Increase of trade:
Towns and cities were beginning to expand and grow. The primary reason for this was the increase of trade. With the growth of trade and commerce a number of new cities and towns grew which provided new opportunities for work. The serfs got an opportunity to free themselves of the feudal lords by taking up work in the new towns. It may be observed that according to the existing feudal laws, a serf could become a freeman if he stayed away from the manor for more than one year.
100 Years War:
The war contributed to the decline of feudalism by helping to shift the power from the feudal lords to monarchs to common people. During the war, monarchs on both sides had collected taxes and raised large professional armies. As a result, kings no longer relied on nobles to supply knights for the army.
Black Death:
Because of the plague, tons of villages were abandoned. There was a huge change in Europe. The Manor System fell apart completely because there weren't enough people left to work in the fields. Those peasants who survived the disease found that their skills were highly demanded. Suddenly, the can now demand wages for their labor. The Black Death was a "blessing in disguise" for the people who survived.
Church:
Under feudalism the King was answerable to the Pope. At the end of the Middle Ages King Henry VIII clashed with the Pope and England subsequently broke with the Catholic church of Rome and the power of the Pope. This led to the establishment of the Church of England and the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It was the final 'nail in the coffin' of the Medieval Feudal System, feudalism, in England.
Black Plague
Diary Entries
Barter Economy
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