10th – first half of the 11th century

The Church in feudal society: bishops as vassals, the Peace of God and the Truce of God (10th–11th centuries)

Shelley: after the break-up of Charlemagne’s empire and new invasions (Vikings, Magyars), people gave their lands and themselves to local lords in exchange for protection, and feudalism arose – a form of rule in which political power was exercised locally by private persons. The Church, firmly embedded in society, could not stay outside the system: bishops and abbots became vassals, received fiefs and undertook to perform feudal duties. The Church tried to soften manners: it added Christian virtues to the code of chivalry and in the eleventh century introduced the Peace of God and the Truce of God, but, in Shelley’s view, both movements were not especially effective. In the tenth and early eleventh century the papacy became the prey of local Roman lords and fell quickly into decline.

Key points

• Shelley: in developed feudalism a personal (vassalage), a proprietary (the fief) and a governmental (private administration) element fused; their roots go back to the late Roman Empire and the early Germans. The vassal served about forty days a year unpaid, the lord protected him and did justice; the gesture of joined hands became a symbol of prayer. The Viking and Magyar threat drew church authorities close to barons and kings; bishops and abbots became vassals and received fiefs, and the papacy of the tenth and early eleventh century, prey of Roman lords, could not challenge bishops’ loyalty to overlords. In the 11th century bishops introduced the Peace of God (excommunicating plunderers and killers of civilians) and the Truce of God’s forbidden times; the Church tried to add Christian virtues to the chivalric code, but both movements proved not especially effective
• Rituals: homage, oath of fealty and investiture – the vassal received a lance or a handful of straw as a sign of authority over the fief, not ownership

Place

Western Europe