Feudalism

Before feudalism began, there was a lot of fighting between the people. Because of the fighting, the first half of the Middle Ages is sometimes called the “Dark Ages.”

Feudalism is the system that started when people began trying to get richer or more important people to protect them. The richer the person, the better the protection they got.

Feudalism became a way to rank the social classes with the rich and powerful king at the top; the wealthy nobles, religious men, and commoners below him; and the poor, powerless peasants and villeins at the bottom.