![]() There were many varieties of feudal land tenure, consisting of military and non-military service. In exchange for the use of the fief and the protection of the lord, the vassal would provide some sort of service to the lord. A lord was in broad terms a noble who held land, a vassal was a person who was granted possession of the land by the lord, and a fief was what the land was known as. The classic version of feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs. It can be broadly defined as a system for structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land, known as a fiefdom or fief, in exchange for service or labour. Overviewįeudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries. mesne tenantĪ lord in the feudal system who had vassals who held land from him, but who was himself the vassal of a higher lord. Heritable property or rights granted by an overlord to a vassal. ![]() Persons who entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. fealtyĪn oath, from the Latin fidelitas (faithfulness) a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. In the Middle Ages this was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title to his new position. The 11th century in France saw what has been called by historians a “feudal revolution” or “mutation” and a “fragmentation of powers” that increased localized power and autonomy.While modern writers such as Marx point out the negative qualities of feudalism, such as the exploitation and lack of social mobility for the peasants, the French historian Marc Bloch contends that peasants were part of the feudal relationship while the vassals performed military service in exchange for the fief, the peasants performed physical labour in return for protection, thereby gaining some benefit despite their limited freedom.This ceremony bound the lord and vassal in a contract. Before a lord could grant land to a tenant he would have to make him a vassal at a formal ceremony.In England, the feudal pyramid was made up of the king at the top with the nobles, knights, and vassals below him.Feudalism in England determined the structure of society around relationships derived from the holding and leasing of land, or fiefs.Feudalism flourished in Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries.The influence of feudalism can still be seen in modern British land law and in the British class system. The system of holding land with permission from the local lord finally ended in England in 1661, though not until 1914 in Scotland. By the end of the 14th century many peasants had bought their land and become yeomen (= small farmers). Instead of doing military service peasants paid dues (= money) for working their land. The feudal system started to break down in the 12th century, when the king and the barons began to rely on professional soldiers instead of peasant armies. In 1086 a detailed survey of land was carried out in every village in order to decide its value and who owned it and value, and the information was recorded in the Domesday Book. Villeins or serfs had a lower status than peasants and had to work a specific number of days on the lord's land. In exchange, peasants had to promise to do military service when required. Lords gave peasants several long narrow areas of their land to grow crops in a system known as strip-farming. An area of land owned by a lord was called a manor and this was the basic farm unit. Under the Normans, English society was divided into a structure with the king at the top, below him the barons, then less powerful local lords, and finally the peasants. Culture feudalism feudalism Feudalism is a social system that was introduced to England by the Normans in the 11th century and lasted throughout much of the medieval period (1066–1485).
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