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Decline of Feudalism: Towns, Black Death, Monarchs Class 11

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HistoryCBSE Class 11 · The Three Orders

Why Feudal Europe Changed: Technology, Towns, the Fourteenth-Century Crisis and New Monarchs (Class 11 History, Theme 4)

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Feudal Europe changed because a warmer climate and iron ploughs, shoulder harness and the three-field system doubled food, populations and towns grew, and money replaced personal bonds. The fourteenth century brought cold, famines, a silver shortage and the Black Death (about 20 per cent died), then revolts, and kings became new monarchs with standing armies and national taxes.

Notice the two phases: growth from better farming and trade, then 14th-century crisis that ended with stronger new monarchs.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Why Feudal Europe Changed: Technology, Towns, Crisis and New Monarchs

Why this topic matters. NCERT asks for sequences of causes, numbers on population and the contrast between France and England.

1. Environment. From the fifth to the tenth century forests and a cold spell kept yields low. From the eleventh century a warm phase brought longer growing seasons and less frost, and the forest line receded.

2. Old farming. A wooden plough drawn by oxen scratched the soil, and a two-field rotation exhausted it, causing famines. Peasants resisted lords' demands passively by working their own fields more and treating pasture and forest as common resources.

3. New technology. Heavy iron-tipped ploughs and mould-boards; shoulder-harness instead of neck-harness; iron horseshoes; more water-mills and windmills; and the three-field system (autumn crop, spring crop of peas, beans, lentils, oats and barley, and a fallow field). Food availability doubled and average peasant farms shrank from about 100 to 20-30 acres, giving time for other work.

4. Money. From the eleventh century lords took rent in cash and peasants sold crops, weakening personal bonds. In England farm prices doubled between the 1270s and 1320s.

5. Population and towns. Europe had about 42 million people in 1000, 62 million around 1200 and 73 million in 1300. Fairs and markets grew into towns. "Town air makes free": a serf who lived undiscovered for a year and a day became free. Towns had merchants, craftsmen, later bankers and lawyers, and could be seen as a fourth order. Each craft had a guild controlling quality, price and sale. From the twelfth century cathedrals were built; stained glass told Bible stories to those who could not read.

6. The fourteenth-century crisis. (a) Bitterly cold summers in northern Europe shortened growing seasons; soil was exhausted; famines of 1315-17 followed. (b) A shortage of silver from Austrian and Serbian mines led governments to debase coins. (c) The Black Death (1347-50) killed about 20 per cent of Europe's people, some places 40 per cent; population fell from 73 million in 1300 to 45 million in 1400.

7. Consequences. Labour became scarce, wages rose (workers could demand twice their earlier wages in England), farm prices fell and lords tried to revive labour services. Peasants revolted: Flanders (1323), France (1358), England (1381). The revolts were crushed but the old feudal ties could not be brought back.

8. New monarchs. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Louis XI (France), Maximilian (Austria), Henry VII (England) and Isabelle and Ferdinand (Spain) built standing armies, permanent bureaucracies and national taxation. Professional infantry with guns and siege artillery replaced feudal levies. This was a modified form of feudalism: nobles became loyalists and courtiers.

9. France and England. The Estates-General of France met in 1614 and was not called again until 1789. England's Great Council became Parliament; Charles I ruled without it from 1629 to 1640, was fought and executed, a republic followed and monarchy was restored on condition Parliament met regularly.

Why Feudal Europe Changed: Technology, Towns, Crisis and New Monarchs: key facts

New technology
  • Heavy iron-tipped plough
  • Shoulder-harness
  • Iron horseshoes
  • Water-mills and windmills
  • Three-field system
Raised food output.
Population of Europe
  • About 42 million in 1000
  • About 62 million around 1200
  • 73 million in 1300
  • 45 million in 1400
Rise and fall.
Fourteenth-century crisis
Cold and soil exhaustionfamines 1315-17
Silver shortagedebased coins
Black Death 1347-50about 20 per cent died
Three causes.
Peasant revolts
  • Flanders 1323
  • France 1358
  • England 1381
Dates.

