Download THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY THE PALEGARI SYSTEM

THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.
THE PALEGARI SYSTEM AND FEUDALISM
Feudalism denotes the type
of
society
and
the
political system originating in Western and Central Europe
and dominant there during the greater part of
Ages.
However,
societies
and
the
systems
characteristics.
ways
the
Feudal
term
of
is
also
society,
but
there
differences between the two systems.
Middle
to
other
applied
government
The Palegari System
the
with
resembled
were
similar
in
many
fundamental
10
FEUDALISM
The term Feudalism is derived from the Latin Word
'FEUDUM’ which translated into English and French means
'FIEF'.
Fief stresses the importance
in
the
system
land tenure and the rights and privileges attached to
The complex of tenurial and
personal
a
of
it.
relationships
have
led to a* hierarchy of social stratification and political
organisation.
The economical social and political forms
found in feudal societies at any
one
time
have
to
be
varied.
However, some major features do recur and a certain rhythm
of evolution seems to have been
areas as they reacted
political changes.
2
in other societies.
conditions.
The
to
common
similar
to
economic,
rather
large
social
and
Feudal institutions can also be found
Sometimes they
Falegari
System,
evolve
from
as
developed
it
Southern India after the fall of the Vijayanagara
is an example of one such institution.
similar
in
Empire,
11
Feudalism has some
tics.
minimal
common
characteris­
These include
1) Lord - Vassal relationships
2) a personalised government that is most
effective
on the local
3) a system of land
level
holding
consisting
of
the
granting of fiefs in return for service
4) the existence of private
honour
in
which
armies and a code of
military
obligations
are
stressed
5)
manorial
rights
of
the
Lord
over
the
peasants.®
In the social sector an
feudalism is
profession.
and
society
the
bearing
of
unimportant
arms
as
a
element
clan-defining
Within the economic sector feudal
appear
to
rest
upon
a
of
government
landed or wealthy
18
self-sufficient base, popularly known as the
classical age of feudalism
eleventh
to
the
is
thirteenth
normally
Manor,
dated
centuries
and
The
from
the
located
in
Northern Francer.
FEUDALLISM IN WESTERN EUROPE
The
specific
features
outcome of the encounter of
Romanized and the
Germanic.
two
of
feudalism
types
Their
of
were
the
society,
the
fusion
into
society, the Romano-Germanic was accompanied by a
and reshaping of their respective institutions.
Roman West was passing through the profound
disintegrating empire, a weakening of
administration
economic activities.
Public authority
the great land owners.
Economic life
city to country side and was
estates
The
1 ate
of
a
Central Power and a
diminishing
cities as centres of
new
merging
crisis
dislocation of beaurocratic state machinery.
dislocation was marked by the
a
and
was
was
concentrated
The economic
importance
of
of
specialised
delegated
shifting
on
the
to
from
large
13
type
of
society
and
government thus rose
in
Western
Europe,
A new
In this
break-up of the Roman Empire.
important
elements
were
a
the
foil owing
society
chiefs,
military following, dominated large
system
new
who
tracts
most
with
their
land
also played an important part in the government.
was
the
the
of
of
and
The King
just like one of the more powerful feudal chiefs.
In course of time the
monarchy
became
stronger
and an attempt was made to limit the power of the
chiefs.
One method of doing so was that the Kings wore the chiefs
to an oath of loyalty to
return recognised the
chiefs as
their
them
tract
'fiefs’.
as
of
The
his
land
vassals,
and
in
dominated
by
the
chief,
in
appoint sub-chiefs as vassals, and allot a
their fief to
them.
Thus
Government was dominated by
in
a
the
landed
turn,
tract
feudal
could
out
system,
aristocracy.
of
the
The
aristocracy was hereditary and tried its best not to admit
outsider to its fold.
closed aristocracy.
5
But
it
was
never
a
completely
14
The
most
striking
feature
of
the
developing
system is the new stratification of society, Added to this
was the permanent need for professionals,
military
men
society.
