Change has always been a part of life. Some periods experience more change than others, but change has always been a constant in history. Civilizations and leaders rise and fall, and when great civilizations, like Rome, fall, they usually take much of the world with them. After the fall of Rome, the Western world as it then was collapsed and entered what is now known as the Middle Ages. After the fall of Rome, there was a power vacuum that needed to be filled. Germanic tribes who had invaded and conquered parts of the Roman Empire quickly took power in the regions they occupied. Over time, Vikings, Muslims and Magyars began to invade Europe. Ultimately, the Germanic kings were unable to effectively maintain the law and defend against invaders. Thus, feudalism developed. Feudalism is a system of government in which lords gave away part of their lands, or fiefs, and gave them to their lesser lords, or vassals. The vassals promised loyalty and service to the lord in exchange for his fief. This exchange of fiefs and loyalties was known as the feudal contract. Vassals were responsible for managing their estates, or manors, and they used serfs, who were peasants of little wealth, to provide food for the manor and the superior lord. Serfs were not slaves, but they enjoyed very limited freedom. (Ellis & Esler 2012) The Church played a major role in the lives of the serfs. The local church was not only a place of worship, but also a social center where serfs could gather and celebrate certain local holidays and events. Daily life revolved around the church calendar, so when Christmas and Easter arrived, serfs usually had a short break from their hard work. Special events like births and baptisms were big events in small towns. (Ellis & Esler 2012)The status of serfs in the middle of paper ......arn their profession; the companions, who were paid workers; and the masters, who owned their own shops and taught their apprentices. The re-emergence of guilds and increased trade in Europe was a major sign of the re-emergence of a middle class. The rise of the middle class in medieval Europe was a huge change in the way society at the time was structured. The middle class has still been a part of society since the Middle Ages, and it looks like it will remain that way until a great civilization collapses and takes the rest of the world with it. Hopefully this won't happen for a long time, but if civilization collapses soon, then we can predict what will happen in the future by looking at the fall of civilization in the past. However, major changes in civilization take time, and there are usually warning signs of disaster that country leaders often ignore...