Feudal Law Of Medieval Europe

After the fall of Roman Empire, feudalism connected German tribes with thepolitical system of Roman Empire. It formulated pyramid-shape political form basedon subinfeudation of land, with the king on the top. Speaking from the angle of rights,feudal law of medieval Europe can be viewed as an advanced system based on landleasing, in which every lord could levy tax and exerted jurisdiction over his vassals.On the other hand, from the angle of duties, it was a system of contracts, in whichkings allocated land to individuals representing the nations, in change for rent fromthese people in the form of fulfilling governmental works, primarily military service.Feudal never formatted into a unified system across Europe like Roman law andCanon law, on the contrary, feudal law showed diverse characteristics in differentparts of Europe.The first part of the paper generalized the uprising of feudal law of medievalEurope. I detailed the etymology and meaning of the word “feudal”. Then, I comparedthe two streams of the origin of feudalism of medieval Europe: the German mode andthe Roman mode. Following that, I described the influence of feudalism on feudal lawfrom the opposite angles of rights and duties. At last, I gave five reasons of theuprising of feudal law of medieval Europe: taxes, subinfeudation of land, policies ofsome nations, acquisition of properties and wars.The second part of the paper focused on the main aspects of feudal law ofmedieval Europe. At first, I analyzed the core of feudal law of Europe, illustratingmodern legal ideology brought by it like legitimacy of one’s behavior. Then, I brokethe core of feudal law of medieval Europe into four parts: subinfeudation of land,manorial system, ideology of vassals and privilege of local jurisdiction. Followingthat, I examined the sources of feudal law of medieval Europe: customs, laws andregulations and legal literature, especially the Assize of Jerusalem and the Statute in Favor of the Princes. In the end, I described the scope of thesubjects of feudal law of medieval Europe: people, assets, inheritance,legal responsibilities, and illustrated manorial jurisdiction andprivate courts.In the third part of the paper, I introduced how the Christian churches involvedinto the lord and vassal system of the secular world, with temple posts became thesubject of subinfeudation and inheritance. Following that, I illustrated the good andbad influence of feudal law on medieval Europe.In the fourth part of the paper, I gave five reasons of the fall of feudal lawof medieval Europe: the uprising of mercenary system, the black death and the decayof manorial jurisdiction. At the end of the paper, I analyzed the decay and fall offeudal law in England, France, Germany and Spain. Nevertheless, I needto remind the readers that the feudal law never really disappeared fromthe historical stage, having influence on our lives even until today.