The+Structure+of+Feudal+Society

__**The Structure of Feudal Society**__ Feudalism (or the **feudal system**) was the system by which land was granted in return for military or agricultural services. Feudalism was introduced by the leader Charlemagne (King of the Franks, CE c.747-814) in Gaul in the eighth century as a way to help him control large areas of land. This system eventually spread as Charlemagne conquered more and more land.

The feudal system was how rulers in the middle ages maintained law and order and ensured resources (the land) were used properly. It was this system that determined and maintained the social hierarchy that existed in medieval times. With the monarch at the top, each level was dependant to the level above. Those persons dependant to others were known as **vassals**//.// Vassals in return for their military services or goods were leased land or the use of land. This is how land was distributed under the feudal system.

'Feudalism' is a term used to describe the way in which medieval society was organised. Feudal society was like a pyramid, which the king at the top, followed by the nobles and then the peasants were at the bottom. Feudalism developed slowly in Britain. The Anglo-Saxons had a form of feudalism based on loyalty to the thegn, or chieftain, but this changed after 1066 when William of Normandy brought European Feudalism with him when he invaded England.

For most of the medieval period the king had absolute power, which meant that he made all the laws and political decisions for his kingdom. He owned all the land, but could not manage it all himself. He kept about a quarter of it and rented half to his chief nobles, or barons, who were called tenants-in-chief. In return, the nobles paid taxes to the king and provided him with soldiers during times of war. The King gave the fourth quarter of the land to the church.

In order to prevent any one noble from becoming too powerful by owning too large an area of land in one place, the king gave the each noble parcels of land that were scattered all over the country. This meant that the tenants-in-chief could not manage their land themselves, so they rented their land to lesser nobles, the knights and gentlemen.

The Knights could not manage all their land either, so they kept some for themselves and allowed the peasants to rent the rest. From the rents they collected from the peasants the knights paid their rents to the tenants-in-chief.

The monks farmed some of the Church land, but the rest was also rented to the peasants. Instead of having a Knight as their Lord, these peasants paid their rent to the church.

The peasants made up the majority of the population. At the bottom of the social pyramid, they had few rights and no political power. They lived like slaves and were called 'serfs'. They worked on the lord's land and were not allowed to leave it. The three classes of serfs were the villains, who held up to 30 acres, the bordars, who held between 10 and 15 acres, and cottars, who had a cottage and a small plot of land.

The Duties of the peasant were to work on the lord's land which was called a manor for three days and a week and provide him with a certain of food, such as corn, meat, eggs and ale, as well as wool and wood each year. The peasant was also obliged to pay knights taxes on special occasions, such as marriage or birth of child. In return the peasant was able to use the knight's mill, bread over and brew house, but, of course, had to pay for their use. There were some advantages for the peasant. He was sure of having some land for planting his own crops, a place to graze his cattle and sheep and the lord was bound to protect him and his family.

The Manors were different sizes. Sometimes there were several villages in a manor. In the twelfth century England's population was approximately 3 million people which when you look at it is about 100 people that lived on a manor. The serfs lived in one-room cottages built of wood and thatch. Around each village were three large open fields and woodland. The land held by the lord was called the 'demesne'.

=Questions=

Define Feudalism/ Feudal Society

Who introduced the Feudal System and in what century?

What did the Feudal System allow Kings and Monarchs to do allot easier?

What was a Vassal? What was a Vassal required to do in return land being leased to them?

What was a Manor?

Who made up the Majority of the population in Feudal Society.

What were the duties of the Peasants?