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163-480: She ruled as a feudal margravine and, as a relative of the imperial Salian dynasty , she brokered a settlement in the so-called Investiture Controversy . In this extensive conflict with the emerging reform Papacy over the relationship between spiritual ( sacerdotium ) and secular ( regnum ) power, Pope Gregory VII dismissed and excommunicated the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in 1076. At

326-692: A "feudal society". Although it is derived from the Latin word feodum or feudum (fief), which was used during the Medieval period, the term feudalism and the system it describes were not conceived of as a formal political system by the people who lived during the Middle Ages. Since the publication of Elizabeth A. R. Brown 's "The Tyranny of a Construct" (1974) and Susan Reynolds 's Fiefs and Vassals (1994), there has been ongoing inconclusive discussion among medieval historians as to whether feudalism

489-400: A brilliant warrior who secularized church lands for the purpose of providing precarias (or leases) for his followers, in return for their military service. Martel's military ambitions were becoming more expensive as it changed into a cavalry force, thus the need to maintain his followers through the despoiling of church lands. Responding to Brunner's thesis, Paul Fouracre theorizes that

652-678: A close bond between the House of Canossa and the Ottonian dynasty . Adalbert-Atto appeared in documents from the reign of Otto I as an advocate and he was able to establish contacts with the Papacy for the first time in the wake of the Ottonians. Otto I also awarded the counties of Reggio and Modena to Adalbert-Atto. In 977 at the latest, the county of Mantua was added to the domains awarded to Adalbert-Atto. Adalbert-Atto's son, Tedald , continued

815-533: A consensus viewpoint is that England before the Conquest had commendation (which embodied some of the personal elements in feudalism) while William the Conqueror introduced a modified and stricter northern French feudalism to England incorporating (1086) oaths of loyalty to the king by all who held by feudal tenure, even the vassals of his principal vassals (holding by feudal tenure meant that vassals must provide

978-452: A contact point for displaced Gregorians in the church political disputes. Historian Paolo Golinelli interpreted the repeated admission of high-ranking refugees and their care as an act of charity . As the last political expellee, she granted asylum for a long time to Archbishop Conrad I of Salzburg , the pioneer of the canon reform. This brought her into close contact with this reform movement. Feudalism Feudalism , also known as

1141-633: A deed of donation for the Monastery of Sant'Andrea . Godfrey the Hunchback fiercely protested the separation and demanded that Matilda come back to him, which she repeatedly refused. In early 1072, he descended into Italy and visited several places in Tuscany, determined not only to enforce the marriage, but to lay claim to these areas as Matilda's husband. During this time, Matilda stayed in Lucca and there

1304-496: A divorce. At the same time the pope hoped for Matilda's help with his crusade plans. Rather than supporting the pope as promised in exchange for preserving his marriage, Godfrey the Hunchback turned his attention to imperial affairs. Meanwhile, the conflict later known as the Investiture Controversy was brewing between Gregory VII and Henry IV, with both men claiming the right to appoint bishops and abbots within

1467-418: A feudal order not limited solely to the nobility. It is his radical notion that peasants were part of the feudal relationship that sets Bloch apart from his peers: while the vassal performed military service in exchange for the fief, the peasant performed physical labour in return for protection – both are a form of feudal relationship. According to Bloch, other elements of society can be seen in feudal terms; all

1630-415: A feudal relationship with agreed obligations to one another. The vassal's principal obligation to the lord was to provide aid or military service. Using whatever equipment the vassal could obtain by virtue of the revenues from the fief, the vassal had to answer calls to military service by the lord. This security of military help was the primary reason the lord entered into the feudal relationship. In addition,

1793-465: A land grant in exchange for service was called a beneficium (Latin). Later, the term feudum , or feodum , began to replace beneficium in the documents. The first attested instance of this is from 984, although more primitive forms were seen up to one-hundred years earlier. The origin of the feudum and why it replaced beneficium has not been well established, but there are multiple theories, described below. The term "féodal"

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1956-550: A means of political gain. For them "feudalism" meant seigneurial privileges and prerogatives. When the French Constituent Assembly abolished the "feudal regime" in August 1789, this is what was meant. Adam Smith used the term "feudal system" to describe a social and economic system defined by inherited social ranks, each of which possessed inherent social and economic privileges and obligations. In such

2119-530: A power vacuum developed in Italy. The struggle between regnum and sacerdotium changed the social and rulership structure of the Italian cities permanently, giving them space for emancipation from foreign rule and their own communal development. From autumn 1098, Matilda was able to regain many of her lost domains. Until the end she tried to bring the cities under her control. After 1098, she increasingly used

2282-569: A provision that was later extended to various parts of Italian kingdom following the invasion by French troops. In the Kingdom of Naples , Joachim Murat abolished feudalism with the law of 2 August 1806, then implemented with a law of 1 September 1806 and a royal decree of 3 December 1808. In the Kingdom of Sicily the abolishing law was issued by the Sicilian Parliament on 10 August 1812. In Piedmont feudalism ceased by virtue of

2445-598: A quarter of the farmland in France and provided most of the income of the large landowners. The majority refused to pay and in 1793 the obligation was cancelled. Thus the peasants got their land free, and also no longer paid the tithe to the church. In the Kingdom of France , following the French Revolution, feudalism was abolished with a decree of 11 August 1789 by the Constituent Assembly ,

2608-573: A set of reciprocal legal and military obligations of the warrior nobility based on the key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs. In broad terms a lord was a noble who held land, a vassal was a person granted possession of the land by the lord, and the land was known as a fief. In exchange for the use of the fief and protection by the lord, the vassal provided some sort of service to the lord. There were many varieties of feudal land tenure , consisting of military and non-military service. The obligations and corresponding rights between lord and vassal concerning

2771-470: A special relationship of trust With Matilda and Beatrice, in the period that followed. However, Beatrice died on 18 April 1076. On 27 August 1077 Matilda donated her town of Scanello and other estates to the extent of 600 mansus near the court to Bishop Landulf and the chapter of Pisa Cathedral as a soul device ( Seelgerät ) for her and her parents. The deaths of both her husband and mother within two months considerably augmented Matilda's power. She now

2934-523: A system, wealth derived from agriculture, which was arranged not according to market forces but on the basis of customary labour services owed by serfs to landowning nobles. Heinrich Brunner , in his The Equestrian Service and the Beginnings of the Feudal System (1887), maintained that Charles Martel laid the foundation for feudalism during the 8th century. Brunner believed Martel to be

3097-699: A widower early that year. Beatrice was the niece and foster daughter of Empress Gisela of Swabia . A marriage covenant was arranged and one year later, in June 1037, Boniface and Beatrice celebrated their marriage in high style, keeping court at Marengo for three months afterward. According to the marital agreements, Beatrice brought important assets in Lorraine: the Château of Briey , the Lordships of Stenay, Mouzay , Juvigny , Longlier , and Orval that constituted

3260-464: Is a useful construct for understanding medieval society. The adjective feudal was in use by at least 1405, and the noun feudalism was in use by the end of the 18th century, paralleling the French féodalité . According to a classic definition by François Louis Ganshof (1944), feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations of the warrior nobility that revolved around

3423-505: Is feudalism?", 1944; translated in English as Feudalism ). His classic definition of feudalism is widely accepted today among medieval scholars, though questioned both by those who view the concept in wider terms and by those who find insufficient uniformity in noble exchanges to support such a model. Although Georges Duby was never formally a student in the circle of scholars around Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre , that came to be known as

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3586-500: Is in front of you and there is no hidden malice . But the Duke was dumbfounded; Matilda, furious, slapped him and spat in his face, taunting him: Get out of here, monster, you don't deserve our kingdom, you vile thing, viler than a worm or a rotten seaweed, don't let me see you again, or you'll die a miserable death .... Despite the reportedly bad beginning of their marriage, Welf V is documented at least three times as Matilda's consort. By

