Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe
that was determined by the ownership of land.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Recall the structure of the feudal state, and the responsibilities and obligations of each level of
society
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Feudalism flourished in Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries.
Feudalism in England determined the structure of society around relationships derived from the
holding and leasing of land or fiefs.
In England the feudal pyramid was made up of the King at the top and below him the nobles,
knights and vassals.
Before a lord could grant land to a tenant he would have to make him a vassal at a formal
ceremony. This ceremony bound the lord and vassal in a contract.
TERMS [ edit ]
homage
Homage in the Middle Ages 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.
fealty
An oath of fealty, from the Latin fidelitas (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to
another.
vassals
Persons who entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal
system in medieval Europe.
fiefs
Heritable property or rights granted by an overlord to a vassal.
mesne tenant
A mesne tenant was a lord in the feudal system who had vassals who held land from him, but who
was himself the vassal of a higher lord.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [ edit ]
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished
between the 9th and 15th centuries and can be broadly defined as a system for structuring
society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or
labour.
Feudalism as practiced in England was a state of human society which was formally
structured and stratified on the basis of land tenure. Society was ordered around
relationships derived from the holding of land known asfiefdoms or fiefs.
Structure of the Feudal State in England
There were many varieties of feudal land tenure, consisting of military and non­military
service. It is important to note that the King was the absolute 'owner' of land in the feudal
system and all nobles, knights and other tenants, termed vassals, merely 'held' land from the
king, who was thus at the top of the feudal pyramid.
Below the king in the feudal pyramid was a tenant­in­chief (generally in the form of a baron
or knight) who was a vassal of the king. Holding from the tenant­in­chief was a mesne tenant
­­ generally a knight, sometimes a baron, or a tenant­in­chief in their capacity as holders of
other fiefs. Below the mesne tenant further mesne tenants could hold from each other in
series. The obligations and corresponding rights between lord and vassal concerning the fief
form the basis of the feudal relationship.
Vassalage
Before a lord could grant land (a fief) to a tenant, he had to make that person a vassal. This
was done at a formal and symbolic ceremony. The ceremony was called a commendation
ceremony, and was composed of the two­part act of homage and oath of fealty (allegiance).
During homage, the lord and vassal entered a contract in which the vassal agreed to provide
military support and protection and promised to fight for the lord at his command. In
exchange, the lord typically granted privileges such as land, which was held as a fiefdom and
agreed to protect the vassal from external forces, a valuable right in a society without police
and with only a rudimentary justice system.
Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne
Roland (right) receives the sword, Durandal, from the hands of Charlemagne (left). From a manuscript
of a chanson de geste, c.14th Century.
Some historians argue against the concept of feudalism entirely. What can be said for sure is
that it was a much more rural society where smaller kingdoms tried to create order from a
world devoid of the Roman imperial tradition that had preceded it. Two strong forces held
sway ­ royalty and the Catholic Church. As the Roman Empire split and the church followed,
Western Europe was more rural, decentralized, and without consistent imperial rule. The
church was the most powerful aspect of most people's lives. This fragmented and
decentralized Western Europe leads to a highly competitivecity­state model that propels
Europe forward after the year 1000. At first this was a slow and gradual process that picked
up speed and led to a new blended civilization in Western Europe. Byzantium, on the other
hand, slowly declined as Western Europe competitively used innovation and new
technologies to gain power.