The Feudal Roots of Poverty

    First and foremost I would like to start out by saying that I have come to find that many ancient cultures around the world knew and understood how to sustain the needs of their people within their villages, cities, and towns. It only became something of forgotten knowledge when travelers from other continents decided to take ownership of the “new worlds”. They came to these new lands and took over the ways of the people they encountered, disregarding the wisdom of those who had maintained life there. This is what started the many failings of North American culture as we have had to suffer in the last several hundred years.

     Europeans had enough cultural issues before they came to Canada, these issues reach as far back as the early 10^th century. When kings and lords began to want higher status then all others and created a monetary system. It began with jewels and precious metal coins being offered to the local church for higher standings in society, as this was when the churches monasteries were the ultimate rulers (Lester K Little, 1983). Pressure arose for the common people to pay more to live in a specific area of land, in order to keep the rising needs of the kingdoms sustained. Those who could not pay for their land either had it taken from them, or were forced to give the ruling lords the majority of their produce grown on the land. Many people suffered through the early medieval era due to growing greed by the crowned lords and religious monastery, and this way of life began in the feudal ages.

     Nearing the end of the 12^th century, the state; being lords and kings, decided to separate them selves from the rulings of the church. They signed a document known as the “Concordat of Worms” in 1122, ensuring that the monastery was not to be the spiritual leader for the state (Steven Ozment, 1981). This did not however keep them fully separate, as there were many scandals through out the medieval ages. Having moved into a monetary system, many people found them selves moving into towns and cities in order to be more protected by the state, as well as to be considered higher class. The rise of scholarly universities also brought many people to urban civilization, but education also cost money and usually meant that person was of high status. This movement aided in growing the separation of the classes considerably, as farmers were uneducated and lived in lower standards of housing.

     Sadly, I feel we still carry many of these view points in today's society. The thought of someone not being able to provide for their family makes the wealthier people feel like its the fault of the one who suffers. The functioning system in place brings more profit to those who already had monetary wealth, and leaves those who struggle to push harder to try to get to an unattainable level of wealth. This system creates the constant need for more money, and essentially keeps those who work several jobs struggling to try to provide for their families, as we are still no more then slaves of the state.

Elizabeth

References:

Little L. K., “Religious Poverty and the Profit Economy in Medieval Europe” , Cornell University Press, 1983-03-01

Ozment S., “The Age of Reform, 1250-1550 : An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe”, Yale University Press, 1981-09-10