3749-510: Is no evidence that the couple met. Additionally, Godfrey the Hunchback is named as her husband only in a single document dated 18 August 1073 signed in Mantua for a donation for the Monastery of San Paolo in Parma . In his efforts to restore his marital bond, Godfrey the Hunchback sought the help of both Matilda's mother and her ally, the newly elected Pope Gregory VII . He promised military aid to

3912-452: Is now Emilia-Romagna their position was much more stable than in the southern Apennines, where they couldn't get their followers behind them despite rich donations. They therefore tried to act as guardians of justice and public order. Matilda's participation is mentioned in seven of the sixteen placita held by Beatrice. Supported by judges, Matilda had already held placitum placita alone. On 7 June 1072 Matilda and her mother presided over

4075-454: Is referred to as 'Resplendent Matilda' ( Mathildis Lucens ): since the Latin word lucens is similar to lucensis (of/from Lucca ), this also may be a reference to Matilda's birthplace and he interpreted it as such. For Benedictine scholar Camillo Affarosi, Canossa was her place of birth. Lino Lionello Ghirardini and Paolo Golinelli both advocated Mantua as her birthplace. A recent publication by Michèle Kahn Spike also favors Mantua, as it

4238-565: Is that early forms of 'fief' include feo , feu , feuz , feuum and others, the plurality of forms strongly suggesting origins from a loanword . The first use of these terms is in Languedoc , one of the least Germanic areas of Europe and bordering Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). Further, the earliest use of feuum (as a replacement for beneficium ) can be dated to 899, the same year a Muslim base at Fraxinetum ( La Garde-Freinet ) in Provence

4401-631: Is thought to have prevented her from travelling to Jerusalem during the First Crusade that he led in the late 1090s. Matilda was a second cousin of Henry IV through their respective grandmothers, sisters Matilda of Swabia and Empress Gisela . Because of her family ties to the Salian dynasty , she was suitable for a mediator role between the Emperor and the Holy See. Matilda's mother died at

4564-536: The Führerprinzip . In 1974, the American historian Elizabeth A. R. Brown rejected the label feudalism as an anachronism that imparts a false sense of uniformity to the concept. Having noted the current use of many, often contradictory, definitions of feudalism , she argued that the word is only a construct with no basis in medieval reality, an invention of modern historians read back "tyrannically" into

4727-756: The Abbey of Saint-Jacques in Liège . All the proceeds were made available to the pope. The royal side of the dispute then accused her of plundering churches and monasteries. Pisa and Lucca sided with Henry IV. As a result, Matilda lost two of her most important pillars of power in Tuscany. She had to stand by and watch as anti-Gregorian bishops were installed in several places. Henry IV's control of Rome enabled him to enthrone Antipope Clement III, who, in turn, crowned him emperor. After this, Henry IV returned to Germany, leaving it to his allies to attempt Matilda's dispossession. These attempts foundered after Matilda (with help of

4890-660: The Annales school , Duby was an exponent of the Annaliste tradition. In a published version of his 1952 doctoral thesis entitled La société aux XIe et XIIe siècles dans la région mâconnaise ( Society in the 11th and 12th centuries in the Mâconnais region ), and working from the extensive documentary sources surviving from the Burgundian monastery of Cluny , as well as the dioceses of Mâcon and Dijon , Duby excavated

5053-550: The Canossa Castle in the southwest of the mountains of Reggio Emilia . After the unexpectred death of King Lothair II of Italy in 950, Adalbert-Atto provided refuge in Canossa Castle to Lothair's widow, Queen Adelaide , after Berengar of Ivrea attempted to take power in Italy and imprisoned her for a short time. King Otto I of East Francia then intervened in Italy and married Adelaide in 951. This resulted in

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5216-666: The Counter-Reformation and the Baroque Period . Pope Urban VIII had Matilda's body transferred to Rome in 1630, where she was the first woman to be buried in Saint Peter's Basilica . Although these names were only created by later generations, Matilda came from the noble House of Canossa , also named the Attonids. The oldest proven ancestor of the House of Canossa was the nobleman Sigifred , who lived in

5379-763: The Inca Empire , in the pre-Columbian era , as 'tributary' societies . In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, J. Horace Round and Frederic William Maitland , both historians of medieval Britain, arrived at different conclusions about the character of Anglo-Saxon English society before the Norman Conquest in 1066. Round argued that the Normans had brought feudalism with them to England, while Maitland contended that its fundamentals were already in place in Britain before 1066. The debate continues today, but

5542-651: The Vita Mathildis of Donizo , the miracle reports of Ubald of Mantua and the Liber ad amicum of Bonizo of Sutri . Matilda contributed to the distribution of the books intended for her by making copies. More works were dedicated only to Henry IV among their direct contemporaries. As a result, the Margravine court temporarily became the most important non-royal spiritual center of the Salian period. It also served as

5705-441: The feudal system , was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. The classic definition, by François Louis Ganshof (1944), describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations of

5868-549: The peasantry , which was bound by a system of manorialism . This order is often referred to as a feudal society , echoing Bloch's usage. Outside its European context, the concept of feudalism can be extended to analogous social structures in other regions, most often in discussions of feudal Japan under the shoguns , and sometimes in discussions of the Zagwe dynasty in medieval Ethiopia , which had some feudal characteristics (sometimes called "semifeudal"). Some have taken

6031-714: The territorial state . This form of statehood, identified with the Holy Roman Empire , is described as the most complete form of medieval rule, completing conventional feudal structure of lordship and vassalage with the personal association among the nobility. But the applicability of this concept to cases outside of the Holy Roman Empire has been questioned, as by Susan Reynolds. The concept has also been questioned and superseded in German historiography because of its bias and reductionism towards legitimating

6194-422: The 1080s, which are considered to be signs of the legal independence of the "communities". Pisa sought its advantage in changing alliances with the Salian dynasty and the House of Canossa. Lucca remained completely closed to the Margravine from 1081. It was not until Allucione de Luca's marriage to the daughter of the royal judge Flaipert that she gained new opportunities to influence. Flaipert had already been one of

6357-459: The 10th century it was common to value land in monetary terms but to pay for it with objects of equivalent value, such as arms, clothing, horses or food. This was known as feos , a term that took on the general meaning of paying for something in lieu of money. This meaning was then applied to land itself, in which land was used to pay for fealty, such as to a vassal. Thus the old word feos meaning movable property would have changed to feus , meaning

6520-679: The 16th-century basis or incorporate what, in a Marxist view, must surely be superficial or irrelevant features from it. Even when one restricts oneself to Europe and to feudalism in its narrow sense it is extremely doubtful whether feudo-vassalic institutions formed a coherent bundle of institutions or concepts that were structurally separate from other institutions and concepts of the time. The term feudal has also been applied to non-Western societies, in which institutions and attitudes similar to those of medieval Europe are perceived to have prevailed (see Examples of feudalism ). Japan has been extensively studied in this regard. Karl Friday notes that in

6683-712: The 1850s. Slavery in Romania was abolished in 1856. Russia finally abolished serfdom in 1861. More recently in Scotland, on 28 November 2004, the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 entered into full force putting an end to what was left of the Scottish feudal system. The last feudal regime, that of the island of Sark , was abolished in December 2008, when the first democratic elections were held for

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6846-515: The 21st century historians of Japan rarely invoke feudalism; instead of looking at similarities, specialists attempting comparative analysis concentrate on fundamental differences. Ultimately, critics say, the many ways the term feudalism has been used have deprived it of specific meaning, leading some historians and political theorists to reject it as a useful concept for understanding society. Historian Richard Abels notes that "Western civilization and world civilization textbooks now shy away from

