The main provisions of feudalism may be regarded as a contract between the king, on the one hand, and his vassals, on the other. It was recognized that the king had certain rights and duties. In the same way the vassal had his corresponding rights and duties. If the feudal contract was openly violated by […]
PRIVILEGES OF THE MEDIEVAL TOWNS The people of the first towns were not free. All the land in feudal England was divided into manors and the lord of the manor governed the townspeople who lived on his land and made them perform feudal services. Now we shall read about the privileges the medieval towns gained […]
Most of the English towns grew up on the land belonging to the king. The king was too powerful for the townspeople to begin an open struggle against him. Unlike the many towns on the continent of Europe which gained their independence by means of bloody wars and uprisings, in England, as a rule, the townspeople […]
The townspeople who lived on the lord’s land were quite often harassed by the landlord who at the head of a body of retainers attacked and plundered the town. What could be done to defend the town against the predatory raids of the feudal lord? The town craftsmen produced goods only to order and for […]
The master-craftsmen of the same trade who lived in the same town united into societies which were called craft guilds. Each craft had its own guild; there were guilds of weavers, dyers, shoemakers, hatters, bakers, glassmakers and many others. There were many guilds of smiths. Their craft was very important especially at a time when […]
In the 11th-13th centuries when the town crafts began to grow the guild system was of great importance. The life of the craftsmen was bound up with the guilds. The guild was a military organization as each guild formed its municipal guard detachment and a levy of guildsmen fought together against the enemies of the […]
