Final answer:
As new political structures emerged, kings lessened their reliance on the nobility and turned to salaried royal officials, parliamentary bodies, and the increasingly influential merchant class. This transition was part of the broader shift towards centralized nation-states and the decline of feudalism.
Step-by-step explanation:
New political structures grew as kings relied less on the nobility and more on various other sources of support and governance. When nobility's power eroded due to shifts in wealth generation from land to commerce and industry, kings started to build stronger centralized governments. They did so by employing salaried royal appointees, creating deliberative bodies such as parliament to represent common interests, and engaging more with the merchant class due to their financial and administrative expertise. The transitioning from feudalism to more centralized nation-states often involved the reduction of noble power in favor of more broadly representative or bureaucratic structures.
In France, for example, the gradual weakening of noble power facilitated the centralization of the monarchy. This was paralleled in England where Parliament evolved to represent the interests of the people over those of the nobility. Monarchs like French kings from Phillip II sought to improve direct royal control over their territories, which enhanced their resources for conflict. Similarly, the rise of educated merchants and large landowners in the commoner class influenced the formation of the National Assembly, pushing for a British-style parliament to check the king's power in France's case.
Furthermore, a combination of events including the Black Death which decimated the clergy, and the Great Famine, weakened traditional social structures. Monarchs became more dependent on the merchant class to fill positions previously held by nobility, this led to a gradually more centralized monarchical power and a shift in political might away from the landed elites and into the hands of educated and often wealthier commoners, laying the foundation for modern nation-states.