THE 'FEUDAL' ELITE ~ CookingFood.Org

Belvedere Palace; elite

It was not Ronald Reagan or the Jews who brought in the system whereby the rich elite control much of the wealth of the country.

The adjective feudal was invented in the 17th century, and the noun feudalism was invented in the 19th century.[3]

Most of you will be too young to remember the invasion of England which reportedly brought in some kind of harsh 'Feudal System', under which the top people controlled most of the wealth.

William

That invasion was the Norman Conquest of 1066, when the Normans, from Northern France, took over 'Anglo-Saxon' England.

However, long before 1066, Anglo-Saxon England had been more or less 'feudal'; with the rich elite controlling most of the wealth.

Anglo-Saxon England?

In Anglo-Saxon England:

Wulfric Spot, for example, had vast landholdings stretching from the Midlands to the North West.

The top landholders all had close connections to the King, often through marriage.

The rich elite flaunted their wealth, which included jewellery, silks and weapons.

The lower orders were expected to 'know their place' - whether as working men, or clerics or soldiers or slaves.

Slaves made up between 10 and 25% of the rural population.

The poorer people were forced to do work on the lands of the rich elite.

A woman's legal status was governed by the position of her husband, or father.

A so called 'free man' was normally powerless when faced by one of the elite, as the Lords had the law on their side.