Citizenry In The Middle Ages

Oxford Dictionary describes the word middle as, “at an equal distance from the endpoints of something; between.” When talking about history, the middle ages is the time between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance. During the middle ages, the way of life for people was very different than any other era. Daily life depended on wealth, power and social status. Having a feudal pyramid based on these categories made it easier for everyone at the time. The Medieval Church played a great role within medieval towns and villages. God was a dominant part in everyone’s lives to protect and help them. People in these times were also by protected rights and charters. The citizenry in the middle ages may not have had life perfect, but feudalism, the church …show more content…
Under the feudal system, everyone but the king had a ruling lord above him to whom he must give loyalty and service in exchange for land and protection. The king awarded land grants, called fiefs. The most important relationship in feudalism is between the Lord, the Vassal and the Peasant. The Lord was the main controller of the entire government. He was the monarch who controlled all of the land and people. The vassals were the nobleman who had been granted land by the monarch, and in exchange for that land provided military service or money. The peasants made up the majority of the population. Feudalism first came about when King William needed to control his rebelling people and his large amount of land at once. Everyone benefitted from the feudal system. Lords gained a dependable fighting force in their vassals. Vassals received land for their military service. Peasants were protected by their lords. It also was beneficial because it was the first step towards limited government, constitutions and civil …show more content…
These guilds of Medieval Times were used by their members as a protection system against excessive taxes and rents that could be imposed by the barons, lords and knights. Guilds actively worked for the protection and safety of merchants and craftsmen, they also ensured proper protection of consumers by committing to fair pricing. A successful town attracted many merchants to it. Many towns were owned by a lord and it was in his interest to ensure that his town was popular with merchants as they paid tax. The more merchants in a town, the more tax a lord could collect. “Taxes were collected by a sheriff. As many people could not read or write, the system was open to abuse and corruption” (Trueman) This is why many people wanted a charter. A charter gave people in a town certain rights that were clearly stated in the charter that town had. Many charters gave towns the right to collect their own taxes thus removing corrupt sheriffs from doing so. Merchants and charters helped the well-being of everyday