7009-462: The 9th and 10th centuries receded and gave way to a new feudal order wherein independent aristocratic knights wielded power over peasant communities through strong-arm tactics and threats of violence. In 1939, the Austrian historian Theodor Mayer subordinated the feudal state as secondary to his concept of a Personenverbandsstaat (personal interdependency state), understanding it in contrast to

7172-533: The Apennine passes and nearly all the rest that connected central Italy to the north . The Lombard bishops, who were also excommunicated for taking part in the synod and whose sees bordered Matilda's domain, were keen to capture the pope. Gregory VII was aware of the danger, and recorded that all his advisors except Matilda counselled him against travelling to Trebur. Henry IV had other plans, however. He decided to descend into Italy and intercept Gregory VII, who

7335-549: The Archbishops Siegfried of Mainz and Udo of Trier and 24 bishops, the king formulated drastic accusations against Gregory VII. The allegations included Gregory VII's election (which was described as illegitimate), the government of the Church through a "women's senate", and that "he shared a table with a strange woman and housed her, more familiar than necessary." The contempt expressed was so immense that Matilda

7498-686: The Bearded , a distant kinsman who had been stripped of the Duchy of Upper Lorraine after openly rebelling against Emperor Henry III. Emperor Henry III was enraged by his cousin Beatrice's unauthorised union with his most vigorous adversary and took the opportunity to have her arrested, along with Matilda, when he marched south to attend a synod in Florence on Pentecost in 1055. Her brother Frederick's rather suspicious death soon thereafter, made Matilda

7661-550: The Bearded lay dying in Verdun , Beatrice and Matilda hastened to reach Lorraine, anxious to ensure a smooth transition of power. Matilda was present at her stepfather's deathbed, and on that occasion she is for the first time clearly mentioned as the wife of her stepbrother. After the death of Godfrey the Bearded on 30 December, the newlyweds stayed in Lorraine. Beatrice returned to Italy alone. Matilda became pregnant in 1070; Godfrey

7824-589: The Enlightenment wrote about feudalism to denigrate the antiquated system of the Ancien Régime , or French monarchy. This was the Age of Enlightenment , when writers valued reason and the Middle Ages were viewed as the " Dark Ages ". Enlightenment authors generally mocked and ridiculed anything from the "Dark Ages" including feudalism, projecting its negative characteristics on the current French monarchy as

7987-517: The French Revolution, on just one night of 4 August 1789, France abolished the long-lasting remnants of the feudal order. It announced, "The National Assembly abolishes the feudal system entirely." Lefebvre explains: Without debate the Assembly enthusiastically adopted equality of taxation and redemption of all manorial rights except for those involving personal servitude—which were to be abolished without indemnification. Other proposals followed with

8150-429: The German emperors (see Guelphs and Ghibellines )—, may also have been the hope for offspring: late pregnancy was quite possible, as the example of Constance of Sicily shows. Cosmas of Prague (writing in the early twelfth century), included a letter in his Chronica Boemorum and claimed that Matilda had sent it to her future husband, but now the letter is thought to be spurious: Matilda sent an army of thousands to

8313-433: The House of Canossa became extinct in 1115. Well into the thirteenth century, popes and emperors fought over what was called the "Matildine domains" as their rich inheritance. The rule of Matilda and her influence became identified as a cultural epoch in Italy that found expression in the flowering of numerous artistic, musical, and literary designs as well as miracle stories and legends. Her legacy reached its apogee during

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8476-461: The Hunchback seems to have informed the Salian imperial court about this event: in a charter from Henry IV dated 9 May 1071, Godfrey or his heirs are mentioned. Matilda gave birth to a daughter, named Beatrice after her maternal grandmother, but the child died a few weeks after the birth, before 29 August 1071. In 1071, Beatrice had donated property to the Abbey of Frassinoro for the salvation of her granddaughter's soul and she granted twelve farms "for

8639-486: The Imperial family, the prestige and power of Henry IV was increasingly weakened. After the synod, Matilda no longer had any contact with Adelaide. In 1088 Matilda was facing a new attempt at invasion by Henry IV, and decided to pre-empt it by means of a political marriage. In 1089 Matilda (in her early forties) married Welf V , heir to the Duchy of Bavaria and who was probably fifteen to seventeen years old, but none of

8802-462: The Latin of the Frankish laws. One theory about the origin of fehu was proposed by Johan Hendrik Caspar Kern in 1870, being supported by, amongst others, William Stubbs and Marc Bloch . Kern derived the word from a putative Frankish term *fehu-ôd , in which *fehu means "cattle" and -ôd means "goods", implying "a movable object of value". Bloch explains that by the beginning of

8965-570: The Margravine. Matilda encouraged some of them to write their works: for example, Bishop Anselm of Lucca wrote a psalter at her request and Johannes of Mantua a commentary on the Song of Songs and a reflection on the life of Virgin Mary . Works were dedicated or presented to Matilda, such as the Liber de anulo et baculo of Rangerius of Lucca, the Orationes sive meditationes of Anselm of Canterbury ,

9128-509: The Pope. The understanding between the Emperor and the Pope was short-lived, however. In the conflicts with Henry IV that arose a little later, from 1080 Matilda put all her military and material resources into the service of the Papacy. Her court became a refuge for many displaced persons during the turmoil of the investiture dispute and enjoyed a cultural boom. Even after the death of Pope Gregory VII in 1085, Matilda remained an important pillar of

9291-568: The Reform Church. Between 1081 and 1098, the Canossa rule fell into a major crisis due to the grueling disputes with Henry IV. The historical record is sparse for this time. A turning point resulted from Matilda forming a coalition with the southern German dukes, who were in opposition to Henry IV. In 1097, Henry IV retreated past the Alps to the northern portion of the Holy Roman Empire and

9454-679: The Western European societies commonly described as feudal. The word feudal comes from the medieval Latin feudālis , the adjectival form of feudum 'fee, feud', first attested in a charter of Charles the Fat in 884, which is related to Old French fé, fié, Provençal feo, feu, fieu, and Italian fio . The ultimate origin of feudālis is unclear. It may come from a Germanic word, perhaps fehu or *fehôd , but these words are not attested in this meaning in Germanic sources, or even in

9617-437: The administrative consolidation of their large estates. Three family saints (Genesius, Apollonius, and Simeon) were used to stabilize the House of Canossa's power structure and the family sought to exert influence on convents that had been in existence for a long time ( Abbey of Nonantola ). Transfer of monasteries to local bishops and the promotion of spiritual institutions also enlarged their network of alliances. An appearance as

9780-550: The agreement. For Matilda, the days in Canossa were a challenge. All those arriving had to be accommodated and looked after appropriately. She had to take care of the procurement and storage of food and fodder, and the supplies in the middle of winter. After the ban was dissolved, Henry IV stayed in the Po Valley for several months and demonstratively devoted himself to his rulership. Pope Gregory VII stayed in Matilda's castles for

9943-744: The army camp outside Rome. By granting special urban rights, the king intended to weaken Matilda's rule. In July 1081 at a synod in Lucca, Henry IV—on account of her 1079 donation to the Church—imposed Imperial ban upon Matilda and all her domains were forfeit, although this was not enough to eliminate her as a source of trouble, for she retained substantial allodial holdings. The consequences for Matilda, however, were relatively minor in Italy, but she suffered losses in her far-away Lorraine possessions. On 1 June 1085, Henry IV gave Matilda's domains Stenay and Mosay to Bishop Dietrich of Verdun. Matilda remained Pope Gregory VII's chief intermediary for communication with northern Europe even as he lost control of Rome and

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10106-478: The aspects of life were centred on "lordship", and so we can speak usefully of a feudal church structure, a feudal courtly (and anti-courtly) literature, and a feudal economy. In contradistinction to Bloch, the Belgian historian François Louis Ganshof defined feudalism from a narrow legal and military perspective, arguing that feudal relationships existed only within the medieval nobility itself. Ganshof articulated this concept in Qu'est-ce que la féodalité? ("What

10269-477: The assistance of the French armies heading off to the First Crusade , Matilda was finally able to restore Pope Urban II to Rome . She ordered or led successful expeditions against Ferrara (1101), Parma (1104), Prato (1107), and Mantua (1114). In eleventh century Italy, the rise of the cities began, in interaction with the overarching conflict. They soon succeeded in establishing their own territories. In Lucca, Pavia, and Pisa, consuls appeared as early as

10432-440: The authority and powers held by feudal lords , overlords , and nobles , and preferred the idea of autocratic rule where a king and one royal court held almost all the power. Feudal nobles regardless of ethnicity generally thought of themselves as arbiters of a politically free system, so this often puzzled them before the fall of most feudal laws. Most of the military aspects of feudalism effectively ended by about 1500. This

10595-408: The balance of power slowly began to change again in favor of the Margravine. Matilda resumed her donations to ecclesiastical and social institutions in Lombardy, Emilia, and Tuscany. In the summer of 1099 and 1100 her route first led to Lucca and Pisa. There it can be detected again in the summer of 1105, 1107, and 1111. In early summer of 1099 she gave the Monastery of San Ponziano a piece of land for

10758-465: The beginning of March 1095 Pope Urban II called the Council of Piacenza under the protection of Matilda. There Adelaide appeared and made a public confession about Henry IV "because of the unheard-of atrocities of fornication which she had endured with her husband": she accused Henry IV of forcing her to participate in orgies, and, according to some later accounts, of attempting a black mass on her naked body. Thanks to these scandals and division within

10921-416: The blessed prince of the apostles". Possibly taking advantage of the minority of Henry IV, Beatrice and Godfrey the Bearded wanted to consolidate the connection between the Houses of Lorraine and of Canossa in the long term by marrying their two children. Around 1055, Matilda and her stepbrother Godfrey the Hunchback (son of Godfrey the Bearded from his first marriage) were betrothed. In May 1069, as Godfrey

11084-469: The border of Lombardy to escort her bridegroom, welcomed him with honors, and after the marriage (mid-1089), she organized 120 days of wedding festivities, with such splendor that those of any other medieval rulers pale in comparison. Cosmas also reports that for two nights after the wedding, Welf V, fearing witchcraft, refused to share the marital bed. The third day, Matilda appeared naked on a table especially prepared on sawhorses, and told him that everything

11247-403: The castle and the church. It was returned to the Canossa family. After the death of Giberto da Correggio in 1321, it was again a possession of Reggio until 1402, when Simone, Guido and Alberto Canossa gained it back; in 1409, however, they ceded it to the House of Este , who (apart a short period under Ottavio Farnese , Duke of Parma in 1557) held it until 1796. In 1502 Ercole I d'Este named

11410-437: The church itself held power over the land with its own precarias . The most commonly utilized precarias was the gifting of land to the church, done for various spiritual and legal purposes. Although Charles Martel did indeed utilize precaria for his own purposes, and even drove some of the bishops out of the church and placed his own laymen in their seats, Fouracre discounts Martel's role in creating political change, that it

11573-586: The city of Bologna ) defeated them at Sorbara near Modena on 2 July 1084. In the battle, Matilda was able to capture Bishop Bernardo of Parma and make him a hostage. By 1085 Archbishop Tedaldo of Milan and the Bishops Gandolfo of Reggio Emilia and Bernardo of Parma, all members of the pro-imperial party, were dead. Matilda took this opportunity and filled the Bishoprics sees in Modena, Reggio, and Pistoia with church reformers again. Gregory VII died on 25 May 1085, and Matilda's forces, with those of Prince Jordan I of Capua (her off and on again enemy), took to

11736-707: The close ties to the Ottonian rulers from 988. Tedald was the grandfather of Matilda. In 996 he is listed as dux et marchio (Duke and Margrave) in a document. This title was adopted by all subsequent rulers of the House of Canossa, an inheritance preventing disputes among the three sons of Tedald. The rise of the family reached its apogee under Matilda's father, Boniface . The three successive Canossa rulers (Adalbert-Atto, Tedald, and Boniface) instituted monasteries for their expansion of rule. The founded monasteries ( Brescello , Polirone , Santa Maria di Felonica) were established in places of transport and strategic importance for

11899-576: The complex social and economic relationships among the individuals and institutions of the Mâconnais region and charted a profound shift in the social structures of medieval society around the year 1000. He argued that in early 11th century, governing institutions—particularly comital courts established under the Carolingian monarchy—that had represented public justice and order in Burgundy during

12062-439: The contemporary sources goes into the great age difference. The marriage was probably concluded at the instigation of Pope Urban II in order to politically isolate Henry IV. According to historian Elke Goez, the union of northern and southern Alpine opponents of the Salian dynasty initially had no military significance, because Welf V didn't appear in northern Italy with troops. In Matilda's documents, no Swabian names are listed in

12225-654: The county of Lucca during the first third of the tenth century. He probably increased his sphere of influence in the area around Parma and in the foothills of the Apennines . His son, Adalbert-Atto , was able to bring several castles in the foothills of the Apennines under his control in the politically fragmented region. Adalbert-Atto married Hildegard, of the Supponid Frankish noble family who had been very influential in northern Italy. Adalbert-Atto built

12388-530: The course of the military conflict so that on 5 October 1092 Matilda gave the monastery the churches of San Prospero, San Donino in Monte Uille, and San Gregorio in Antognano to compensate. Matilda had a meeting with her few remaining faithful allies in the late summer of 1092 at Carpineti . The majority of them were in favor of peace. Only the hermit Johannes from Marola strongly advocated a continuation of

12551-527: The court in favor of the Abbey of San Salvatore in Monte Amiata . On 8 February 1073, Matilda went to Lucca without her mother and presided over the court alone, where she made a donation in favor of the local Monastery of San Salvatore e Santa Giustina. At the instigation of the abbess Eritha, the monastery possessions in Lucca and Villanova near Serchio were secured by the King's ban ( Königsbann ). For

12714-500: The death of its author Thomas Madox , in 1727. In 1771, in his book The History of Manchester , John Whitaker first introduced the word "feudalism" and the notion of the feudal pyramid. Another theory by Alauddin Samarrai suggests an Arabic origin, from fuyū (the plural of fay , which literally means "the returned", and was used especially for 'land that has been conquered from enemies that did not fight'). Samarrai's theory

12877-460: The ears of the people, our whole world trembled". Insubordinate southern German princes gathered in Trebur , awaiting the pope. Matilda's first military endeavor, as well as the first major task altogether as ruler, turned out to be protecting the pope during his perilous journey north. Gregory VII could rely on nobody else. As the sole heiress to the House of Canossa patrimony, Matilda controlled all

13040-424: The edicts of 7 March, and 19 July 1797 issued by Charles Emmanuel IV , although in the Kingdom of Sardinia , specifically on the island of Sardinia , feudalism was abolished only with an edict of 5 August 1848. In the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia , feudalism was abolished with the law of 5 December 1861 n.º 342 were all feudal bonds abolished. The system lingered on in parts of Central and Eastern Europe as late as

13203-509: The election of a local parliament and the appointment of a government. The "revolution" is a consequence of the juridical intervention of the European Parliament , which declared the local constitutional system as contrary to human rights , and, following a series of legal battles, imposed parliamentary democracy . The phrase "feudal society" as defined by Marc Bloch offers a wider definition than Ganshof's and includes within

