Instead of centralized governments, Europe in the Middle Ages had feudalism, a political system based on reciprocal relationships between lords, who owned lots of land, and vassals, who protected the land and got to dress up as knights in exchange for pledging loyalty to the lords. The lords were also vassals to more important lords, with the most important of all being the king. Below the knights were peasants, who did the actual work on the land in exchange for protection from bandits and other threats. Feudalism was also an economic system, with the peasants working the land and keeping some of their production to feed themselves, while giving the rest to the landowner whose land they worked. The small-scale local nature of the feudal system was perfect for a time and place where the threats to people's safety were also small-scale and local. But of course, this system reinforces the status quo. There's little freedom and absolutely no social mobility.