The former
value.
who
brought
Private bands
about
a
highly
radical
peasant-warrior
lost
of warriors sprang
change
his
up
trained
in
military
around
the
King and local magnates.
The nexus between
followers
was
'VASSALAGE*.
or 'servant*'.
of the King.
taken
over
the
chieftain
by
the
and
Dukes, Marquis and Counts
the notions of absolute loyalty.
free
institution
The term vassal literarily mean
This type of relation was
his
of
'youngster*
became vassals
based
mainly
on
This relation which
was
first applied at the highest state, spread rapidly to
the
lower rungs of
the
the
social
ladder,
which
included
simple warrior and local administrative officer.
pyramidal structure of bonds and dependencies
apex of which,
ideally, was the King.®
Thus
arose,
a
the
IS
The economic basis of
the new social
rooted in the early medieval economy.
the central
authority
created
The
order
was
weakening
insecurity.
of
Individuals
sought the protection of the powerful man in the vicinity?
for example ecclesiastical
lords.
institutions as well as secular
The peasants and often
whole
villages
themselves into the protection of the
bottom of the feudal
powerful.
At
the
ladder was the simple knight who owed
to the overlord his own service
plot of land just
commended
enough
to
and was
maintain
supported
himself
by
a
and
his
was
the
fami 1y. y
The main economic feature of
holder’s privilege not to work the
receive
income
from
peasant population.
specie
land
money
The peasants
tenure.
according
The obligations of
from there own legal status
held.8
and
himself
and
work
payments
to
the
fief
themselves
land and servile tenures based on
which varied widely
the
the
peasants
that
of
from
held
and
type
but
to
the
their
services
of
servile
were
derived
the
land
he
16
GROWTH OF FEUDALISM
Around 110® A.D. the major features of
began
to
stabilise
and
politico-economic system.
was the general rule
their
regular
integrate
into
linking
hereditary
vassalage
conceived in terms of family
of
strengthened
The
feudal
were
The
often
custoR
raised at the
this
type
and
structure.
vassafs
relations.
factors
fiefs
social
and
sending the vassals’, children to be
overlord
coherent
with
transmission.
The relation between the lords
the
a
One of the stabilizing
hierarchy created a solid scaffold
of
feudalism
of
of
court
relation.
Similarly the vassals met at the lord’s court in times
festivity which were held not only for
business
of
reasons,
but also for socializing. 9
The rise
century
was
Feudalism.
of
another
By
this
military
aspect
time
themselves and were regarded
nobility
of
all
by
the
fief
others
by
the
twelth
development
holders
as
the
of
regarded
highest
17
class in society.
The most characteristic feature of
military nobility was its new warrior ideal - the
the
knight.
"Knighthood" was a designation of rank and dignity.*®
It was the
chivalry,
which
expression
signified
fighting class
and
Church,
course
In
the
of
the
the
new
wordly
ethos
ideals
new
ethical
teachings
of
time
chivalry
institutionalized with an elaborate
an impressive code of behaviour
initiation
and
a
set
that
of
the
of
the
became
ceremony,
of
virtues
befitting a member of the class.
As the link
administrative
of
framework
political units emerged.
principalities were
the
cohesion
strengthened
grouping
fiefs
into
In
places
strong
created.
some
This process built
the
larger
local
up
the
because
the
Another source of
the
origin of administrative framework was the attempt of
the
strong centralized provinces in
foundations
due
of strong monarchies.
King to bring the highest nobility
course
into
direct
vassalic
18
dependence and in the process to
invest
it
with
public
to
create
the
crown.
authority in the principalities.**
The
purpose
of
this
step
was
well-ordered administrative units directed by
The principalities achieved strong governments,
lest
Crown never succeeded in bringing them into a rigid
framework.
