The Feudal System part 1

In the north of Europe, in early times, there were many savage tribes, more notable ones were  the Vandals and the Goths. When these tribes were first conquering Europe, every man fought  to have his own land and when the strongest man had conquered the land he made himself king. He would choose the best part of the land for himself and then would divide the rest between his main followers and supporters. In return these men would pay him taxes and fight for him. In turn, these men would sub-divide their piece of land to give to their followers for the same price. The people who owned the land, the stronger man was called lord and the weaker man was called the vassal.

As a result, every man paid tax or fought for a lord. The lords were usually nobleman, and they in turn were also vassals to another lord. To become the vassal of a lord the man would have to do homage, the man would have to get on his knees in front of the lord, put his hands in the lord and promise to be his man and serve him faithfully.

A man performed homage to gain a fief. A fief was normally a piece of land, but it could also be a place in the lord’s household, a certain right, to collect fish, to run a mill, to build a house as long as the vassal worked for the lord or paid him, he was granted a fief.

In summary, feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a way of organizing society based on land and loyalty. It looked a little different depending on the country, time period, or ruler, but it always had two main features. First, everyone who held land—except the king—didn’t actually own it; they were more like renters, known as tenants. Second, there was a strong bond between lords and their vassals based on loyalty, service, and protection. These two principles helped keep even the largest kingdoms united.