Fedual Ages

Human Rights in different periods
Early Middle Ages Compared with the former slaves, serfs obtained some freedom and rights. However, human rights was mostly for privileged stratum. When people revolted, they would be suppressed by the union of kingship and theocracy. High and Late Middle Ages The conflict among kingship, theocracy and local bigwig created an enabling environment for human rights. Serfs sold surplus products and some of them escaped from the manor, which promoted the development of business and city. The end of Middle Ages Some Westren Europe cities have gotten rid of the bondage of feudalism to some extent.
Basic components of the laws
class relations Class inequality was open: nobility enjoyed privileges, serfs were attached to the nobility property in land Only King and big aristocrat owned the land. Law of Contract Increasing kinds of the contract: sale, debit and credit, lease, hire and employ The contract executed by mutual consent. Family and Succession Law There were some differences between different regions, and divorce was forbidden.
The disintegration of the Germanic rural communes
acquisition of plenty of farmers' land
Peasants Serfs
the origin of serfdom
battles:
a ffa c te d fa rm e rs ' n o rm a l a g ric u ltra l p ro d u c to n the change of military system
What helped the privilege transform into human rights?
The combination of bourgeois autonomy in management and guidance from the government.
Economic life tend to Standardization and legislation
serfs
VSslaves源自serf is different from slave
why?
serfs
relied on feudal lords couldn't leave their land
A serf could become a freemen by living in autonomous city for one year and one day .
The relationship between the kingship, theocracy and human rights balance of power
kingship
human rights
theocracy
General Situation The imperial power and religious power in western Europe cooperated at one time and opposed each other at other times for the sake of their respective benefits.
1 2 3 4
Law & Human rights Serfs vs. Peasants
Crime & Punishment
Knights & Chivalry
Medieval European law
Early Middle Ages mainly customary law
High and Late Middle Ages customary law turned into code of written law
Feudal/Manorial System in Middle Ages (5th to 15th century)
Which factors contributed to the the formation of feudal system in middle ages?
A. Roman feudalism factors As the Roman Empire suspended foreign expansion, the economy of the empire was confronted with a serious crisis, and the empire was on the wane. Then, the protective relationship between the rich and the poor expanded, and the manorial system come into force. B. Christian Church People's ideology changed to adapt to the changes in the economy. After the fourth century, Roman has become a Christian nation. In addition, monasticism, which was established by the church, had a significant impact on the early medieval Western Europe society. C. The Germanic factor The Germanic laws, military system, autonomous rural communes system and many other factors cleared the way for the new civilization in Western Europe.
slaves
no land！ no freedom！
The most important difference is that serfs could not be sold to another manor at their landlords random
the origin of serfdom
slave
colonus
serf
"Medieval serfs' ancestors"
What is the colonus ?
emergence
appeared in Italy in the 2nd century before the 3rd century in Rome:refers to freeholder 4 ~ 5th century : mainly refers to agricultural labourer between freeman and slave.
Theocracy VS. Kingship
The spiritual control by the church provided guarantee for the imperial power.
The pope began to be obsessed with political rights, and theocracy became a vital force to balance kingship. In most cases, when the church and feudal ruler shared the same interests, they worked together to maintain the Western Europe's ruling order.
The awakening of the human right posed threat against the imperial power and weakened the authority of religious power, which was driven out of the historic stage in Renaissance and Reformation.
The generalization of the principle of the contracts & the development of the market relations
The internal factor of Roman empire's feudal system--serfdom