Gradually,
the
principalities
independent and strongly organised
states
power base on authority delegated by the
vassals linking their territories.
with
Emperor
A third
origin of administrative framework was
the
line
the
state
became
princely
and
on
of
the
emergence
of
cities and communes which replaced the principalities
and
created territorial units
the
virtually
independent
of
central power.*^
Like
spontaneously as
Feudalism
the
political necessity.
the
result
cities
of
also
economic,
arose
social
and
The revival of commerce and industry
brought into being a new class of merchants and
artisans.
19
It was this new class that
which formed
the
cities
won for itself by corporate action and established
and
status
in a society that had no place for its individual members.
Thus the medieval cities were a new phenomenon.
They were
forced by the fact of their
midst
their feudal society
feudal system.
to
existence
in
accommodate
themselves
Empire in the West witnessed
secular
to
of
the
13
The period following the break-up
activity of
the
the
Church’s
Government.
a
officers
After
imperial administration
great
the
of
the
extension
into
the
disappearance
the bishops were
for
Roman
of
the
field
of
of
the
practical
purposes the only officers remaining in the cities to whom
the people could turn for aid
centuries
the
quantities of
gifts.
Church
land
was
through
and government.
gradually
the
In
these
acquiring
accumulation
of
pious
The Church bacame wealthy and the wealth consisted
increasingly of
land.
By the dawn of the Feudal era, the
Church was by far the largest land holder
in Europe.
14
80
Slowly the
system, when all
lands could
Church
land
not
was
tenure
escape
drawn
became
the
into
the
feudal
feudalised,
Church
universal
tendency.
assumed the character of fiefs, and the
church became vassals,
sometimes
usually
of a lesser lord.
of
the
monarch,
embodied
in
Perhaps the Church officers had
military service.
of
In their capacity as
to
the
to
the
though
As vassals they had
all the obligations customarily
contract.
officers
They
do
feudal
render
great
lords
no
and
s~~
vassals,
the
officers
of
the
church
were
burdened with the multitude of worldly cares.
inevitab
This
led to clashes between the church and the state.
the interests of both the feudal nobility
monarchy were opposed to
those
of
and
centralised
often
In a way
the
papal
national
government. 1 s
MERITS AND DEMERITS OF FEUDALISM
Feudalism
protected
internal and external dangers
European
The local
Society
noble
from
strongly
Si
entrenched in his wei1-fortifled castles and
armoured knights was able to
repel
assisted
plundering
by
invaders.
Again feudalism fostered in the privileged classes a
love
of their rights and liberties.
rise
of royal despotism.
Thus it checked
the
Feudalism also provided a
rough
and
ready method of government which was simple and convenient
in those unsettled times.
Moreover the hospitality of the
feudal barons gave patronage to wandering
ministrels
thus encouraged the development of poetry
and
and
literature
of a particular form. °
At the same time
feudalism has its own
defects.
It prevented the formation of a strong and unified
state.
The king could not control the nobles and the private wars
among the nobles.
among feudal
In the tenth century France was divided
lords.
fifty in number.
They
Though theoretically
the vassals of the king, many
stronger than the kings.
on a long struggle
one
hundred
and
these
1 ords
were
were
richer
and
nearly
were
of
them
The kings of France had to enter
against
his
haughty
and
refractory
vassals.
War formed the chief occupation
and the oath
of
fidelity
to
the
of
king
the
was
nobles
constantly
broken. 1 7
DECAY OF FEUDALISM
Political Feudalism began to decline in the
Century A.D.
time.
Economic
13th
Feudalism continued for some
It also declined in the
later
Middle
more
Ages.
The
causes for the decay of Feudalism are many and varied.
The main factor
that
decline of Feudalism was the
power.
This
unnecessary.
made
the
The
kings
contributed
gradual
services
the
increase
of
supported
to
the
by
the
slow
of
feudal
royal
barons
Church,
cities and the common people were able to deal a
the
blow
to
the power and prestige of the nobles.
The
developed
changed
weapons
of
methods
war
of
warfare
rendered
the
and
newly
feudal
forces
23
inefficient and ineffective.
fire arras and the national
devices
and
made
their
useless and undefended.
and wealth was a great
The use
armies
of
gun
power
recruited
once-impregnable
the
for
and
feudal
tresses
The Church with its growing power
source
monarchs against the feudal
of
strength
to
the
nobles.
Desiring
new
1 ft
lords.0
The crusades weakened the
to
participate in the crusades many nobles sold their estates
or mortgaged them to raise the funds for
the
voyage.
great many of the nobles died a heroic death in
Land.
the
Hence the power and influence of the nobles
A
Holy
passed
into the hands of the new monarchs or wealthy merchants.
The newly emerging towns with immense
wealth threw off the feudal
enter the principal
centres
yoke.
of
Feudalism
commerce
and
power
and
could
not
industry.
Various other forces like the Black Death which carried
heavy toll of the lives of the peasants
to the decline of feudalism.
also
a
contributed
The majority of the peasants
24
gained
emancipation.
Yet
some
relics
of
feudalism
continued to exist in countries of Europe like France
and
Russia till recently.*®
FEUDAL TENDENCIES IN MEDIEVAL INDIA
Certain
tendencies
towards
the
evolution
feudal system could be noticed by the end of
period of Indian History.
ancient
obvious
advantages
of a feudal order was that in an age of chaos,
lawlessness
and violence,
One of the
the
of
the stronger feudal chiefs
for the life and prosperity of the
provided
peasants
and
safety
others.
Without this guarantee for existence daily life could
have functioned smoothly.
not
Some of these chiefs took great
interest in the improvement of cultivation.
Many factors
contributed
to
feudal order in medieval
India.
factor that
transformed
ultimately
society into medieval society was
the
rise
First of all the
the
the
of
central
ancient
practice
the
Indian
of
land
25
grants.
The givers of
wanted to acquire
the
land
religious
grants,
merit,
the
receivers,
means
for
performing
priests,
religious rites.
But the practice really came into
order.
The Varna
activities
of
that
effected
society
the
was
peasants
the
based
or
kings,
and
mainly monks and
because of a crisis
needed
mainly
the
ancient
on
the
Vaisyas
being
social
producing
and
the
officers,
from
labourers who were called Sudras.
The taxes collected by the royal
the vaisyas enabled the kings to
pay
salaries
to
their
officials and soldiers, reward their priests, and purchase
luxury and other articles from merchants and big artisans.
But in the third-fourth
centuries
crisis affected this system.
discarded the
functions
A.D.,
a
deep
social
The varnas or social classes
assigned
to
them.
The
orders attempted to arrogate to themselves the status
functions of the
higher
order.
In
oth
refused to pay taxes and render labour ser
lower
and
26
Several measures were adopted
crisis.
sudras
duties.
to
overcome
this
The law book of Manu advised that the vaisyas and
should
not
be
allowed
to
deviate
from
This may have led to coercive measures.
more important step to meet the
land to priests and officials
a
remuneration.
Such
throwing
burden
the
beneficiaries.
21
in
practice
of
deal
was
1 ieu
of
had
the
collecting
One could
peasants on the spot.
situation
with
But
to
and
advantage
taxes
the
a
grant
salaries
on
of
the
recalcitrant
The practice could also
lands under cultivation.
their
bring
new
Moreover, by implanting brahmins
in the conquered tribal areas, the tribal people could
be
taught the brahmanical way of life and the need of obeying
the king and paying
Land
century A.D.
taxes.
grants
taxes to him.
became
22
frequent
from
the
fifth
The Brahmins were granted villages free from
All the taxes which were
from the villages were tranferred
collected
to
the
by
the
Brahmins.
king
In
addition to this the beneficiaries were given the right to
37
govern
the
people
living
in
Government
officials
and
royal
permitted
to
beneficiaries
enterf
were
the
authorized
the
donated
villages.
retainers
gifted
to
were
not
villages.
punish
all
The
criminal
offenders. 23
The Brahmins not only collected
taxes
from
the
peasants and artisans but also maintained law and order in
the villages granted to them.
the brahmins for ever, so that
Villages
were
granted
the power of the king
was
heavily undermined from the end of the Gupta period.
result of land grants there sprang up many
to
As a
pockets
which
were free from royal control. 24
The most significant consequence of
land
was the emergence of a class of land lords living
produce of the peasants.
This
prepared
the
about the 5th-6th centuries and for a new type
formation which can be called feudal.
This
originated towards the closing centuries
of
grants
on
ground
of
system
the
the
in
social
which
ancient
28
period of Indian
History
developed
further
during
There are many similarities
between
the
the
medieval period.^®
feudal
system in Europe and the system of Government and
Society
evolved by the Turks
by
Rajputs in India.
in
As the
the
central
system
Asia
developed,
and
it
the
assumed
various forms in different countries due to differences in
conditions and traditions.^®
In Europe the feudal system was
two other features.
serf was a peasant
First was the system of
who worked
the
land
change his professions, or migrate to any
marry without
the
associated
permission
of
his
Serfdom.
but
could
other
lord
with
area
or
A
not
or
master.
Associated with this was the system of the Manor.
The Manor was the house of castle where the
lived.
lord
A part of the land was set apart by the lord which
was cultivated for him by the
serfs
who
had
to
divide
their time between cultivating their own
fields
of
their
master.
Since
fields
the
land
theoretically to the lord, the serf had also
other dues in cash or kind.
had
the
responsibility
of
and
The lord of
maintaining
belonged
to
the
the
pay
him
manor
also
and
order
law
dispensing justice, etc.
Even free peasants accepted
the
vassalage
of
for
of
protection.
the
lord
the
Manor
in
return
27
Some scholars think that the system of 'serfodom’
and the 'Manor system’ are vital parts
of
that it is wrong to speak of feudalism
for
which these two systems did
not
exist.
feudalism
societies
In
India,
instance, there was no serfdom and manor system
But the zamindars exercised many
feudal
lords,
and
position to them.
the
of
peasantry
the
was
In other words what
and
powers
in
a
mattered
as
in
for
such.
of
the
dependent
was
not
whether the peasantry was formally free, but the manner in
15a
which it could exercise its freedom. 0
30
The system of military organization
feature
of the feudal system.
the European feudal system
horse back.
another
The most typical symbol of
was
The problems of
was
the
armoured
developing
knight
and
on
maintaining
the organization needed for the new mode of warfare helped
in the growth of feudalism in Europe.
No king could
to maintain out of his own resources
cavalry
needed
equipment.
and
Hence,
to
provide
the army was
the
them
with
body
of
of cavalry and infantry for
of
armour
decentralised,
to his fief-holders the responsibility
fixed force
large
hope
and
assigning
maintaining
the
service
a
of
the state.
Between the
ninth
and
thirteenth
number of important chnges took place in
One of these
who
were
Indian
was the growing power of a class
variously
called
SAMANTA,
(RAJPUT) by the contemporary writers.
different.
centuries
Some
were
government
increasingly paid not in cash but
by
RANAK
a
society.
of
people
and
RAUJA
Their origins
officers
assigning
who
to
were
were
them
31
revenue - bearing villages.
Others
were
defeated
rajas
and their supporters who continued to enjoy the revenue of
limited areas.
Still others were tribal and clan
actual position of these people varied.
leaders.
Some of them were
only village chiefs, some dominated a tract
number of villages while
Thus, there was a definite
some
The
dominated
comprising
a
entire
region.
hierarchy among these
chiefs.
They constantly contested against each other, and tried to
enhance their sphere of authority and privileges.
The revenue assignments called BHOGA
the
ruler to his officers and supporters
30
granted
were
by
temporary
in theory and were liable to be resumed whenever the ruler
wanted.
resu1t
However, this was rarely done in practice.
kingdoms
in
dominated by defeated
this
period
included
areas
were
Within
the
territories of these rulers , various officers 1ooked
upon
trying
to
recover
their
rulers
a
who
and
subordinate
1 arge
As
independence.
their assignments as hereditary fiefs.
