These relationships probably continued after the use of the Germanic kingdoms on the ruins of the Roman Empire in the West.Small farmers found it impossible to compete with the great estates, and many commended themselves to powerful landlords, giving up their lands and receiving back the right of their use under the lords’ protection.During the economic and political decay of the later Roman Empire, clientage was often linked with landholding.But this involved a definitely inferior status on the part of the client, and it was thus unlike the honourable relationship of vassalage which became a part of feudalism.The Romans had long known a somewhat similar arrangement, in which clients commended themselves to a powerful patron, giving personal devotion in return for subsistence and protection.In return, the chieftain looked after their welfare, gave them leadership, provided food, shelter and entertainment in times of peace. The companions followed their chieftain into battle, having sworn to fight to the death in support of him.The bond of mutual loyalty between lord and vassal, which formed such an essential part of medieval feudalism, appears to have derived from the German comitatus described by Tacitus in 98 CE, the band of free fighting men associated with a prominent leader in an equal and honourable status.It developed as early as the 8th century and flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries. Feudalism was a socio-political and economic system utilised in Western Europe during the medieval period.Origins and development of the feudal system However, many of its remnants persist and still influence Western European institutions. With the rise of towns and commerce and the decline of local organisation, feudalism gradually broke down in the continent. Its two principal institutions were vassalage and the fief. It was characterised by a king’s ownership of vast land and the distribution of it to people in exchange for services. It had its roots in Germanic and Roman traditions.
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