That may be true, but it does not preclude the fact that feudalism was built around the concept that only certain people had rights, and the serfs existed to serve them.
Actually, I think that the concept that common people are individuals who have a claim on human rights existed long before the Middle Ages. And so did the concept that only a few elites have rights and everyone else exists to serve them. These contrasting beliefs about human rights have existed throughout history. Only in recent years was the concept of existing to serve elitists spun as being good for us (as in Socialism).
“That may be true, but it does not preclude the fact that feudalism was built around the concept that only certain people had rights, and the serfs existed to serve them.”
All people had rights. Some people had some rights others did not. Nobles had certain rights over land serfs did not have precisely because they did not own land. But all people had rights.
“Actually, I think that the concept that common people are individuals who have a claim on human rights existed long before the Middle Ages.”
Not as we commonly see it today. The missing factor was the Christian worldview. The Church’s understanding of the importance of consent, the salvation of souls, individual sin and redemption added a dimension to the understanding of human beings which created our understanding of individuality, freedom, and human rights. Previously such concepts ONLY applied to those people within a given system. After the Middle Ages, the concepts applied to everyone everywhere.
If you haven’t read any of the books I have mentioned, then you can’t know what you’re talking about. All you can do is speak from cliches and stereotypes.