Throughout the Middle Ages, a series of government institutions that were very similar all throughout Europe developed, except in Spain, where they were engaged in The Reconquista against the Muslims. The main institutions were:
- THE MONARCHY. The King was primarily the leader, that is, a warrior with prestige among his peers, which elevated and cheered him above his shield. The king could declare war and make peace. But in other cases decisions were made by the Assemblies or from the meetings of princes and warriors. At the end of the Middle Ages, the authority of kings became consolidated.
- FEUDALISM. There were three social groups, besides the king, in the society:
+ The warrior nobility (counts, dukes, marquises and gentlemen) who possessed castles to protect their fiefdoms;
+ The Farmers living in villages under the protection of the nobility; and
+ + The ecclesiastical body (bishops, abbots and monks).
At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the king was merely another man and sometimes not the most powerful. The noble warriors possessed their own armies, exercised justice and collected taxes.
- The REACTION OF THE MONARCHY. The kings sought the support of the cities to strengthen their authority before the nobles. Moreover, the Crusades ruined many of the nobility and social forces favored the kings.
2. Indicate if these statements refer to the monarchy, feudalism or the monarchy’s reaction: