Causes of Decline of Feudalism in Europe

Feudalism was dominant in most parts of Europe for over seven centuries, however it reached it’s zenith during eleventh to thirteen century….. Though many of its institutions were survived till the end of the eighteenth century. There were several factors which led to the decline of feudal system. The holy roman empire , which came into existence during this period represented a force which kept in chek the evil tendencies of the german feudalism. The Papacy rendered valuable services in fighting against the lawlessness of the feudal system. It installed the institution of TRUCE OF GOD, which demanded protection for priests, merchants, peasants, women and pilgrims and forbade fighting on several days of the week. The feudal lords respecting the church’s order kept a check on their followers and made sure that they observed orders and should not disturb peace.
The towns contributed to the decline of feudalism as they organized themselves into communes and leagues to deal with the feudal lords. initially , the towns men were all treated as serfs but with the development of trade and commerce , the towns became rich and obtained charters of freedom which basically made them independent from feudal controls.
The development of new forms of warfare exposed the weakness of the older older feudal methods . The invention of gun power and fire arms was one of the chief factor responsible for the decline of feudalism.
The growth of strong monarchies also contributed to its downfall. Powerful monarchs established the system of hereditary succession instead the system of election . In addition to this, the position of kings were further strengthened by the willing support of the common people. , and together they weekend the power and prestige of the feudal lords. The emergence of the theory of the divine right of kings gave a new stature of the position of the kings. Obedience to the king under this theory was a sacred duty. The increasing power of the parliament in England served to bridge the gap between the common people and the monarchy, thus decreasing the power of the nobility.
The introduction of money played a very decisive role in the downfall of this feudalistic structure . Money was paid in lieu of military and other services. The nobles gave money instead of providing the king with a contingent of soldiers . The king was thus able to raise mercenary troops who were better trained and more loyal than the troops provided by the feudal lords. The nobles granted charters of freedom to the townsfolk on payment of money. This step further undermined the power of the lords. During the fourteenth century , feudalism received another setback because of the important changes introduced in the agricultural methods. The plague called “ BLACK DEATH” which swept across the whole Europe had very dramatic effects. It changed the face of the rural England resulting in an acute shortage of labour and a consequent increase in wages. It also destroyed the old manorial system and the system of villeinage.
The factor of paramount importance was the change introduced by the spread education, including the study of arts and science, This generated negative feelings toward military service and other feudal practices.