How to answer Why Feudal Europe Changed: Technology, Towns, Crisis and New Monarchs questions

Change questions want a chain of causes, then results.

  1. 1Open with environment and technology.
  2. 2Link surplus to population, towns and money.
  3. 3Give three causes of the crisis with numbers.
  4. 4Explain labour shortage and revolts.
  5. 5Conclude with the new monarchs and the France-England contrast.

Why Feudal Europe Changed: Technology, Towns, Crisis and New Monarchs in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Rotation and fallow

Suppose a village rotates three fields: grain one year, pulses the next and rest in the third.

Which feature of medieval change does this resemble, and why was it better than two fields?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. This is the three-field system.
  2. Two-thirds of land is in use instead of one-half and pulses add protein.

Answer: It resembles the three-field system, which raised food by using more land each year and adding vegetable protein and fodder.

Memory hook: Three fields, more food.

Labour shortage and wages

Suppose after a fever outbreak a village has far fewer farm workers, and the remaining ones ask for double pay.

Which fourteenth-century event does this match, and what did lords try?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. The Black Death created labour scarcity.
  2. Wages rose; lords tried to bring back labour services.

Answer: It matches the effects of the Black Death; workers demanded higher wages and lords tried to revive labour services.

Memory hook: Scarce labour, high wages.

Tricks to remember Why Feudal Europe Changed: Technology, Towns, Crisis and New Monarchs

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

  • 73 to 45

    Population 73 million (1300) to 45 million (1400)

    Use it when: Black Death.

  • 23-58-81

    Flanders 1323, France 1358, England 1381

    Use it when: Revolts.

  • H-P-S

    Horseshoe, Plough, Shoulder-harness

    Use it when: Technology.

Why Feudal Europe Changed: Technology, Towns, Crisis and New Monarchs: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Three-field system · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

In the three-field system, one field in a year was:
(A) used for autumn wheat or rye
(B) used for spring peas and oats
(C) left fallow
(D) all of the above

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Each year one field had an autumn crop, one a spring crop and one lay fallow (1 mark).

Answer: (D)

Example 2: Population arithmetic · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level

Between 1000 and 1300 the population of Europe rose from about 42 million to 73 million. Find the increase and say which development of the period best explains it. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. 73 - 42 = 31 million (1 mark).
  2. Expansion of agriculture from new technology and a warmer climate (1 mark).

Answer: The rise was about 31 million (derived from NCERT's figures), explained by expansion in agriculture with iron ploughs, the three-field system and a warmer climate.

Example 3: Why new technology mattered · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Explain how new technology changed rural life from the eleventh century. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Iron ploughs, shoulder-harness and horseshoes improved ploughing and carrying (1 mark).
  2. Three-field system and mills raised output and food doubled (1 mark).
  3. Peasant holdings shrank, giving time for other work and for village forges (1 mark).

Answer: Heavy iron ploughs turned deeper soil, shoulder-harness let animals pull harder and iron horseshoes protected hooves. With the three-field system and more mills, food availability doubled. Average farms fell from about 100 to 20-30 acres, which freed time for other work, and peasants set up village forges.

Example 4: Source-based: the crisis · 3 marks · Source-basedHarder board level

Read: By the end of the thirteenth century, three hundred years of warm summers gave way to cold ones. Growing seasons shrank by a month. Intensive ploughing exhausted the soil, and pasture shrank. Famines struck in 1315-17, and in the 1320s many cattle died.
(i) By how long did growing seasons shrink? (1)
(ii) Name the years of the famines. (1)
(iii) How did exhausted soil connect with less pasture? (1)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. (i) By a month (1 mark).
  2. (ii) 1315-17 (1 mark).
  3. (iii) Land under pasture was ploughed, so there was less fodder and fewer cattle (1 mark).

Answer: (i) One month; (ii) 1315-17; (iii) pastures were converted to arable, so fewer cattle could be fed.

Example 5: HOTS: Could feudal ties be restored? · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Why could lords not restore labour services after the Black Death even after crushing revolts? (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Labour was scarce and wages doubled (1 mark).
  2. Lords' incomes fell, so they tried to revive labour services (1 mark).
  3. Peasants, especially prosperous ones, revolted in Flanders, France and England (1 mark).
  4. Revolts were crushed (1 mark).
  5. Money relations had gone too far to reverse (1 mark).

