The Medieval Period was unique by means that its economic class defined a person rather than by religion or philosophy. Society materialized as tradesmen and local merchants gave their followers the income from the dues of residents of a given territory for compensation for their services (Nelson). Feudal leaders utilized governmental functions as private property in order to loan, give, away, or pass on to their children; adopting a barter system to meet the people’s basic economic needs. This created a new classification for society as “feudal leaders could ‘lend’ someone a territory from which he could derive rents and renders in kind and services” (Nelson). The reason for this burgeoning was that it gave the lower class an economic opportunity, which was no longer under the authority and control of the upper class like it had been under the old feudalism system. This new middle class was the catalyzing force behind the spread of and differentiation in forms of art. For example, an important piece of medieval literature is The Cantebury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (Wikipedia - Medieval literature), which depicts the division of the three estates in which the characters are all divided into: "those who pray" (the clergy), "those who fight" (the nobility), and "those who work" (the commoners and peasantry) (Wikipedia - Cantebury Tales). This book reveals each class, especially in “The Knight’s Tale,” to reveal the respect, as well as disregard, for the upper class rules, which we defined by aristocracy of religion during the Medieval Era.
Nelson, Lynn H. "The Rise of Feudalism, 850-1000 AD Lectures in Medieval History Dr. Lynn H. Nelson, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, KU." WWW Virtual Library @ Www.vlib.us WWW-VL United States History; World History; WWI; American History Documents; US Art Museums; US History Museums; USA Historic Sites; Native American Bibliography; Web Site Tools; Electronic Texts. University of Kansas, 2005. Web. 20 Oct. 2011.
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"The Canterbury Tales." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Canterbury_Tales.
The idea that society materialized into tradesmen intrigued me, how the public is becoming compacted into a small and dense form of money. I'm uncertain what the away in fifth line is supposed to mean. The first few lines describe the feudal lords lending land to surfs, and after, you begin to discuss how the surfs are able to raise in class, no longer bound by feudalism. But, if they are under oath to the feudal lord, wouldn't there still be a class system, and the workers, merchants, become wealthy, but not rise in class? In my research, the Medieval Era continued to service the feudal system, until the Renaissance. All in all, I thought your answer was quite adequate and amusing to read.
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