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What Conditions Led to the Rise of the Feudal System?

Feudalism was conceived in 1066 by the King of England, King William I, known by most as William the Conqueror. King William I had two very big problems. The first was he could not stop the people from rebelling against him, and second, he couldn't take care of the vast expanse of land England had accrued during the many battles and invasions of the time.

The Fall of the Roman Empire
- The Roman Empire fell in the fifth century when Rome was sacked by the Visigoths. This led to many Romans in Europe returning to their homeland. The lands were without any type of governmental organization and the system of Roman centralization had disappeared. This evaporation of Europe following the fall of Rome slowly led to European feudalism.
Early Beginnings
- It is important to understand the events leading up to the rule of King William I to fully understand the conditions that led to feudalism. In January of 1066 King Edward the Confessor, on his deathbed in England, offered the crown to Harold. Harold's legitimacy as sovereign was not recognized by the Pope. This led to the popular belief of the Normans that Harold's appointment was illegal.
Rise of William the Conqueror
- William of Normandy was adamantly opposed to the new King. William set out to capture the English crown for himself and needed the help of his nobles to invade England and become the English King. William took elaborate measure to ensure strong support for his mission, even sending an envoy to get the Pope's blessing. Shortly after, William invaded England. This led to the most important battle of the time, the Battle of Hastings. William simply over-whelmed King Harold's forces and ultimately this led to the Kings' death.
King William I
- Even though the invasion was very popular with the Normans, it was not with the English. Many set fires during Williams' crowning ceremony. The new King needed to develop a way to quell the uprisings and also needed a way to defend and cultivate his newly acquired land. This led to the introduction of feudalism, which was based on an exchange of land for military service. King William claimed all the land in England and allocated 20 percent of the land to himself, 25 percent to the church, and the remaining land to Norman soldiers and nobles. The system of feudalism a pyramid with the King at the top and his barons and other important figures in the middle. This left the serfs, or peasants, at the bottom to cultivate the land.

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