Who are the lords? Who were called seniors in the Middle Ages?

Historians call the Middle Ages times from the 5th to the 15th century, that is, the period from the fall of the Roman Empire to the discovery of America. Over the years, these times were considered dark, barbaric, ignorant, cruel and bloody. However, along with these people are aware of the romanticism, knightly deeds, troubadours, the construction of majestic cathedrals and castles of that period.

Who is the seigneur

In the Middle Ages, society was divided into three classes, each of which had important duties:

• The prayers are the clergy;
• The belligerents are the lords guarding the country;
• Working are peasants.

Belonging to a certain group was inherited. It is fitting for the peasant's children to be peasants, only the descendant of a knight can become a knight, the priest - the son of an abbot.

All estates performed their important social functions. The clergy took care of the souls of the people, the seniors guarded the country, the members of the peasant families were all fed. According to this theory, representatives of each of the classes must strictly fulfill their duties and live in peace with others.

Who is the seigneur? The definition of history says that it is a landowner, a lord who has the power of the king in his own lands.

The structure of the hierarchical ladder of feudal times

In the Middle Ages, most of the population was engaged in agriculture. In the conditions of endless wars, there was a division of people into those who worked on the cultivation of the land, and those who were better able to own weapons. Full of dangers times contributed to the accelerated emergence of the class of professional military, which gradually separated into a separate layer of society.

It is known that the main wealth of man in the Middle Ages were considered lands. The estates were awarded subjects for loyalty to the kings, received them in the ownership of military exploits. The lands given for service were called "feuds." The one who received such an allotment became a vassal of the donor, had to serve his lord and fight for him for at least 40 days a year. In the absence of military operations, military training was held in the castle of the seignior.

Treaty system of power

The medieval system is called feudal. Who are the lords? These people (kings, dukes, barons, knights and even church ministers) can be called the main landowners. They are just and generous to their vassals, help them, protect them. Between the representatives of the aristocracy there were original commitments on the basis of which the system of power in feudal society was built .

The highest step in the ladder was occupied by the king. He was called the supreme overlord or first lord. The immediate vassals of the king were representatives of noble and wealthy families:

• Dukes and counts;
• Archbishops and bishops;
• Abbots.

On the next step were the vassals of higher representatives - the barons, who, in turn, were subordinated to knights. All this "ladder" was supported by the labor of artisans and peasants who provided the country with food and clothing.

On closer examination of this hierarchical construction, it becomes clear who such a seigneur in the Middle Ages is a nobleman who owns estates and his vassals.

The interdependence of estates

The life of the peasants, who make up the bulk of the population, depended very heavily on the seniors. Their duties included not only work for their family, but also work in the count's household several days a week, as well as public works on repairing fences, bridges and roads. They paid honey, eggs or grain, fruit or poultry meat for the opportunity to marry, for using a local mill for grinding grain.

Who are the seniors for medieval peasants? These are the stronger "tribesmen" who, in exchange for food and labor, guaranteed to the farmers the possibility of obtaining fields for rent for living, growing grain. The gentleman served as a defense to his peasants from military service, from the raids of strangers in unstable times.

To the question "who is a seignior", the story answers that this is a kind of patron. The more peasants and land allotments were in the possession of the seignior, the more powerful and richer it grew, its social importance grew.

Duties and rights of the lower class

Some peasants were forced to abandon ownership of land and freedom. They agreed to a dependent life in exchange for confidence in protection and security. Feudalam was more profitable to get from workers as much as possible. However, from the hungry and poor peasants, who were also subjects of their patron, there was no benefit. Therefore, in the Middle Ages, taxes, obrokas and fees were limited to certain norms of custom.

Who are the lords? These are the big feudal lords who have always willingly taken under their protection the peasants, taking from them in return freedom and the existing land. However, they had no right to sell, exchange, corporeally punish, or execute these people.

Even the most dependent of the peasants could not be thrown out of the plot of land when paying them fixed dues. Relations between the nobility and farmers were regulated not by the vagaries of the gentleman, but by established customs in society. In case of violations of their rights, peasants applied to the court and often won.

Direct and honorable owners

The land area with a manor, a castle and a local church is called a seigniorium. The principle of such ownership was the heart of the medieval economy. Most of the estates were from one to several villages with surrounding lands. Who is the seigneur? The definition is as follows: an honorific or direct owner of all real estate in a particular seigniorium.

On the territory must necessarily be a castle - a significant symbol and the center of management of the estate. Such a fortified structure was a kind of demonstration of power over people and a given territory.

So, answering the question "who are the gentlemen", one can say that these are the big feudal lords, who have vassals in charge, who have the opportunity to administer justice and receive income from their lands.