A Medieval Project

This would integrate citizenship in the feudal system. On the other side, this could lead to promoting free cities and a middle class, since every craftsmen - even when in feudal loyalty to some overlord - would still be more of a citizen and a middle-class men. And these were the end of the feudal system.

I'd propose a system that elects the king - as the HRE - AND has a parliament where lords and gents have an equal vote, thus no dominating electorates. Maybe even Liberum Veto?
In Poland that was extremely stable - which was bad for the Poles because other countries used this. No reform was possible. So this system would need a lack of foreign enemies. For that, I'd propose a unified Karolingian empire lasting longer and encorporating England and Denmark.

The next problem would be to hold the citizens back: the new class of free citizens ultimately were the end of feudalism.
Maybe a constant inner war between different factions could stop economic development? Or agricultural development stays behind OTL, so that not that many towns can be supplied...

In Poland also was very strong patronage system.
 
A change in the Merchant system, after a change in the Church, such that the idea of Profit and Merchants aren't looked down on. If the Lords and Nobles control the Trade, then the Middle class will take longer to arise.
 
A change in the Merchant system, after a change in the Church, such that the idea of Profit and Merchants aren't looked down on. If the Lords and Nobles control the Trade, then the Middle class will take longer to arise.

Not necessarily. We tend to think of the nobility and the middle classes as separate, opposed emtities, but that is actually an unusual state of affairs historically. It would be quite easily possdible to have a system by which what we call the the middle classes - free merchants, bankers, and craftsmen - are in clientage to nobles.
 
Necromancy...anybody have any ideas as to how to proceed? I'm trying to make the Catholic Church very weak north of the Mediterranean with the deaths of Augustine and Gregory of Tours. Carlton Bach suggested that I try to give the Mediterranean littoral a fair shake to institute a long-lasting system of patronage in the middle class, so I hope to keep the Western Mediterranean safe from Franks, Arabs, and Byzantines as long as possible. Killing Byzantium dramatically would be nice, since that would kill off a Renaissance, but I'm afraid that the Arabs will preserve culture instead of destroying it. Perhaps an earlier Mongol-like invasion from the steppes to thoroughly stamp out learning? Could the Bulgars be nasty enough to beat the Byzantines/Arabs and eradicate the last vestiges of Classical civilization in the East?

Any thoughts?
 
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