How were feudalism and the manor system related?
Manorialism had its origins in the late Roman Empire, when large landowners had to consolidate their hold over both their lands and the labourers who workerd them. This was a necessity in the midst of the civil disorders, enfeebled governments, and barbarian invasions that wracked Europe in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. In such conditions, small farmers and landless labourers exchanged their land or their freedom and pledged their services in exchange for the portection of powerful landowners who had the military strength to defend them. In this manner, the poor, defenseless, landless, and weak were ensured permanent access to plots of land which they could work in return for the rendering of economic services to the lord who held that land, allowing a sort of bartering of one service for another. –> This arrangement developed into the manorial system, which in turn supported the feudal aristocracy of kings, lords, and vassals.
