Livin' La Vida Feudal!

Wow….I Sure Am Glad Things Have Changed…….hmmmm…..

Help Me Understand…….Feudalism


Here goes….I have included a little blurb about feudalism in the middle ages after yet another successful google search. I’m always amazed to find that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

or safety and for defense, people in the Middle Ages formed small communities around a central lord or master. Most people lived on a manor, which consisted of the castle, the church, the village, and the surrounding farm land. These manors were isolated, with occasional visits from peddlers, pilgrims on their way to the Crusades, or soldiers from other fiefdoms.

In this "feudal" system, the king awarded land grants or "fiefs" to his most important nobles, his barons, and his bishops, in return for their contribution of soldiers for the king's armies. At the lowest echelon of society were the peasants, also called "serfs" or "villeins." In exchange for living and working on his land, known as the "demesne," the lord offered his peasants protection.

Got it now? We are simply serfs. We are Livin’ La Vida Fuedal (kinda catchy!). You see, in exchange for us paying our property taxes and being good little people, we receive the “protection” of our local, regional, state, and federal governments! The way it works is that the Federal Government is King. The states are the local Nobles, Barons, Bishops, etc. The states willingly provide help to the King in the way of troops, funding, and support. The King has given the states their lands.

Us? Well, we are the villeins in the whole deal (where the word “villain” comes from). If you believe that you own property in our country I invite you to undertake the following social experiment (although I expressly disclaim any liability should you choose to actually go forward with such a dumb idea): try to stop paying your taxes for a few years. You will find that you no longer “own” your own home. You see, you have merely been renting your land from the State in exchange for the state’s protection. Once you stop paying for the protection, the protection stops and bad things happen to you. Bad serf. Very bad serf.

Our job is to do the work that pays the Kings and Nobles. When we stop doing that, our usefulness is done. We can be thrown off the land and another better serf will willingly take our place. Our sole purpose is to make food, products, and services for the king. Now, undoubtedly, some of us serfs are way more “equal” than others, but we are serfs nonetheless. From the poorest to the most wealthy, the King and his Barons will gladly step in and take back the land that they lent us if we stop paying our feudal dues….I mean taxes.

Ah well, I’ve got to get back to my work so that I can keep the King Happy.

Feudally Yours,

Blawgerserf