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THE RISE OF FEUDAL SOCIETY IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE (C. 9TH CENTURY)1
Following the dissolution of the Carolingian empire, feudalism began to develop as the main
social system governing various lands throughout Western Europe. Feudalism became a
major social structure around the 9th century, and would continue to be the major influence
over societies and everyday life in Western (and later Eastern) Europe until the 14th century.
Feudal societies differed from one another but were typically composed of one main principle:
The relation between the lord and his subjects who have agreed to provide services for the
lord in exchange for his protection and a small amount of land.
Feudal society was able to dominate over centralized rule for many centuries but this
did not come to persist merely through vacuum. Rather, social structures similar to feudalism
had existed in other Western European societies prior to the 9 th century. Furthermore, the
policy of granting land in exchange for service was established in the Frankish lands around
the 7th century where the Church or the king granted an area of land in exchange for a
service. Another major policy implication was the element of immunity that had already
existed in Roman law where certain lands were exempted from taxes and personal service.
From the 6th to 8th centuries, churches were granted this immunity under Frankish and later
Charlemagne’s rule. This privilege eventually extended to other non-Church related holders of
land due to the King’s desire for the support of its most powerful constituencies. Eventually,
feudalism was legitimized and fiefdoms were established by contractual bonds between the
lord and his fiefs.
Below are excerpts of various statements and documents from the 6 th century until the
era of Feudalism that show the various policy declarations that made Feudalism the powerful
system it would become. The full text is found here.
CHAPTER XII
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM
Vassalage
After the Frankish invasion of the Roman Empire, a type of personal relationship called
commendation became commonplace around the 7th century. Commendation was a personal
relationship where someone provided protection for someone who could not protect
themselves or their property. The relationship was between a man with power who could
provide the protection called a lord and the man who pledged himself to serve the lord, also
known as a vassal. As central authority weakened in the later centuries, this relationship
became more commonplace as more men needed protection from hostile forces. The following
Frederic Austin Ogg , (Ed.), A Source Book of Mediæval History: Documents Illustrative of European Life and
Institutions from the German Invasion to the Renaissance, (Cincinnati and New York: American Books Co.,
1907) 204-6, 211-14, 215, 219, 220-1, 223-4.
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is an application from a vassal to a Lord asking for protection and care during 7 th century
Frankish times.
To that magnificent lord
, I,
. Since it is well known to all how little I
have wherewith to feed and clothe myself, I have therefore petitioned your piety, and your
goodwill has decreed to me, that I should hand myself over, or commend myself, to your
guardianship, which I have thereupon done; that is to say, in this way, that you should aid
and succor me, as well with food as with clothing, according as I shall be able to serve you
and deserve it.
And so long as I shall live I ought to provide service and honor to you, compatible
with my free condition; and I shall not, during the time of my life, have the right to
withdraw from your control or guardianship; but must remain during the days of my life
under your power or defense. Wherefore it is proper that if either of us shall wish to
withdraw himself from these agreements, he shall pay
shillings to the other party,
and this agreement shall remain unbroken.
(Wherefore it is fitting that they should make or confirm between themselves two
letters drawn up in the same form on this matter; which they have thus done.)
The Immunity
The concept of immunity where an entity was given exemption from various
obligations became a major element of feudalism and enabled lords to have the power and
jurisdiction necessary for them to run their feudalistic societies. It had its roots from practices
of immunity that originated in preceding centuries. In the Roman Empire, immunity usually
applied to land owned personally by the emperors. In the Frankish Empire, immunity began to
be granted to the Church and its major constituents. Eventually, this extended to other holders
of land who were not ecclesiastical in nature. The reason immunity began to be granted to
other holders of land was due to the king’s desire to gain the supports of the grantees. The
following is a general grant of immunity from a king to a bishop in the 7 th century (a). The
second document is a grant made by Charlemagne, in 884, confirming an old immunity
enjoyed by a monastery (b).
