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Feudalism emerged in France upon the death of Charlemagne in 814 due to the lack of a strong ruler able to maintain government centralization . This was not the case within most Germanic territories until after 887 because the Carolingian system persisted long after Charlemagne ’ s death . It became prominent during the civil war era of Henry IV but even then was not as rigid a system as that in France or elsewhere and it was less complete because the region was more secure and stable . The tribal dukes did recognize the position of the king , but they did not ever confess that their duchies came from the authority of the monarchy . When the empire of Charlemagne crumbled , the tribal Germanic nations , such as the Bavarians , Swabians , and Franks , were invigorated and their nobility re-emerged . The strongest sense of German tradition was evident amongst the Saxons , where most of the peasantry remained free . The nobility was powerful , yet not
oppressive , and overall their numbers were not as great as elsewhere in Europe . 43
This loose and late form of feudalism presented the German kings with a situation where they did not rule with an iron fist but instead found that they needed to compromise , negotiate , and address the complaints of the nobility in order to maintain their at times tenuous position .
43 James Westfall Thompson , “ German Feudalism ,” The American Historical Review 28 , no . 3 ( April 1923 ), 440-444 , 446 , accessed , April 24 , 2015 , http :// www . jstor . org / stable / 1836406 .