Sade Gordon April 23, 2014
Herbert H Lehman European Civilization
A need for stability during the times after the Western Roman Empires fall caused feudalism and manorialism to become prevalent in the former Western Roman Empire. This is due to the weakening of the central government, need for protection and need for better means of sufficiency after the invasion of the empire and fall of the Western half of the empire.
The lack of presence of a strong central government was a key cause in the rise of feudalism and manorialism. Without this authority the fallen empire could not be stable. Without the guidance of an emperor the people were not sure who or what to listen to. In order to acquire a semblance of stability the people were forced to turn to local counts and aristocrats to fill in the gap that the central government left open.
The local rulers then gained loyalty and power. This disunified the people of the former Western Roman Empire as people pledged loyalty to different lords and authorities. This new decentralized and unorganized government was called feudalism. Following this was manorialism and serfdom. These new ways of governing were caused because people were forced to seek alternatives to central rule for a way to gain back support and stability in their lives.
The need to be protected was another key factor in the rise of feudalism and monorilism. After the fall of Western Rome there was an abundance of invasion and crisis in the streets of Western Rome. The area was not safe or protected and the people were left vulnerable. It was very dangerous and there was no central government for the people to look to for help. With the invasion, violence, fighting and lacking government that was going on...