The Great Chain Of Being Feudalism

A feudal manor gave its kingdom the military might that it required through the bribery of soldiers and the desperation for a strong army. Manors provided a relatively stable, and reliable army for the country. Since a manor had the peasant class busy with work, and was in excellent economic shape, not every social class needed to work. This gave knights the time to train properly and fight when needed (A. Smith 1). Knights were also sometimes given large pieces of land, and peasant workers, as incentive for them to go to war (A. Smith 2) and defend the kingdom against outside threats. The lords of knights also further expanded their motivation to becoming a knight for a lord. Lords gave their knights a sort of insurance policy: if the knight
was killed, his family would be protected by his lord until his son became a vassal and his daughter got married (C. Smith 3). Feudalism itself also helped create a working military. The need for feudalism was brought on by a never ending series of wars, forcing these pre-feudal societies to create an army that was united (A. Smith 2). Feudalism was established because the kingdoms needed a secure system that was definite and reliable for the formation of an army (A. Smith 2). Both feudalism and manorialism formed a formidable army, through a desperate need for one.

A huge part of feudalism was the Great Chain of Being, a more religious part of this system.
The Great Chain of Being was an ideology that said that everyone and everything had a hierarchical place in the world (Melani). The basic law is that the more spirit and less matter something had, the higher it was on this hierarchy (Melani). The order of the Great Chain of Being is this: inanimate objects, plants, animals, humans, angels, and God (Melani). In each “class”, there was a separate hierarchy, ranking each separate type (Melani). The Chain of Being also helped keep people in line. The fear of disorder caused people who wanted to “step out of place” reconsider (Melani). The fear instilled was that if something such as a civil war broke out, the Great Chain of Being would be broken and God would be angered, bringing consequences on humans (Melani). This ideology also helped nobility and the wealthy keep power and status (Melani), but also aided with the survival of feudalism; if everyone stayed in their place, there was no disruption, and things could go smoothly, and the lower classes would be content with owing much to the higher classes (Melani). The Great Chain of Being was a simple ideology, but it had great effect on the people; they would not try to fight for any type of social equality, and higher classes would always remain in
power.

One of the many “employees” on a manor was a steward, or the lord’s chief administrator.
A steward was usually a knight, or a somewhat powerful noble (Gies and Gies 51) who helped organize a manor. He is who the lord or lady entrust everything with (Carlin 170), giving the steward a high rank; lords and ladies even addressed him as “good sir” (Carlin 170). The steward, or “seneschal” had to be smart and literate, loyal to the lord and lady, know the law of the country, and be capable of administering the lands profitably, properly, and fairly (Carlin 170). The steward was in charge of several people below him such as the bailiff and the reeve. He has to check in with the other “offices” (hayward, shepherd, ect.) and ask what they’re doing, who causes trouble, and who helps the manor profit (Halsall). Bailiffs were hired by the steward to represent the lord on a manor (Cels 20). Bailiffs were usually the sons of lesser nobles, or wealthy peasants (Cels 20), and could read and write. The steward instructed the bailiff on what to do and supposedly, gave him confidence to do his job properly (Carlin 170), which was basically enforcing the lord’s law, deciding what to plant and when, and organizing labor that involved the entire village (Cels 20). The steward inquired the bailiff on how things were, and the profit increases or decreases that were affected by the bailiff (Halsall). As the top administrator, the steward managed many key parts of the manor and had a high place
within the manor.