Feudalism was a system of government that provided the structure for the political, social, and economic aspects of medieval civilization. It consisted of contracts between members of the nobility and less powerful nobles who served as their vassals. Economically it was a contract between the serfs who farmed that land and the nobles who owned it. Feudalism was very complex and confusing in some ways, but it could also be looked at as very simple. It was constructed in a pyramid or chess board-like form. Kings were at the top although they did not have much power, lords and vassals followed the king and had control of the lesser nobles. The serfs were at the base of the pyramid. A manor, otherwise known as the lord's estate, was where everyone lived and worked. In exchange for a place to live,

Population growth contributed to the migration of people from the manor to the town, which was the base of complexity in the later stage of the Middle Ages. A self-sufficient manor sometimes was the beginning of a town where people came to form a complex web of commerce and trade. Products were bought with money rather then used to barter for other necessities such as in the earlier stage of the Middle Ages. As the towns grew the people became dissatisfied with being ruled by the nobles and church. They wanted to govern and tax themselves, and eventually they began to do these things without the consent of the church or nobles. To better protect themselves the townspeople often joined together with people from other towns to form leagues. These leagues would band together to protect one another and promote trade. The people organized themselves even further with forming merchant and craft guilds. The guilds controlled the making and sale of particular products. Feudal lords as well as the church was concerned with the formation of towns. Townspeople were able to increase their wealth through the sale and manufacturing of goods, while the lords only produced what was needed for their manor. The serfs began to move away from the manor because they realized that they could have a better life if they lived in the towns. By forming autonomous towns, people created complex relationships between themselves and the monarchs and churches. This was the development of a more complex form of economic subsistence known as capital

Some common words found in the essay are:
, Middle Ages, Gregory XI, medieval society, medieval civilization, nobles church, stage middle ages, serfs farmed land, complex organization, serfs farmed, people manor, simple complex, feudalism complex, middle ages, medieval period,
Approximate Word count = 1037
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)