38
In course of time even various government offices
came to
be
considered
hereditary.
became the monopoly of a
chiefs began to
government.
assume
few
many
They assessed
Rost
families.
of
and
the
offices
The
hereditary
functions
collected
also
of
land
the
revenue.
They assumed more and more administrative powers
such
as
administration of justice which were royal prerogatives.
The
hereditary
fied-holders
also
assumed
31
the
right to sublet their lands to their followers without the
prior permission of the ruler, thus increasing the
number
of people who drew sustenance from land without working on
it themselves.
feudal society.
This type
of
society
may
The common feature of
a
be
called
feudal
a
society
was that the dominant portion in society was held by those
who drew their sustenance from
land
without
working
on
it.32
The evolution of
far-reaching consequences.
the ruler, and made
him
feudal
society
It weakened
more
dependent
in
the
on
India
position
the
had
of
feudal
33
chiefs.
The chiefs maintained their own
which could be sued
to
defy
the
weakness of the Indian state was
Turkish invaders.
military
ruler.
The
forces
internal
to the advantage of
the
The small states discouraged trade, and
encouraged an economy
in
villages tended to become
which
villages
largely
or
groups
self-sufficient.
The
dominion of the feudal chiefs also eroded the autonomy
the
villages.
However,
in
an
age
violence, the stronger feudal chiefs
of
disorder
provided
of
of
and
safety
of
life and property to the peasants and the people at
large
without which daily life could not have functioned.
Some
of the feudal chiefs took interest in cultivation and
promotion of arts.
33
South India
in
the
16th
during the heydays of the celebrated
gave rise to
feudal tendencies.
its origin now.
the
century
particularly
Vijayanagara
The Palegari system
The Palegars emerged as local
had
chieftains
taking advantage of the decllining fortunes of the
houses in the Carnatac.
Empire
ruling
The Vijayanagara ruler associated
34
these chieftains diplomatically with their
system,
permitting
them
districts but required
them.
to retain
them to
These chiefs also could
administrative
possession
pay
annual
maintain
of
their
tributes
to
such
number
of
the
battle
of
armed men as could be supported by them. 34
One of the important effects
of
Talikote in 1565 A.D. was the steady deterioration of
and
order
in
the
Vijayanagara
Empire.
In
law
order
maintain law and order in the disturbed conditions of
to
the
Empire the institution of the Palegars came in very handy.
The
administration was similar to the political confusion
and disorder that prevailed after the fall
Empire in the fifth century
overtook
Europe
Carolingian Empire
after
A.D.
the
and
of
the
the
Roman
turmoil
disintegration
of
that
the
in the Ninth Century A.D.
In the medieval times the Carolingian kings began
the practice of granting land fiefs
called
benefices
the local nobles in return for furnishing mounted troops
to
35
to fight against the Moors.
By
such
methods
the
nobles became the virtual rulers of their fields
local
and
the
king or emperor became increasingly dependent on them.
The invasions of the Norsemen,
Vikings,
Magyars
and the Moslems on the Carolingian empire became
during the 8th and 9th
rulers
centuries
after Charlemagnen
farmers to hand over their
A.D.
made
the
lands
to
Lack
small
a
frequent
of
strong
independent
nearly
powerful
noble who had a castle where they could take refuge during
times of
barbarian
invasions
and
who
possessed
armed
soldiers to fight against the invaders. •ag
v
There was a period of political
administrative collapse
in 1565 A.D.
uncertainty
when the Vijayanagara Empire fell
The palegars and other
chieftains
enjoyed benefices from the Vijayanagara kings
the virtual
masters
and
of
necessary means to restore
their
law
fiefs.
and
now
Having
order
who
and
had
became
ail
the
enjoying
36
public
support
the
institution
natural substitute of the
of
Palegars
administrative
became
machinery
the arrival of the British power in South India.
36
a
till