Even though the period of ancient history had ended around the year 476, people were still at the mercy of the barbarian attacks that had taken place in ancient times. It was well into the Middle Ages that such attacks continued to occur. Early Germanic tribes gathered together in small groups and formed tuins or towns. The inhabitants most commonly found in the region that would become the Netherlands were composed from several Germanic tribes. Batavians settled in central Netherlands and western Netherlands found her lands occupied by the Canninfats. After the collapse of the Roman Empire newly formed tribes, composed of those who had been slaves to the Romans, resided in the remaining regions of the Netherlands. They were formed from the Jutish, Saxon, Anglo-Saxon, Frankish, Vandal, Burgondish, West-Gothic, East-Gothic, and Frisian tribes. Within the community or congregation, referred to as a mark or gemeente in Dutch, the land belonged to the people. The land was used as needed by the people of the gemeente. The people of the town set aside portions of land appropriate for pasture use, farming, and for the village. The size of a family determined the amount of land used for pasture and farming. This allotment of land was the landhold of the family. They had the option to live in the village or could build and live in a house on their landhold; the house and the landhold were their property, all were citizens of the town. All citizens living within these small hamlets of democracy were at constant risk of falling victim to acts of roving bandits, who were oftentimes their own clansmen. The defenseless became victims of torture, rape, and murder. Their possessions, including livestock, were stolen. What was not stolen was senselessly destroyed or callously treated. The bold marauders rode their horses through fields, intentionally trampling and ruining crops. Flocks of slaughtered sheep were left to rot. The legs of horses were brutally broken, their throats were slashed and manes set afire. Humble dwellings of the innocent were torched, leaving the surviving helpless victims with little to nothing. As in the story of the three little pigs, intended prey fleeing for their lives sought safety in the sturdiest structure they could find. The stone-fortified castle or wooden blockhouse of a powerful nobleman provided refuge for villagers and their livestock during times of attack. The safe asylum found at these outposts scattered across the land did not come without a price. Most of the noblemen who could offer such a haven were also in need. Money, unless coined within the domain of the nobleman, was very scarce. They did not have the means to pay for needed soldiers and knights. Nor did they have the manpower to produce necessary armors for knights and weaponry for soldiers. Likewise, they also lacked a sufficient work force to produce food, which had also become very scarce. A nobleman’s rank of power was measured by the size his army, the ability of his horses, and by the extent of his land holdings. Clearly those of the noble class could benefit from the services of those who were in need of protection. This ‘upper class’ of society, as well as the peasants of the land, fell under the umbrella of the conqueror. The kingdom of the Netherlands would be under the rule of the Carlovingian dynasty until 925. It then became part of the kingdom of Lotharingia. When Karel de Groote conquered the region, all of the land within the Netherlands, except for Frisia, became his property and the property of his successors. As emperor he used his power to disband the simplistic, democratic towns. In whatever manner he saw fit, he sectioned off the land of the country and as over-lord distributed parcels of land to his nobles, dukes, counts and barons. These sections of land were referred to as gouws or fiefs. The gouw was under the jurisdiction of a graaf, a person who held the title of count. Within these individual gouws a count often times sectioned off portions of land to smaller nobles or gentlemen, who in turn might also sub divide to those of lessor political stature than themselves. Jurisdiction over several of these gouws and graafs was held by a hertog or duke, hertog translates to an army leader. All were overseers of the land vested to them and were obligated to render service to the emperor. The villagers were forced to give up their landhold rights to receive protection. Hence, the coming into being of a society of feudalism in the Netherlands. Attacks upon the poor, common man were now not from bands of roving barbarians but were from armies of rival castle lords. Regardless of the source or purpose of attack, the people were in desperate need of protection. This costly protection allowed them to exist, an existence that compares to that of a slave. Those positioned into the chain of overseers of the land, who were some type of landlord, could obtain influence and power. Others, who were of the great mass of the population, were bound to work the land and render work duties for the lords; they were nothing. People of the Middle Ages held a strong belief in Christianity. Perhaps the only hope that many had was the hope that life in heaven would be better than that which they lived here on Earth. "During the period that is known as the Middle Ages the basic centers of political, economic, and social life were the castle, the village, and the town."⁽¹⁾. The word castle can conjure up visions of elaborate structures embellished with architectural detail. For the most part, such structures were yet to come, they evolved later on in the Middle Ages. The most common and accurate interpretation of the castles of the time when feudalism came into being, were that they were simply the private homes of lords, monarchs, individuals of royal personage, or persons who were socially and economically better off than the majority. They were larger than the hut of the villager, but to liken to the scale of grandeur by modern definition, would be mislabeling. In the year 1000 houses made of stone were very uncommon, only a prestigious nobleman lived in such privileged lodging. The homes or castles of most noblemen were very primitive. Yet, they were homes of distinction and were superior to the construction of the thatched roofed, lean-to of the peasants. The floors of these castles were not of polished marble with coverings of lavish rugs, but were often of dirt with a covering of straw. Herbs and other plant materials were scattered onto the straw to ward off insects and sickness. Perhaps also to mask the odors that no doubt lingered in the matting beneath their feet, "…an ancient collection of beer, grease, fragments, bones, spittle, excrement of dogs and cats and anything else that is nasty."⁽²⁾  Exterior walls were of stone that were put into place using a dry stack method. Intentional voids were built into the walls, strategically placed to allow a view to the outside. Other cervices naturally occurring in the wall were filled with a mixture of soil, dried plant material, and water. Timbers were laid across the walls creating a roof. If a second floor was added to the structure, the timber roof became the floor of the second level.

*Reading material on Feudalism: Evolution of Property by Paul LaFargue. The Middle Ages by G. Caselli. Crafts and Trades in the Middile Ages by Sheila Sanchez. Crisis in European History by Gustav Bang. Merry Ever After by Joseph Lasker. Mediaeval Society by Sidney Painter. Age After Darkness by Jason Nobles. The Arthurian Book of Days by Caitlin and John Matthews. Life in a Medieval Castle by Joseph and Frances Gies.

¹Mediaeval Society by Sidney Painter, chapter 1, The Feudal System and the Feudal Castle
²Desiderius Erasmus 1466-1536, extracted from translations of his works in Latin

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