DEVELOPMENT of feudalism in western europe
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, the people of Western Europe were exposed and liable to things that the Roman's had stopped them from being exposed to and needed a source of protection from many invading threats as well as order in society. Charlemagne used a system where people of higher class provided protection for lower classes in return for their loyalty and service. Feudalism was based on older traditions from Germanic people to create order out of the chaos that followed the end of the Western Roman Empire. People went back to an earlier way of living where people with less power followed a leader or a person with more power. The system lasted for almost all of the medieval period but died out due to the 'Black Death' and growth of trade where small towns were more connected.