In reading Boch’s Feudal Society, I was struck by the
breadth of environmental and social factors he analyzes to explain the
historical events of Medieval Europe. As
a student of folklore, I was most interested in how he describes the role of
epic poems in shaping feudal society in his chapter on “Folk Memory” stating
“epic tales in the vernacular were the history books of the people who could
not read but loved to listen.” In
essence, Bloch expands the group of history workers to include the poets,
jongleurs, trouveres and clergy who created and communicated these epics to
the broader public. With literacy
limited to the clergy until the 12th century, these epics shaped
society’s knowledge of what had happened in the past. When combined with the increase in travel and
interaction between people across Europe, it explains how knowledge of
historical events is passed down over time.
Most notable is Bloch’s strong disagreement with “historians
of the romantic school” that there was a clear separation between the vernacular
or learned writings of the clergy and these more popular epic poems. Given that the level of education and training
for clergy was poor, their interest in collecting information from these oral
sources, and the church as a common place for markets and festivals (where the
telling of these poems take place), it makes sense that the line between epics and
vernacular writings by the church was frequently blurred.
The epic poems also provide insight into the traditions,
relationships and practices of feudal society; usually they revolve around the
actions of a warrior hero, and the vassals who have pledged homage or
allegiance to him. By treating these epic poems as contributors
of useful historical information about 11th and 12th
century Europe, he expands the sources to research and provides greater context
of how vassalage came to be in feudal society.
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