13366-544: The empire over the Alpine passes. For several years the emperor remained inactive in the area around Verona . In the spring of 1093, Conrad , his eldest son and heir to the throne, fell from him. With the support of Matilda along with the Patarene -minded cities of northern Italy ( Cremona , Lodi , Milan , and Piacenza ), the prince rebelled against his father. Sources close to the emperor saw Matilda's influence on Conrad as

13529-514: The empire. Matilda and Godfrey the Hunchback soon found themselves on opposing sides of the dispute, leading to a further deterioration of their difficult relationship. German chroniclers, writing of the synod held at Worms in January 1076, even suggested that Godfrey the Hunchback inspired an allegation by Henry IV of a licentious affair between Gregory VII and Matilda. Matilda and Godfrey the Hunchback continued to live separately until her husband

13692-425: The entourage of Nicholas II in 1059. Godfrey and Beatrice actively assisted them in dealing with antipopes , while the role of adolescent Matilda remains unclear. A contemporary account of her stepfather's 1067 expedition against Prince Richard I of Capua on behalf of the papacy mentions Matilda's participation in the campaign, describing it as the "first service that the most excellent daughter of Boniface offered to

13855-454: The establishment of a hospital. With this donation, Matilda resumed her relations with Lucca. After 1090 Matilda accentuated the consensual rule. After the profound crises, she was no longer able to make political decisions on her own. She held meetings with spiritual and secular nobles in Tuscany and also in her home countries of Emilia. She had to take into account the ideas of her loyal friends and come to an agreement with them. In her role as

14018-677: The exact opposite: landed property. Archibald Ross Lewis proposes that the origin of 'fief' is not feudum (or feodum ), but rather foderum , the earliest attested use being in Vita Hludovici (840) by Astronomus. In that text is a passage about Louis the Pious that says annona militaris quas vulgo foderum vocant , which can be translated as "Louis forbade that military provender (which they popularly call "fodder") be furnished." Initially in medieval Latin European documents,

14181-403: The feudal structure not only the warrior aristocracy bound by vassalage, but also the peasantry bound by manorialism, and the estates of the Church. Thus the feudal order embraces society from top to bottom, though the "powerful and well-differentiated social group of the urban classes" came to occupy a distinct position to some extent outside the classic feudal hierarchy. The idea of feudalism

14344-755: The feudalism analogy further, seeing feudalism (or traces of it) in places as diverse as Spring and Autumn period China, ancient Egypt , the Parthian Empire , India until the Mughal dynasty and the Antebellum South and Jim Crow laws in the American South . The term feudalism has also been applied—often pejoratively—to non-Western societies where institutions and attitudes similar to those in medieval Europe are perceived to prevail. Some historians and political theorists believe that

14507-401: The fief form the basis of the feudal relationship. Before a lord could grant land (a fief ) to someone, he had to make that person a vassal. This was done at a formal and symbolic ceremony called a commendation ceremony , which was composed of the two-part act of homage and oath of fealty . During homage, the lord and vassal entered into a contract in which the vassal promised to fight for

14670-409: The field in support of a new pope, Victor III . In 1087, Matilda led an expedition to Rome in an attempt to install Victor III, but the strength of the imperial counterattack soon convinced the pope to withdraw from the city. On his third expedition to Italy, Henry IV besieged Mantua and attacked Matilda's sphere of influence. In April 1091 he was able to take the city after an eleven-month siege. In

14833-419: The fight against the emperor. Thereupon Matilda implored her followers not to give up the fight. The imperial army began to siege Canossa in the autumn of 1092, but withdrew after a sudden failure of the siege; after this defeat, Henry IV's influence in Italy was never recovered. In the 1090s Henry IV got increasingly on the defensive. A coalition of the southern German princes had prevented him from returning to

14996-560: The following months, the emperor achieved further successes against the vassals of the Margravine. In the summer of 1091, he managed to get the entire north area of the Po with the Counties of Mantua, Brescia , and Verona under his control. In 1092 Henry IV was able to conquer most of the counties of Modena and Reggio . The Monastery of San Benedetto in Polirone suffered severe damages in

15159-525: The guardian of order consolidated their position along the Via Aemilia . Historian Arnaldo Tincani was able to prove the considerable number of 120 farms in the Canossa estate near the Po river . Matilda's parents, Boniface and Beatrice of Lorraine first met on the occasion of the wedding of Conrad II's son Henry with Gunhilda of Denmark in 1036 at the city of Nijmegen shortly after Boniface had become

15322-534: The health and life of my beloved daughter Matilda" ( pro incolomitate et anima Matilde dilecte filie mee ). Matilda and Godfrey the Hunchback's marriage proved a failure after a short time. The death of their only child and Godfrey's physical deformity may have helped fuel deep animosity between the spouses. By the end of 1071, Matilda had left her husband and returned to Italy, where her stay in Mantua on 19 January 1072 can be proven. From there she and her mother issued

15485-461: The highly profitable rights of justice, etc. (what Georges Duby called collectively the " seigneurie banale " ). Power in this period became more personal. This "fragmentation of powers" was not, however, systematic throughout France, and in certain counties (such as Flanders , Normandy , Anjou , Toulouse ), counts were able to maintain control of their lands into the 12th century or later. Thus, in some regions (like Normandy and Flanders ),

15648-520: The historical record. Supporters of Brown have suggested that the term should be expunged from history textbooks and lectures on medieval history entirely. In Fiefs and Vassals: The Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted (1994), Susan Reynolds expanded upon Brown's original thesis. Although some contemporaries questioned Reynolds's methodology, other historians have supported it and her argument. Reynolds argues: Too many models of feudalism used for comparisons, even by Marxists, are still either constructed on

15811-490: The infamous capture of Beatrice and Matilda, and, with the deliberated choice of location of the synod also made it clear that the House of Canossa had returned to Italy, strengthened at the side of the Pope and had been completely rehabilitated; with Henry IV being a minor, the reform Papacy sought the protection of the powerful House of Canossa. According to Donizo , the Panegyric biographer of Matilda and her ancestors, she

15974-521: The instigation of an enemy nearer to him. Matilda made no spiritual donations for Godfrey the Hunchback. Matilda's bold decision to repudiate her husband came at a cost, but ensured her independence. Beatrice started preparing Matilda for rule as head of the House of Canossa by holding court jointly with her and, eventually, encouraging her to issue charters under her own authority as countess ( comitissa ) and duchess ( ducatrix ). Both mother and daughter tried to be present throughout their territory. In what

16137-457: The intention behind Henry's walk to Canossa was to show penance . By 25 January 1077, the king stood barefoot in the snow before the gates of Matilda's castle, accompanied by his wife Bertha of Savoy , their infant son Conrad , and Bertha's mother, the powerful Margravine Adelaide of Susa (Matilda's second cousin; Adelaide's grandmother was Prangarda , sister of Tedald of Canossa , Matilda's paternal grandfather). Since Matilda's castle became

16300-504: The key concepts of lords , vassals and fiefs , though Ganshof himself noted that his treatment was only related to the "narrow, technical, legal sense of the word." A broader definition, as described in Marc Bloch 's Feudal Society (1939), includes not only the obligations of the warrior nobility but the obligations of all three estates of the realm : the nobility, the clergy , and those who lived off their labour, most directly

16463-512: The last member of the House of Canossa . Mother and daughter were taken to Germany, but Godfrey the Bearded successfully avoided capture. Unable to defeat him, Henry III sought a rapprochement. The Emperor's early death in October 1056, which brought to throne the underage Henry IV , seems to have accelerated the negotiations and the restoration of the previous balance of power. Godfrey the Bearded