Answer: After the plague, labour was scarce and wages rose, which cut lords' incomes. Lords tried to replace money contracts with labour services. Peasants, especially better-off ones who had gained, resisted in Flanders in 1323, France in 1358 and England in 1381. The revolts were crushed, but money relations had spread too widely for lords to bring back the old feudal ties.

Where students lose marks in Why Feudal Europe Changed: Technology, Towns, Crisis and New Monarchs

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

  • Mistake: Population mix-up

    Several figures.

    Wrong working

    Population was 73 million in 1000.

    Right working

    42 million in 1000, 73 million in 1300, 45 million in 1400.

    Do this: Attach year to figure.

    Usually costs: 1 mark.

  • Mistake: Calling new monarchs democratic

    Parliament is mentioned.

    Wrong working

    New monarchs were elected rulers.

    Right working

    They were absolutist rulers with standing armies and national taxes.

    Do this: Use absolutist.

    Usually costs: 1 mark.

  • Mistake: Black Death as only cause

    It is famous.

    Wrong working

    The crisis was only the Black Death.

    Right working

    Climate and soil, silver shortage and plague together.

    Do this: Give three causes.

    Usually costs: 1 mark.

Exam tips

  • List causes of change in sequence: environment, technology, money, towns, crisis.
  • Always attach a year to a population figure.
  • Describe France and England in one sentence each.

Practice questions on Why Feudal Europe Changed: Technology, Towns, Crisis and New Monarchs

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

  1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

    The Black Death reached western Europe in:
    (A) 1315
    (B) 1347-50
    (C) 1381
    (D) 1453

    Hint

    Recall the dates of the plague.

    Answer

    (B) 1347-50.

  2. Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level

    If 20 per cent of a town of 30,000 people died in the plague, how many survived? (2 marks)

    Hint

    Subtract 20 per cent.

    Answer

    20 per cent of 30,000 = 6,000; survivors = 24,000.

  3. Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

    What was the "fourth order"? Why did rich merchants rival the nobility? (3 marks)

    Hint

    Towns, trade.

    Answer

    The fourth order refers to townspeople: merchants, craftsmen, shopkeepers, later bankers and lawyers. As trade grew, rich town merchants gained wealth that competed with that of nobles, and towns offered freedom ("town air makes free").

  4. Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

    Explain two ways in which guilds regulated town economic life. (3 marks)

    Hint

    Quality, price and sale.

    Answer

    Each craft guild controlled the quality, the price and the sale of its product, and the guild-hall was used for meetings and ceremonies of guild heads, which gave craftsmen collective control of their trade.

  5. Q5 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

    Compare the political outcomes in France and England after the new monarchs. Which institution survived in England, and what does the 1629-40 period show? (4 marks)

    Hint

    Estates-General vs Parliament.

    Answer

    France's Estates-General met in 1614 and was not summoned again until 1789, so the monarchy ruled without it. England's Great Council became Parliament; Charles I ruled without it for eleven years (1629-40), but his need for money led Parliament to fight and execute him, and monarchy was restored on condition Parliament met regularly. Hence a republic in France and a monarchy in England today.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

  1. 1.When did the Black Death hit western Europe?Show answer

    1347-50.

  2. 2.Which monarch ruled England without Parliament from 1629 to 1640?Show answer

    Charles I.

  3. 3.What does "town air makes free" mean?Show answer

    A serf living undiscovered in a town for a year and a day became free.

  4. 4.When did the Estates-General meet last before 1789?Show answer

    1614.

Why Feudal Europe Changed: Technology, Towns, Crisis and New Monarchs: frequently asked questions

Who were the new monarchs?

Louis XI, Maximilian, Henry VII and Isabelle and Ferdinand are named.

Why were cathedrals built with stained glass?

To tell Bible stories in pictures for those who could not read.

Why did peasants resist lords passively before the crisis?

They worked more on their own fields and treated pasture and forest as common resources.