Why would the rise of a merchant class help to end the institutions that characterized the Middle Ages? Unlike the nobility, the merchant class was comfortable living in cities surrounded by former serfs.
The merchant class used their wealth to gain power previously held by noblemen, kings, and church leaders.
The merchant class worked tirelessly to persuade supporters of feudalism that the system was flawed.
Once the merchant class had the money to build their own manors, they ran them very differently.