Feudalism During The Middle Ages

Feudalism is defined as a system of government and landownership. Feudalism arose because of a disagreement between Rollo, the head of a Viking army, and Charles the Simple, the king of France. Rollo had been looting a river valley for years, and Charles the Simple, with little power, did little about it. One day, Charles the Simple decided to make a deal with Rollo. The deal was Charles would give Rollo a piece of land in exchange for peace from his Viking army. More and more of these agreements occurred creating the idea of feudalism. The age of Feudalism can be depicted by the code of chivalry, the feudal pyramid, and the harshness of manor life. The idea of feudalism entirely changed the way of life for most of the population during the Middle Ages.
Knights had to provide military aid to their lord and in return the lord would provide land for the knight. “During the early Middle Ages, chivalry was a simple code that existed between fighting men to govern their relations with one another. In its later guise, however, the knight was expected to be loyal to his lord and devoted to the church, which supported its ideals” (Nobility). The knights were expected “to be true to his word, pure, temperate, courteous, charitable and kind to the poor and defenseless, and respectful to women and ever ready to protect them” (Nobility). The knights were also required to fight in defense for three masters: his feudal lord, his heavenly lord, and his chosen lady. The code of chivalry created this loyalty between a knight and his lord that had never been seen before in the Middle Ages. Feudalism created a very strict and clear structure called the feudal