(a)
We believe that we give our royal authority its full splendor if, with benevolent
intentions, we bestow upon churches—or upon any persons—the favors which they merit,
and if, with the aid of God, we give a written assurance of the continuance of these favors.
We wish, then, to make known that at the request of a prelate, lord of
[the estate
named] and bishop of
[the church named], we have accorded to him, for the sake of
our eternal salvation, the following benefits: that in the domains of the bishop’s church,
both those which it possesses to-day and those which by God’s grace it may later acquire,
no public official shall be permitted to enter, either to hold courts or to exact fines, on any
account; but let these prerogatives be vested in full in the bishop and his successors. We
ordain therefore that neither you nor your subordinates, nor those who come after you, nor
any person endowed with a public office, shall ever enter the domains of that church, in
whatever part of our kingdom they may be situated, either to hold trials or to collect fines.
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All the taxes and other revenues which the royal treasury has a right to demand from the
people on the lands of the said church, whether they be freemen or slaves, Romans or
barbarians, we now bestow on the said church for our future salvation, to be used by the
officials of the church forever for the best interests of the church.
(b)
Charles, by the grace of God King of the Franks and Lombards and Patrician of the
Romans, to all having charge of our affairs, both present and to come:
By the help of the Lord, who has raised us to the throne of this kingdom, it is the
chief duty of our clemency to lend a gracious ear to the need of all, and especially ought we
devoutly to regard that which we are persuaded has been granted by preceding kings to
church foundations for the saving of souls, and not to deny fitting benefits, in order that we
may deserve to be partakers of the reward, but to confirm them in still greater security.
Now the illustrious Hubert, bishop and ruler of the church of St. Marcellus, which
lies below the citadel of Chalons, where the precious martyr of the Lord himself rests in the
body, has brought it to the attention of our Highness that the kings who preceded us, or our
lord and father of blessed memory, Pepin, the preceding king, had by their charters granted
complete immunities to that monastery, so that in the towns or on the lands belonging to it
no public judge, nor any one with power of hearing cases or exacting fines, or raising
sureties, or obtaining lodging or entertainment, or making requisitions of any kind, should
enter.
Moreover, the aforesaid bishop, Hubert, has presented the original charters of
former kings, together with the confirmations of them, to be read by us, and declares the
same favors to be preserved to the present day; but desiring the confirmation of our
clemency, he prays that our authority may confirm this grant anew to the monastery.
Wherefore, having inspected the said charters of former kings, we command that
neither you, nor your subordinates, nor your successors, nor any person having judicial
powers, shall presume to enter into the villages which may at the present time be in
possession of that monastery, or which hereafter may have been bestowed by God-fearing
men [or may be about to be so bestowed]. Let no public officer enter for the hearing of
cases, or for exacting fines, or procuring sureties, or obtaining lodging or entertainment, or
making any requisitions; but in full immunity, even as the favor of former kings has been
continued down to the present day, so in the future also shall it, through our authority,
remain undiminished. And if in times past, through any negligence of abbots, or
lukewarmness of rulers, or the presumption of public officers, anything has been changed
or taken away, removed or withdrawn, from these immunities, let it, by our authority and
favor, be restored. And, further, let neither you nor your subordinates presume to infringe
upon or violate what we have granted.
But if there be any one, dominus2, comes [count], domesticus 3 vicarius4, or one
vested with any judicial power whatsoever, by the indulgence of the good or by the favor of
pious Christians or kings, who shall have presumed to infringe upon or violate these
Common name for a lord.
A member of the king’s official household.
4 A subordinate officer under the count.
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immunities, let him be punished with a fine of six hundred solidi, two parts to go to the
library of this monastery, and the third part to be paid into our treasury, so that impious
men may not rejoice in violating that which our ancestors, or good Christians, may have
conceded or granted. And whatever our treasury may have had a right to expect from this
source shall go to the profit of the men of this church of St. Marcellus the martyr, to the
better establishment of our kingdom and the good of those who shall succeed us. And that
this decree may firmly endure we have ordered it to be confirmed with our own hand
under our seal.