16626-426: The latter. However, Matilda's resolution was unshakable, and in the summer of 1073 Godfrey the Hunchback returned to Lorraine alone, losing all hope for a reconciliation by 1074. Matilda wanted to enter in a monastery as a nun. During 1073–1074 she tried in vain to obtain the dissolution of her marriage with the pope; however, Gregory VII needed Godfrey the Hunchback as an ally and was therefore not interested in granting

16789-416: The lord at his command, whilst the lord agreed to protect the vassal from external forces. Fealty comes from the Latin fidelitas and denotes the fidelity owed by a vassal to his feudal lord. "Fealty" also refers to an oath that more explicitly reinforces the commitments of the vassal made during homage; such an oath follows homage. Once the commendation ceremony was complete, the lord and vassal were in

16952-482: The lord for criminal offences, including capital punishment in some cases. Concerning the king's feudal court, such deliberation could include the question of declaring war. These are examples of feudalism ; depending on the period of time and location in Europe, feudal customs and practices varied. In its origin, the feudal grant of land had been seen in terms of a personal bond between lord and vassal, but with time and

17115-407: The marriage of King Conrad with Maximilla, daughter of Count Roger I of Sicily . This was intended to win the support of the Normans of southern Italy against Henry IV. Conrad's initiatives to expand his rule in northern Italy probably led to tensions with Matilda, and for this, he didn't find any more support for his rule. After 22 October 1097, his political activity was virtually ended, his death in

17278-529: The middle of the 18th century, as a result of works such as Montesquieu 's De L'Esprit des Lois (1748; published in English as The Spirit of Law ), and Henri de Boulainvilliers 's Histoire des anciens Parlements de France (1737; published in English as An Historical Account of the Ancient Parliaments of France or States-General of the Kingdom , 1739). In the 18th century, writers of

17441-458: The most important advisors of the House of Canossa since the times of Matilda's mother. Allucione was a vassal of Count Fuidi, with whom Matilda worked closely. Mantua had to make considerable concessions in June 1090; the inhabitants of the city and the suburbs were freed from all "unjustified" oppression and all rights and property in Sacca, Sustante and Corte Carpaneta were confirmed. After 1096

17604-438: The most important guarantor of the law, she increasingly lost importance in relation to the bishops. They repeatedly asked the Margravine to put an end to grievances. As a result, the bishops expanded their position within the episcopal cities and in the surrounding area. After 1100 Matilda had to repeatedly protect churches from her own subjects. The accommodation requirements had also been reduced. The court had developed since

17767-449: The name of Clement III . The break between the empire and the papacy also escalated the troubled relationship between Henry IV and Matilda. In September 1080, the Margravine stood on behalf of Bishop Gratianus of Ferrara to court. Marquis Azzo d'Este, Counts Ugo and Ubert, Albert (son of Count Boso), Paganus di Corsina, Fulcus de Rovereto, Gerardo di Corviago, Petrus de Ermengarda, and Ugo Armatus all met there. Matilda swore there to maintain

17930-402: The next few months. Henry IV and Matilda never met again in person after the Canossa days. From 1077 to 1080 Matilda followed the usual activities of her rule. In addition to a few donations for the dioceses of Lucca and Mantua , court documents were in dominance. In 1079, Matilda gave the pope all her domains (the so-called Terre Matildiche ), in open defiance of claims by Henry IV as both

18093-420: The next six months Matilda's residence is not known, while her mother took part in the enthronement ceremony for Pope Gregory VII. Matilda was introduced by her mother to numerous personalities in church reform, especially Pope Gregory VII. She had already met the future pope, then Archdeacon Hildebrand, in the 1060s. During 9–17 March 1074, she met him for the first time after his election as pope. He developed

18256-423: The northern part of her paternal family's ancestral lands. Beatrice and her sister, Sophia , were the daughters of Duke Frederick II of Upper Lorraine and Matilda of Swabia . After the deaths of their parents she and her sister had been raised in the imperial court by their maternal aunt, Empress Gisela. For Boniface, the marriage to Beatrice, a close relative of the emperor, brought him not only prestige, but also

18419-552: The opportunities offered to her to consolidate her rule again. Since she was childless, in her final years Matilda developed her legacy by focusing her donation activity on the Polirone Abbey . The account of Donizo reports that between 6 and 11 May 1111, Matilda was crowned Imperial Vicar and Vice-Queen of Italy by Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor at the Castle of Bianello ( Quattro Castella , Reggio Emilia ). With her death,

18582-782: The oppression of feudal subjects with a holistic integration of political and economic life of the sort lacking under industrial capitalism. He also took it as a paradigm for understanding the power-relationships between capitalists and wage-labourers in his own time: "in pre-capitalist systems it was obvious that most people did not control their own destiny—under feudalism, for instance, serfs had to work for their lords. Capitalism seems different because people are in theory free to work for themselves or for others as they choose. Yet most workers have as little control over their lives as feudal serfs." Some later Marxist theorists (e.g. Eric Wolf ) have applied this label to include non-European societies, grouping feudalism together with imperial China and

18745-400: The order coming before capitalism . For Marx, what defined feudalism was the power of the ruling class (the aristocracy ) in their control of arable land, leading to a class society based upon the exploitation of the peasants who farm these lands, typically under serfdom and principally by means of labour, produce and money rents. He deemed feudalism a 'democracy of unfreedom', juxtaposing

18908-672: The overlord of some of those domains and as one of her close relatives. One year later, the fortunes of papacy and empire turned again: at the Roman synod of Lent in early March 1080 Henry IV was again excommunicated by Gregory VII. The pope combined the anathem with a warning: if the king didn't submit to the papal authority by 1 August he should be dethroned. However, unlike previously, the German bishops and princes stood behind Henry IV. In Brixen on 25 June 1080, seven German, one Burgundian, and 20 Italian bishops decided to depose Gregory VII and nominated Archbishop Guibert of Ravenna as pope, who took

19071-654: The poet Ludovico Ariosto as castellan. He resided here for six months. In 1593 Canossa was assigned as fief to the Counts Rondinelli. In 1642 Duke Francesco I entrusted it to the Valentini. The latter were ousted in 1796 by the rebellious local population, who joined the Republic of Reggio . After being returned to the Valentini, in 1878 the Castle was acquired by the Italian State, and was declared

19234-409: The prospect to have an heir. His first wife had been Richilda , a daughter of Giselbert II , Count Palatine of Bergamo and their only child was a daughter who was born and died in 1014. Boniface and Beatrice had three children, Beatrice (named after her mother), Frederick (named after his maternal grandfather), and Matilda (named after her maternal grandmother). Matilda, probably born around 1046,

19397-496: The quota of knights required by the king or a money payment in substitution). In the 20th century, two outstanding historians offered still more widely differing perspectives. The French historian Marc Bloch , arguably the most influential 20th-century medieval historian, approached feudalism not so much from a legal and military point of view but from a sociological one, presenting in Feudal Society (1939; English 1961)

19560-422: The reason for the rebellion of the son against his father, but contemporary sources don't reveal any closer contact between the two before the rebellion. A little later, Conrad was taken prisoner by his father but with Matilda's help, he was freed. With the support of the Margravine, Conrad was crowned King of Italy by Archbishop Anselm III of Milan before 4 December 1093. Together with the pope, Matilda organized

19723-424: The reform of the Papacy. Matilda's older sister, Beatrice, died the next year (before 17 December 1053), making Matilda heiress presumptive to Frederick's personal holdings. Beatrice was Regent of Tuscany from 1052 until her death in 1076, during the minority of and in co-regency with Matilda. In mid-1054, determined to safeguard the interests of her children as well as her own, Beatrice of Lorraine married Godfrey

