention of printing machine and the progress of education changed the outlook of the people who relegated feudalism to distant background. The use of gun-powder made the King more powerful and the feudal Lords could not be a match to them. When there was a shortage of people to perform cultivation work, the feudal Lords were compelled to resort to rearing of sheep. The great Plague took a heavy total of life in the area stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Baltic Ocean. When the lot of the cities improved through trade and commerce, they paid back money to the feudal Lords and became free from them. So, the necessity of feudal Lords was not felt in the society. The Kings increased their power and gave protection to their subjects. In due course of time, Feudalism lost its relevance for the European countries. In some places, instead of the word ‘fief, the word ‘Feud’ was used from which the term ‘Feudalism’ was derived. The Lord gave back the plot of land known as Tier to his vassal. The people who sought his protection were called the ‘Vassals’ or ‘Liege-men’. The protector was variously known as the ‘Lord’, ‘Liege Lord’, ‘Suzerain’ or ‘Seignior’. So, the common people turned to strong and powerful leaders who were mostly the descendants of the Dukes, Counts and Margraves to make their life and property safe. He could not save his subjects from the plunders of the foreign invaders. In medieval Europe, the weak and innocent people needed the help of a powerful man. The Basic Principles of Feudalism:įeudalism was based on certain principles. Feudalism exerted its influence in the entire medieval Europe. With the expansion of the Frankish Kingdom, feudalism spread to Italy, Spain, Germany and other Countries. feudalism appeared in the Prankish Kingdom where a bond was created between the ruler and his supporters. In this system the young fighters engaged themselves in the service of a powerful leader and performed their duty as per the instruction of that leader. This system was reflected through the procedure of Comitatus. This system prevailed in Roman Society in which the weaker section appealed to the rich people to save them from peril and showed allegience to their masters. Ancient Greece witnessed this situation during the ‘Age of Homer’. This situation arose in Egypt after the end of the ‘Old Kingdom’. ![]() In other words, feudalism was a part of the feudal society where the subordinate subjects showed loyalty to their Lords and obtained from them a piece of land there by serving their master, in various ways seeking protection from them for their life and property. Feudalism was a kind of socio-political organisation which arose in medieval Europe and was based on land tenure given by the Lord to the Vassels, who served their masters in varous ways. ![]()
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