Bastard , or bastard , feudalism ( English Bastard feudalism ) is a term proposed in the 19th century to describe relations within the nobility during the late Middle Ages in England , which led to the Scarlet and White Rose War and the slowdown of the country's economic development. Currently, the term is used mainly in a figurative sense.
The term "bastard feudalism" was first proposed by the English historian Charles Plummer in 1885, however, a detailed development of the concept of "bastard feudalism" is associated with the work of William Stubbs (1825-1901) and his students.
Content
The origin and essence of the phenomenon
In the 15th century, the English nobility achieved another privilege for themselves. Now the nobleman no longer had to personally participate in the chivalrous militia, and a cash payment to the king or immediate lord instead of the usual military service became possible. This led to the accumulation of significant funds by large British tycoons and the emergence of mercenary armies not only from the king, but also from other influential feudal lords of the country.
The newly born armies consisted of small nobles, usually the younger or illegitimate ( bastards ) sons of the landowners. For them, military service has become the main and often the only source of income. The reason for this is that, according to the customs of the Middle Ages, in order to prevent the fragmentation of feuds and other land plots, only the eldest son had the right to inherit. “Unsuccessful” middle, younger, and especially secondary sons for centuries steadily replenished the gangs of landless bollards-robbers and became the main active force in all the Crusades .
The result of the emergence of such mercenary units in England of the fifteenth century was the growth of ambitions of large magnates, primarily the numerous sons and grandsons of King Edward III and the division of English society into two warring camps - supporters of Lancaster and York . This led to the resumption of internecine wars within England, the peak of which was the fierce, bloody and debilitating War of the Scarlet and White Rose for the common people. Intra-noble conflicts caused significant damage to the country's economy and led to the decline of the economy of England in the middle of the XV century . As centralization strengthened during the reign of the first Tudors , large magnates gradually lost their influence and lost the ability to maintain mercenary units.
Ambiguity of concept
In the middle of the 20th century, the concept of "bastard feudalism" proposed by Stubbs was sharply criticized. In particular, it was found that the amount of money accumulated by the tycoons and allocated to pay for the maintenance of hired units was not significant [1] . Small nobles passed under the protection of large magnates not so much out of mercantile considerations as following the classic feudal concept of service in exchange for favors expressed in the provision of land flax , administrative and court posts, various kinds of subsidies [1] . In addition, the practice of replacing military service with monetary compensation arose in the XII century ( shield collection ) and became dominant already under Edward I , which, however, did not cause feudal anarchy in England of the XIII - XIV centuries .
Finally, most modern scholars reject the earlier point of view that the Scarlet and White Rose war was a sign of a systemic crisis of feudalism , destroyed social ties within English society and undermined the country's economy [2] . As a result, at present, the concept of “bastard feudalism” is not generally accepted in historical literature.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 McFarlane KB England in the Fifteenth Century. - London, 1981
- ↑ Jacob EF England: The Fifteenth Century. - Oxford, 1961
Literature
- Gentry in the Age of the Rose Wars: An Experience of Sociocultural Analysis
- Stubbs, W. Feudalism: Its Frankish Roots and Development in England
- Jacob EF England: The Fifteenth Century. - Oxford, 1961