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During feudalism/serfdom era of middle ages, who in charge of cities or ports, or towns?
During the feudal/serfdom system lords/nobles lived in their castles or keeps out somewhere in the country. They controlled the farmlands, rivers, or mountains. Their serfs I guess just had their own house somewhere on the land.
But then what about cities, or ports or even towns? Or did these always evolve from all the serfs living together in tight knit groupings, or living close to the castle walls? Do most modern European cities and towns have a castle in the middle?
Were most city or town dwellers also serfs? And basically not allowed to leave the city or town without permission? Then what about traveling merchants? How they evolve?
Also did the lords and nobles gather most of their shield wall infantry and archery corp from their stock of serfs? If so, then I cannot imagine life being too harsh for the serfs, after all, they were not defenseless.
During feudalism/serfdom era of middle ages, who in charge of cities or ports, or towns?
During the feudal/serfdom system lords/nobles lived in their castles or keeps out somewhere in the country. They controlled the farmlands, rivers, or mountains. Their serfs I guess just had their own house somewhere on the land.
But then what about cities, or ports or even towns? Or did these always evolve from all the serfs living together in tight knit groupings, or living close to the castle walls? Do most modern European cities and towns have a castle in the middle?
Were most city or town dwellers also serfs? And basically not allowed to leave the city or town without permission? Then what about traveling merchants? How they evolve?
Also did the lords and nobles gather most of their shield wall infantry and archery corp from their stock of serfs? If so, then I cannot imagine life being too harsh for the serfs, after all, they were not defenseless.
This whole "middle ages"/"feudalism" thing was restricted to an obscure northwestern corner of the eurasian landmass that had been, for a relatively brief time, connected to the Roman Empire which at one point extended as far as the Red Sea and did brisk trade with India.
Most people of the Mediterranean world and right on to Indonesia went on business as usual and gave little thought to that obscure northwestern corner, if they knew it existed at all (and that includes millions of christians whose pope was based in Edessa or Baghdad for about a thousand years and they knew nothing about Rome).
Centuries later, for wholly unrelated reasons, people from that obscure corner where the first to develop circumnavigation, firearms and industrialization, who then retrojected stories onto the past to make themselves smell better, for better and for worse.
Centuries later, for wholly unrelated reasons, people from that obscure corner where the first to develop circumnavigation, firearms and industrialization, who then retrojected stories onto the past to make themselves smell better, for better and for worse.
What would be an example of one of those "retrojected stories" and what would be the actual truth of the matter?
During feudalism/serfdom era of middle ages, who in charge of cities or ports, or towns?
During the feudal/serfdom system lords/nobles lived in their castles or keeps out somewhere in the country. They controlled the farmlands, rivers, or mountains. Their serfs I guess just had their own house somewhere on the land.
But then what about cities, or ports or even towns? Or did these always evolve from all the serfs living together in tight knit groupings, or living close to the castle walls? Do most modern European cities and towns have a castle in the middle?
Were most city or town dwellers also serfs? And basically not allowed to leave the city or town without permission? Then what about traveling merchants? How they evolve?
Also did the lords and nobles gather most of their shield wall infantry and archery corp from their stock of serfs? If so, then I cannot imagine life being too harsh for the serfs, after all, they were not defenseless.
There was a state called, I am not sure how it is in english but I think burgess. They were free citizens of cities and ruled them. They were not sefrs but free people subjected to the law of their cities. After the collapse of feudalism they were called bourgeoisie.
During mass mobilization those poeple and nobility did not have to fight personally but had to send amount of people adequate to their income,goods.
This whole "middle ages"/"feudalism" thing was restricted to an obscure northwestern corner of the eurasian landmass that had been, for a relatively brief time, connected to the Roman Empire which at one point extended as far as the Red Sea and did brisk trade with India.
Most people of the Mediterranean world and right on to Indonesia went on business as usual and gave little thought to that obscure northwestern corner, if they knew it existed at all (and that includes millions of christians whose pope was based in Edessa or Baghdad for about a thousand years and they knew nothing about Rome).
Centuries later, for wholly unrelated reasons, people from that obscure corner where the first to develop circumnavigation, firearms and industrialization, who then retrojected stories onto the past to make themselves smell better, for better and for worse.
Yeah, I am basically referring to Europe. But I believe this system prevalent in China, and Japan as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WestPreussen
There was a state called, I am not sure how it is in english but I think burgess. They were free citizens of cities and ruled them. They were not sefrs but free people subjected to the law of their cities. After the collapse of feudalism they were called bourgeoisie.
During mass mobilization those poeple and nobility did not have to fight personally but had to send amount of people adequate to their income,goods.
But how this evolve? How can these "free citizens" just have freedom enough to form a town and then rule themselves? How they feed themselves? Were they former mercenaries who set up a trade network? Or were they run away serfs?
How they maintain their own independence? A place like Venice was a city state, but it had surrounding lands too to grow food, and get lumber for ship building. Without which, Venice never have a navy to set up their delivery service.
The bourgeoisie took care of the ports and had salaried workers working on them. The bourgeoisie were also in charge of the city administration (most had a "city council"). They were also in charge of constables, watchmen etc.
During medieval time there were many cities subjected to different laws. Burgess gained from feudal landlords self-goverments rights and other privileges. Because of the fact that there were particular laws that directed life of this city community, in order to be fulfil conditions you had to firstly gain citizenship of particular city, under by law specified conditions which were regulated in codex of particular cities, sometimes very strict. Such conditions could be for example
showing city council two wealthy local protectors who would recommend you and making a commitment to obeing city law.
Gaining approval to city community gave you a lot of benefits. You could freely run your own buisness, gave you a right ro run for office and to vote, membership in merchant brotherhoods and in corporations.
Cities did not become common in western Europe until the late middle ages. Before then, cities were rare, and even more rarely had a population exceeding 100,000 people. For example, at the time of the Norman Conquest, which is halfway through the middle ages, the population of London was only about 18,000 people. By the 14th century places such as Paris had reached 200,000 while London was half that.
Feudalism as a functioning system had already largely died out by then. Feudalism died out gradually as serfs slowly bought their freedom and property rights were established for commoners. So feudalism and cities don't overlap much.
In the late middle ages, some cities were "free cities" which were self-governing such as those of the Hanseatic League. Others were still subject to aristocratic governance to various degrees, but the residents of such were not bound to the land like a serf. They were however subject to the aristocratic judicial system.
Wild guess, I'm going to say feudal lords, where they existed, were "by the pleasure of the king", who had other tribute payers taking care of urban affairs at the king's pleasure..
Cebuan gets halfway to answering the OP's question. To get the rest of the way there...
The rural nobility ruled their lands by grant of the king.
The towns and cities self-ruled their cities by grant of the king that would come in the form of a charter. I believe in many instances the charter was granted as thanks to the city for giving the king a nice chunk of change during a war.
The actual mechanics of self-government often came in the form of a house of burgesses elected by franchise restricted to the urban property owning class.
Complete serfdom (as in bound to the land) in western Europe ended around 1400, but continued on in central Europe until the 1700s. In Russia it wasn't abolished until 1867.
Bound to the land means that when the land was sold the serfs came with it. That's pretty harsh, but unlike chattel slavery, the lord couldn't buy and sell individual people and let some purchaser cart the serf off to another estate and take him from his friends and family.
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