19886-570: The reform papacy. Although also a supporter of church reform, her mother had distanced herself from Gregory VII's revolutionary goals where these endangered the foundations of her rule structures. In this setting, mother and daughter differed significantly from one another. Matilda had the church treasure of the Apollonius monastery built near Canossa Castle melted down; precious metal vessels and other treasures from Nonantola Abbey also were melted down. She even sold her Allod city of Donceel to

20049-464: The renowned Ponte della Maddalena where the Via Francigena crosses the river Serchio at Borgo a Mozzano just north of Lucca . Henry IV crossed the Alps in the spring of 1081. He gave up his previous reluctance toward his cousin Matilda and honored the city of Lucca for their transfer to the royal side. On 23 June 1081, the king issued the citizens of Lucca a comprehensive privilege in

20212-649: The rest of his patrimony) to his nephew Godfrey of Bouillon , the son of his sister Ida . Godfrey of Bouillon also disputed Matilda's rights to Stenay and Mosay, which her mother had received as dowry . The quarrel between aunt and nephew over the episcopal county of Verdun was eventually settled by Theoderic , Bishop of Verdun , who enjoyed the right to nominate the counts. He easily found in favor of Matilda, as such verdict happened to please both Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV. Matilda then proceeded to invest Verdun to her husband's pro-reform cousin, Albert III of Namur . The deep animosity between Matilda and her nephew

20375-412: The same period or later: Counties and duchies began to break down into smaller holdings as castellans and lesser seigneurs took control of local lands, and (as comital families had done before them) lesser lords usurped/privatized a wide range of prerogatives and rights of the state, including travel dues, market dues, fees for using woodlands, obligations, use the lord's mill and, most importantly,

20538-434: The same success: the equality of legal punishment, admission of all to public office, abolition of venality in office, conversion of the tithe into payments subject to redemption, freedom of worship, prohibition of plural holding of benefices ... Privileges of provinces and towns were offered as a last sacrifice. Originally the peasants were supposed to pay for the release of seigneurial dues; these dues affected more than

20701-402: The same time, Matilda came into possession of a substantial territory that included present-day Lombardy , Emilia , Romagna , and Tuscany . She made the Canossa Castle , in the Apennines south of Reggio, the centre of her domains. After his famous penitential walk in front of the Canossa ( Latin : Canusia ) Castle, In January 1077, Henry IV was accepted back into the church community by

20864-479: The setting for the reconciliation between the emperor and the pope, she must have been very closely involved in the negotiations. The king remained there, in a penitent's robe, barefoot, and without a sign of authority, despite the winter cold, until 28 January, when Matilda convinced the pope to see him. Matilda and Adelaide brokered a deal between the men. Henry IV was taken back into the Church, with both Matilda and Adelaide acting as sponsors and formally swearing to

21027-521: The son of Sigifredo of Lucca , a Lombard nobleman, on the summit of a rocky hill. In addition to Adalberto's residence, it also housed a convent with 12 Benedictine monks and the church of Sant'Apollonio. It was protected by a triple line of walls; located between the outer two layers of defense were the barracks and the residences of the servants. During the Middle Ages , it was one of the most formidable castles in Italy. In 950 Adelaide of Italy ,

21190-524: The spring of 1095 the couple were separated: in April 1095 Welf V had signed Matilda's donation charter for Piadena , but a next diploma dated 21 May 1095 was already issued by Matilda alone. Welf V's name no longer appears in any of the Mathildic documents. As a father-in-law, Welf IV tried to reconcile the couple; he was primarily concerned with the possible inheritance of the childless Matilda. The couple

21353-561: The subsequent period, so that Welf V could have moved to Italy alone or with a small entourage. According to the Rosenberg Annals, he even came across the Alps disguised as a pilgrim. Matilda's motive for this marriage, despite the large age difference and the political alliance—her new husband was a member of the Welf dynasty , who were important supporters of the papacy from the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries in their conflict with

21516-511: The summer of 1101 from a fever being the only mention. In 1094 Henry IV's second wife, the Rurikid princess Eupraxia of Kiev (renamed Adelaide after her marriage), escaped from her imprisonment at the monastery of San Zeno and spread serious allegations against him. Henry IV then had her arrested in Verona. With the help of Matilda, Adelaide was able to escape again and find refuge with her. At

21679-465: The term feudalism has been deprived of specific meaning by the many ways it has been used, leading them to reject it as a useful concept for understanding society. The applicability of the term feudalism has also been questioned in the context of some Central and Eastern European countries, such as Poland and Lithuania, with scholars observing that the medieval political and economic structure of those countries bears some, but not all, resemblances to

21842-562: The term 'feudalism'." Canossa Castle The Castle of Canossa is a castle in Canossa , province of Reggio Emilia , northern Italy , especially known for being the location of the Road to Canossa , the meeting of Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy (1077). The castle was built around 940 AD by Adalbert Atto, the Count of Beggia and Mantura, and

22005-433: The territory came to encompass the social, political, judicial, and economic spheres. These acquired powers significantly diminished unitary power in these empires. However, once the infrastructure to maintain unitary power was re-established—as with the European monarchies—feudalism began to yield to this new power structure and eventually disappeared. The classic François Louis Ganshof version of feudalism describes

22168-481: The time when the conflict between King Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII was escalating. Matilda and Beatrice were among the closest confidants of Gregory VII. From the beginning, he took both into his confidence and let them know about his plans against the Roman-German king. The disagreement between Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV culminated in the aftermath of the synod of Worms on 24 January 1076; together with

22331-518: The transformation of fiefs into hereditary holdings, the nature of the system came to be seen as a form of "politics of land" (an expression used by the historian Marc Bloch ). The 11th century in France saw what has been called by historians a " feudal revolution " or "mutation" and a "fragmentation of powers" (Bloch) that was unlike the development of feudalism in England or Italy or in Germany in

22494-536: The twelfth century to a central institution of royal and princely power. The most important tasks were the visualization of the rule through festivals, art, and literature. The term "court" can be understood as "presence with the ruler". In contrast to the Brunswick court of the Guelphs, Matilda's court offices cannot be verified. Scholars such as Anselm of Lucca , Heribert of Reggio, and Johannes of Mantua were around

22657-517: The upcoming fight against Henry IV. On 15 October 1080 at Volta Mantovana , the imperial troops defeated the army of Matilda and Gregory VII in battle . Some Tuscan nobles took advantage of the uncertainty and positioned themselves against Matilda; few places remained faithful to her. In a donation of 9 December 1080 to the Modenese monastery of San Prospero , only a few local followers are named. Matilda, however, did not surrender. While Gregory VII

22820-440: The vassal could have other obligations to his lord, such as attendance at his court, whether manorial , baronial, both termed court baron , or at the king's court. It could also involve the vassal providing "counsel", so that if the lord faced a major decision he would summon all his vassals and hold a council. At the level of the manor this might be a fairly mundane matter of agricultural policy, but also included sentencing by

22983-472: The vassal/feudal system was an effective tool for ducal and comital control, linking vassals to their lords; but in other regions, the system led to significant confusion, all the more so as vassals could and frequently did pledge themselves to two or more lords. In response to this, the idea of a "liege lord" was developed (where the obligations to one lord are regarded as superior) in the 12th century. Around this time, rich, "middle-class" commoners chafed at

23146-405: The warrior nobility and revolved around the key concepts of lords , vassals , and fiefs . A broader definition, as described by Marc Bloch (1939), includes not only the obligations of the warrior nobility but the obligations of all three estates of the realm : the nobility, the clergy , and the peasantry , all of whom were bound by a system of manorialism ; this is sometimes referred to as

