The Middle Ages historians call the times from the 5th to the 15th centuries, that is, the period from the fall of the Roman Empire to the discovery of America. For many years, these times were considered dark, barbaric, ignorant, cruel and bloody. However, along with this, people know about romance, chivalric exploits, troubadours, the construction of majestic cathedrals and castles of that period.
Who is the senior
In the Middle Ages, society was divided into three classes, each of which had important responsibilities:
- those who pray are the clergy;
- belligerents are seniors guarding the country;
- workers are peasants.
Belonging to a certain group was inherited. Children of peasants should be peasants, only a descendant of a knight can become a knight, a priest - the son of an abbot.
All estates performed their important social functions. The clergy took care of the souls of the people, the lords guarded the country, the members of the peasant families fed everyone. According to this theory, representatives of each of the estates must strictly fulfill their duties and live in peace with others.
Who is a senior? The history definition says,that this is a landowner, a lord who has the power of a king in the territory of his own lands.
The structure of the hierarchical ladder of feudal times
In the Middle Ages, most of the population was engaged in agriculture. In the conditions of endless wars, there was a division of people into those who were engaged in cultivating the land, and those who were better at owning weapons. Times full of dangers contributed to the accelerated emergence of the professional military class, which gradually emerged as a separate layer of society.
It is known that the main we alth of a person in the Middle Ages was considered land. Estates were awarded to subjects for their loy alty to the kings, they received them as property for military exploits. The lands granted for service were called "feuds". The one who received such an allotment became a vassal of the donor, had to serve his lord and fight for him at least 40 days a year. In the absence of hostilities, military training was held in the castle of the seigneur.
Contract power
The medieval system is called feudal. Who are the seniors? These people (kings, dukes, barons, knights, and even ecclesiastics) can be called the main landowners. They are fair and generous to their vassals, help them, protect them. There were peculiar obligations between representatives of the aristocracy, on the basis of which the system of power in a feudal society was built.
The top rung of the ladder was occupied by the king. He was called the supreme overlord or the firstsenior. Representatives of noble and we althy families were considered direct vassals of the king:
- dukes and counts;
- archbishops and bishops;
- abbots.
At the next step were the vassals of higher representatives - the barons, to whom, in turn, the knights were subordinate. All this "ladder" was supported by the labor of artisans and peasants, providing the country with food and clothing.
A closer look at this hierarchical structure makes it clear who a lord in the Middle Ages was - a noble person who owns estates and his vassals.
Interdependence of estates
The life of the peasants, who make up the bulk of the population, was very dependent on the seniors. Their duties included not only work for their families, but also labor in the count's household several days a week, as well as public works to repair fences, bridges and roads. They paid in honey, eggs or grain, fruit or poultry meat for the opportunity to get married, for the use of a local mill to grind grain.
Who are seniors for medieval peasants? These stronger "tribesmen" who, in exchange for food and labor, guaranteed the farmers the opportunity to rent fields for living and growing grain. The master served as protection for his peasants from military service, from raids by strangers in unstable times.
To the question "who is the lord", the story answers that this is a kind of patron. The more peasants and landownersallotments were in the possessions of the seigneur, the more powerful he became, the richer, his social significance grew.
Duties and rights of the lower class
Some peasants were forced to give up ownership of land and freedom. They agreed to a dependent life in exchange for the assurance of protection and security. It was more profitable for the feudal lords to get as much as possible from the workers. However, the hungry and impoverished peasants, who were also subjects of their patron, were of no use. Therefore, in the Middle Ages, taxes, dues and requisitions were limited by some norms of custom.
Who are the seniors? These are large feudal lords who always willingly took the peasants under their protection, taking away their freedom and available land in return. However, they had no right to sell, exchange, or corporally punish or execute these people.
Even the most dependent of the peasants could not be expelled from the land when they paid the established dues. Relations between the nobility and the farmers were regulated not by the whims of the master, but by the customs established in society. In case of violation of their rights, the peasants went to court and quite often won.
Direct and Honorary Owners
A land area with a manor, a castle and a local church is called a seigneury. The principle of such ownership was the heart of the medieval economy. Most estates included from one to several villages with surrounding lands. Who is a senor? The definition is as follows: the honorary or direct owner of all real estate in a particularseniors.
There must be a castle on the territory - a significant symbol and control center of the estate. Such a fortified structure was a kind of demonstration of power over the people and the territory.
So, answering the question "who are the lords", we can say that these are large feudal lords who have vassals under their control, have the ability to administer justice and receive income from their lands.
