What are vassals and how did they come about

The Middle Ages in Europe has several characteristic features and phenomena. Of course, these are knights, the Crusades and the Inquisition. But also the vassalage. This system of relations within the state has become fundamental for a long European era.

Origin

To understand what vassals are, it is enough to consider the example of any medieval country in Western Europe. This system arose in the state of the Franks in the VII-VIII century. In this, on the ruins of the Roman Empire, prototypes of the modern European state appeared. The rulers needed a format in which they could maintain their own power and at the same time rely on the support of the army.

What are vassals? These are people who have land plots that recognize themselves as subjects of the king. This status was received by soldiers enlisted in the army of the state and served in it. At the same time, the richest feudal lords could have really large farms from several villages or even a small town.

As a rule, such large areas were received by people loyal to the king. The inheritance was inherited by children and grandchildren. In this case, the descendants also had to serve the state.

Duty of vassals

What was the duty of the feudal lords? At the king's request, they were to bring his own small army to him. A full-fledged army was assembled from such detachments, which protected the country from external threats and internal turmoil. The duties of the vassal included the regular protection of state borders, as well as the payment of taxes to the central treasury.

The rights of the vassal depended on his position in the state hierarchy. Each feudal lord received a title. The most powerful and powerful became dukes. Further on the stairs down went the columns and barons.

Knights were representatives of such noble families. However, they had no land. Instead, they owned a set of armor and a horse. Knights entered the paid service to feudal lords or the king. What are vassals? They are servants of the king. Their lord guaranteed them security and protected from attacks by neighbors. Such a system of mutual compromises existed in Europe for several centuries.

If, at its origin, the system of vassalage helped the sovereigns of the Western European kingdoms to make their powers stable, then in time feudal duty led to problems. They were natural. Gradually, in the hands of the most influential families turned out to be large land resources. They owned a lot of peasants and soldiers.

Some of them rebelled against the central government, and some even attempted to the throne. For example, in France, the royal institution was just a formality. The real power was in the hands of the most powerful feudal lords. One of them (Hugo Capet) later became a king himself, leaving the old Karoling dynasty out of work.

System Features

This case was not an isolated one. Some vassals sought great privileges. For example, they themselves could collect taxes within their allotment, and also began to mint their own coins. This led to economic independence from the capital, and then to the fragmentation of the state.

The situation worsened by the fact that in Europe the rule was "the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal". Thus, the dukes could subordinate to themselves numerous graphs, which turned out to be isolated from the king. In the period of the greatest fragmentation almost every vassal sought independence. The definition of this phenomenon, adopted in the early Middle Ages, has lost relevance. What are vassals? It is also people who gave their sovereign a vow of loyalty. Over time, this rite became mandatory and received its own ritual. As a sign of establishing relations, the lord gave his vassal his glove.

Comparison of Europe and Russia

In France and England, feudal fragmentation led to a weakening of royal power and numerous wars within the state. This hampered the development of the economy. In both countries, the kings tried to regain their former influence, which ultimately led to the establishment of absolute monarchies in the late Middle Ages.

Something similar happened in Russia. The only difference was that the system of relations between the center and the provinces was established with the help of the lefthand law. In addition, the process of the disintegration of the state into individual principalities began in Russia several centuries later than in western Europe. This led to the backlog of our country in the development in the New Period.