In this week of the course, you will be studying the Middle Ages and the political system known as feudalism. The Middle Ages spanned the period of time from the fifth century and the fall of the Roman Empire to the fourteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance. The Golden Age, so to speak, of the Middle Ages was the twelfth century. Most people do not realize that there were a number of important institutions created during the Middle Ages that continue to survive and function in the modern world: the university, parliament and the cathedral. Universities arose initially as part of the intellectual revival that occurred in Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and originally many of the universities were attached to church structures like the cathedrals. Eventually universities became quite substantial institutions of learning, attracting students from across the continent. Most of the modern universities have very similar structures, curricula and degree programs--not to mention the same buildings in some European universities. The institution of Parliament arose formally in England as a result of the Norman conquest of 1066 and had its roots in informal baronial councils that advised kings under the feudal system. Cathedrals, and a wave of cathedral building swept Europe beginning in the eleventh century, were the home churches, or seats, of the bishops of the church. The cathedrals were magnificent symbols of the power of the church in the Middle Ages. And if there was one dominant institution in the Middle Ages it was the church. Although the power of the church waxed and waned over the thousand years of the Middle Ages, for long periods of time the church was the only organized political, economic and intellectual institution that existed in much of Western Europe. In other words the church did not restrict its activities to only religious affairs. In fact, comparatively little time was spent on religious matters. It would be hard to imagine any individual's life outside the realm of the church in the Middle Ages and that is one of the things that makes studying the Middle Ages so difficult for present-day historians, who inhabit a world that is fundamentally secular in nature, to understand. Feudalism was the predominant political structure that existed in the Middle Ages. It is a particularly difficult system to define because it varied so much from one area to another and because by its very nature it was an ad hoc reaction to the existing lack, and destruction, of central political authority when the Roman empire disintegrated. As centralized political power ceased to exist in much of Europe, local political arrangements emerged between powerful local nobles to ensure defense against the barbarians. Over time those local political arrangements became somewhat codified in a general code of conduct known as feudalism. Among the central characteristics of feudalism was the exchange of piece of land in return for an oath of loyalty and service. For example, Lord Alfred might give knight John a piece of land, which was called a fief, and which, incidentally included the serfs who worked the land. Knight John would then draw support from that piece of land, and provide Lord Alfred with military service when needed. And so Lord Alfred might have a whole series of knights who owed him military service and who he could call upon in times of need. Gradually this evolved into a full-blown political system. By the way, castles, which in many ways symbolize the whole idea of knighthood, chivalry and feudalism, were originally nothing more than fortified wooden blockhouses. Only after the Crusades in the twelfth century did Europeans relearn the art of building massive stone fortification from the Arabs of the Near East, and only then were Europeans able to actually begin building castles. But before that time wood blockhouses served as rallying points for small groups of knights to hold out against barbarians until additional aid could be summoned.