Throughout the Middle Ages, authority was a way to differentiate the roles and interactions of society. Authority determined the power one medieval citizen had compared to another and how this affected one's view of another person.
During the Dark Ages, the pope and royalty had the most power. This often led to the two having disagreements between who truly had more power. The pope was the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He was able to appoint bishops, excommunicate someone from the church, and create changes to the way mass was performed. Since the dominant religion of Europe during the Middle Ages was Catholicism, most of society looked up to the pope, who was regarded as being "God on Earth." Though the pope had most power over the church, the king and royalty members had much power over medieval Europe. The king had the responsibility of creating laws, protecting the people, and removing poverty. Despite their differences, both the pope and the king held a high status on the feudal pyramid and had much more power and freedom than nobles, knights, or serfs ("Feudal System").
The owner's of the land, called manors, in the Dark Ages were called nobles. Nobles had similar power to kings since both made decisions toward government and the kingdom but nobles were also landowners. Nobles oversaw the land that the peasants worked and the knights protected. Even though nobles had so many people working for them, they were able to keep most of the income for themselves made from the land. For more information about the money nobles made, visit this link: www.historyonthenet.com/medieval-life-feudalism/
During the Dark Ages, the pope and royalty had the most power. This often led to the two having disagreements between who truly had more power. The pope was the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He was able to appoint bishops, excommunicate someone from the church, and create changes to the way mass was performed. Since the dominant religion of Europe during the Middle Ages was Catholicism, most of society looked up to the pope, who was regarded as being "God on Earth." Though the pope had most power over the church, the king and royalty members had much power over medieval Europe. The king had the responsibility of creating laws, protecting the people, and removing poverty. Despite their differences, both the pope and the king held a high status on the feudal pyramid and had much more power and freedom than nobles, knights, or serfs ("Feudal System").
The owner's of the land, called manors, in the Dark Ages were called nobles. Nobles had similar power to kings since both made decisions toward government and the kingdom but nobles were also landowners. Nobles oversaw the land that the peasants worked and the knights protected. Even though nobles had so many people working for them, they were able to keep most of the income for themselves made from the land. For more information about the money nobles made, visit this link: www.historyonthenet.com/medieval-life-feudalism/
Knights had less power than nobles, royalty, and the clergy but more power than peasants/serfs. They were often the sons of nobles and were knighted by the king. Near the bottom of the feudal pyramid, knights had little power over others and mainly kept to themselves as they spent most of their time protecting ("The Middle Ages: Knights).
The lowest class in the feudal system consisted of peasants. Peasants had barely any power at all and had to complete any task that nobles instructed them to do. Peasants were the children of other peasants and consisted of 90% of the population at the time. They had very little pay and no say in what the government's decisions were ("The Middle Ages: Peasants").
Many roles of people in life were different based on their social class. High clergy, royalty, and nobles were able to control the lives of lesser feudal social classes. This would make a peasants view of life feel more like slavery while a royal members view of life would be more of a luxury. In feudalism, authority was a key way to distinguish between social classes because it represents how a person of one social class may interact with another which can show us how medieval society worked and how people's roles in life differed.
The lowest class in the feudal system consisted of peasants. Peasants had barely any power at all and had to complete any task that nobles instructed them to do. Peasants were the children of other peasants and consisted of 90% of the population at the time. They had very little pay and no say in what the government's decisions were ("The Middle Ages: Peasants").
Many roles of people in life were different based on their social class. High clergy, royalty, and nobles were able to control the lives of lesser feudal social classes. This would make a peasants view of life feel more like slavery while a royal members view of life would be more of a luxury. In feudalism, authority was a key way to distinguish between social classes because it represents how a person of one social class may interact with another which can show us how medieval society worked and how people's roles in life differed.
Further Research:
Above is a documentary showing the power that the Medieval Church
had and how that compared to the power of a king.
had and how that compared to the power of a king.