23309-506: The widow of King Lothair II , took refuge there; Berengar II of Ivrea unsuccessfully besieged the castle for three years. During the Investiture Controversy in 1077, the castle formed the venue for the reconciliation between Henry IV and Gregory VII. The latter had friendly relations with the then-owner, Matilda of Tuscany , who established that her lands should be assigned to the Church after her death (1115). Her heirs, however, would have none of it. In 1255, troops of Reggio destroyed

23472-443: Was ambushed while hunting in the forest of San Martino dall'Argine near Mantua and killed. Following the death of their father, Matilda's brother, Frederick , inherited the family lands and titles under the regency of their mother, who not only managed to hold the family patrimony together, but also made important contacts with leading figures in the Church renewal movement. Beatrice developed into an increasingly important pillar of

23635-520: Was assassinated in Vlaardingen (near Rotterdam ) on 26 February 1076. Having been accused the previous month of adultery with the pope, Matilda was suspected of ordering her estranged husband's death. However, she couldn't have known about the proceedings at the Synod of Worms at the time since the news even took three months to reach the pope. It is more likely that Godfrey the Hunchback was killed at

23798-525: Was contrary to the provisions of the Salic and Lombard law currently in force in the Kingdom of Italy, according to which Emperor Henry IV would have been the legal heir. In view of the minority of Henry IV and close cooperation with the reform papacy, a lending under imperial law was of secondary importance for the House of Canossa Between 1076 and 1080, Matilda travelled to Lorraine to lay claim to her husband's estate in Verdun , which he had willed (along with

23961-641: Was established. It is possible, Samarrai says, that French scribes, writing in Latin, attempted to transliterate the Arabic word fuyū (the plural of fay ), which was used by the Muslim invaders and occupiers at the time, resulting in a plurality of forms – feo, feu, feuz, feuum and others—from which eventually feudum derived. Samarrai, however, also advises to handle this theory with care, as Medieval and Early Modern Muslim scribes often used etymologically "fanciful roots" to support outlandish claims that something

24124-538: Was familiar with both French and German due to her origins and living conditions. Matilda's mother and stepfather thus became heavily involved in the series of disputed papal elections during their regency, supporting the Gregorian Reforms . Godfrey the Bearded's brother, Frederick, became Pope Stephen IX , while both of the following two popes, Nicholas II and Alexander II , had been Tuscan bishops. Matilda made her first journey to Rome with her family in

24287-501: Was first used in 17th-century French legal treatises (1614) and translated into English legal treatises as an adjective, such as "feodal government". In the 18th century, Adam Smith , seeking to describe economic systems, effectively coined the forms "feudal government" and "feudal system" in his book The Wealth of Nations (1776). The phrase "feudal system" appeared in 1736, in Baronia Anglica , published nine years after

24450-419: Was forced into exile, by retaining control over all the western passes in the Apennines, she could force Henry IV to approach Rome via Ravenna ; even with this route open, the emperor would find it hard to besiege Rome with a hostile territory at his back. In December 1080 the citizens of Lucca, then the capital of Tuscany, had revolted and driven out her ally, Bishop Anselm . She is believed to have commissioned

24613-512: Was holed up in the Castel Sant'Angelo . After Henry IV obtained possession of the pope's seal, Matilda wrote to supporters in Germany only to trust papal messages that came through her. A guerrilla war developed that Matilda waged from her castles in the Apennines. In 1082 she was apparently insolvent. Therefore, she could no longer bind her vassals to her with generous gifts or fiefs. But even in dire straits, she did not let up in her zeal for

24776-471: Was never divorced, nor was the marriage declared invalid. With the de facto end of Matilda's marriage, Henry IV regained his capacity to act. Welf IV switched to the imperial side. The emperor locked in Verona was finally able to return to the north of the Alps in 1097. After that he never returned to Italy, and it would be 13 years before his son and namesake set foot on Italian soil for the first time. With

24939-400: Was not even called by name. The pope responded on 15 February 1076 with the excommunication of the king, releasing all his subjects from the oath of allegiance to him and providing the perfect reason for rebellion against his rule. These measures had a tremendous effect on contemporaries, as the words of the chronicler Bonizo of Sutri show: "When the news of the banishment of the king reached

25102-497: Was of Arabian or Muslim origin. Feudalism, in its various forms, usually emerged as a result of the decentralization of an empire: such as in the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century AD, which lacked the bureaucratic infrastructure necessary to support cavalry without allocating land to these mounted troops. Mounted soldiers began to secure a system of hereditary rule over their allocated land and their power over

25265-642: Was partly since the military shifted from armies consisting of the nobility to professional fighters thus reducing the nobility's claim on power, but also because the Black Death reduced the nobility's hold over the lower classes. Vestiges of the feudal system hung on in France until the French Revolution of the 1790s. Even when the original feudal relationships had disappeared, there were many institutional remnants of feudalism left in place. Historian Georges Lefebvre explains how at an early stage of

25428-520: Was reconciled with the imperial family and recognized as Margrave of Tuscany in December, while Beatrice and Matilda were released. By the time she and her mother returned to Italy, in the company of Pope Victor II , Matilda was formally acknowledged as sole heiress to the greatest territorial lordship in the southern part of the Empire. In June 1057 the Pope held a synod in Florence; he was present during

25591-489: Was renowned for her learning. She was literate in Latin , as well as reputed to speak German and French . The extent of Matilda's education in military matters is debated. It has been asserted that she was taught strategy, tactics, riding, and wielding weapons, but recent scholarship challenges these claims. Her father, Boniface of Canossa was a feared and hated prince for some small vassals throughout his life. On 7 May 1052, he

25754-417: Was simply a military move in order to have control in the region by hording land through tenancies, and expelling the bishops who he did not agree with, but it did not specifically create feudalism.   Karl Marx also uses the term in the 19th century in his analysis of society's economic and political development, describing feudalism (or more usually feudal society or the feudal mode of production ) as

25917-417: Was the center for Boniface's court at the time. In addition, Ferrara or the small Tuscan town of San Miniato have been discussed as the possible birthplace. According to author Elke Goez , sources cannot prove that there was a permanent household location for Boniface of Canossa in either Mantua or any other place. Scholars generally believe that Matilda must have spent her early years around her mother, who

26080-401: Was the undisputed heir of all lands alloteds to both her parents. Her inheritance could have been threatened had Godfrey the Hunchback survived her mother, but she now enjoyed the privileged status of a widow. It seemed unlikely, however, that Emperor Henry IV would formally invest her with the margraviate. After the death of her mother, Matilda took over her immense paternal inheritance. This

26243-473: Was the youngest child. Matilda's birthplace and exact date of birth are unknown. Italian scholars have been arguing about her place of birth for centuries. According to Francesco Maria Fiorentini, a doctor and scholar of the seventeenth century, she was born in Lucca , an assumption reinforced by a miniature in the early twelfth-century Vita Mathildis by the monk Donizo (or, in Italian, Donizone), where Matilda

26406-508: Was thus delayed. The German princes held a separate council and informed the king that he had to submit to the pope within a year or be replaced. Henry IV's predecessors had dealt easily with troublesome pontiffs — they had simply deposed them, and the excommunicated Lombard bishops rejoiced at this prospect. When Matilda heard about Henry IV's approach, she urged Gregory VII to take refuge in the Canossa Castle , her family's eponymous stronghold. The pope took her advice. It soon became clear that

26569-491: Was unknown and the system it describes was not conceived of as a formal political system by the people living in the medieval period. This section describes the history of the idea of feudalism, how the concept originated among scholars and thinkers, how it changed over time, and modern debates about its use. The concept of a feudal state or period, in the sense of either a regime or a period dominated by lords who possess financial or social power and prestige, became widely held in

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