The Granting of Fiefs
Fiefs were typically territorial units granted to vassals by contracts signed by the
vassal and the lord which established both parties to specific obligations. Fiefs also could be
payments of money and other valuable things. The following is a fief granted personally from
King Louis VII of France to a bishop.
In the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Amen. I Louis, by the grace of God
king of the French, make known to all present as well as to come, that at Mante in our
presence, Count Henry of Champagne conceded the fief of Savigny to Bartholomew, bishop
of Beauvais, and his successors. And for that fief the said bishop has made promise and
engagement for one knight and justice and service to Count Henry; and he also agreed that
the bishops who shall come after him will do likewise. In order that this may be understood
and known to posterity we have caused the present charter to be attested by our seal. Done
at Mante, in the year of the Incarnate Word, 1167; present in our palace those whose
names and seals are appended: seal of Thiebault, our steward; seal of Guy, the butler; seal
of Matthew, the chamberlain; seal of Ralph, the constable. Given by the hand of Hugh, the
chancellor.
The Ceremonies of Homage and Fealty
The personal relationship between lord and vassal was established by the double
ceremony of homage and fealty. Homage was the act by which the vassal made himself the
man of the lord and fealty was the oath of faithfulness to the obligations made by a vassal.
The following is a compilation of laws governing homage and fealty ordained by Saint Louis,
the king of France from 1226–1270.
If any one would hold from a lord in fee, he ought to seek his lord within forty days.
And if he does not do it within forty days, the lord may and ought to seize his fief for default
of homage, and the things which are found there he should seize without compensation;
and yet the vassal should be obliged to pay to his lord the redemption. When any one
wishes to enter into the fealty of a lord, he ought to seek him, as we have said above, and
should speak as follows: “Sir, I request you, as my lord, to put me in your fealty and in your
homage for such and such a thing situated in your fief, which I have bought.” And he ought
to say from what man, and this one ought to be present and in the fealty of the lord; and
whether it is by purchase or by escheat or by inheritance he ought to explain; and with his
hands joined, to speak as follows: “Sir, I become your man and promise to you fealty for the
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future as my lord, towards all men who may live or die, rendering to you such service as the
fief requires, making to you your relief as you are the lord.” And he ought to say whether
for guardianship, or as an escheat, or as an inheritance, or as a purchase.
The lord should immediately reply to him: “And I receive you and take you as my
man, and give you this kiss as a sign of faith, saving my right and that of others,” according
to the usage of the various districts.
The Mutual Obligations of Lords and Vassals
The feudal relation was a contract involving reciprocity between the lord and the
vassal. The following is a letter by Bishop Fulbert of Chartres to the duke of Aquitane in the
year 1020 where he lists six things a vassal is forbidden to do.
To William, most illustrious duke of the Aquitanians, Bishop Fulbert, the favor of his
prayers:
Requested to write something regarding the character of fealty, I have set down
briefly for you, on the authority of the books, the following things. He who takes the oath of
fealty to his lord ought always to keep in mind these six things: what is harmless, safe,
honorable, useful, easy, and practicable. Harmless, which means that he ought not to injure
his lord in his body; safe, that he should not injure him by betraying his confidence or the
defenses upon which he depends for security; honorable, that he should not injure him in
his justice, or in other matters that relate to his honor; useful, that he should not injure him
in his property; easy, that he should not make difficult that which his lord can do easily; and
practicable, that he should not make impossible for the lord that which is possible.
However, while it is proper that the faithful vassal avoid these injuries, it is not for
doing this alone that he deserves his holding: for it is not enough to refrain from
wrongdoing, unless that which is good is done also. It remains, therefore, that in the same
six things referred to above he should faithfully advise and aid his lord, if he wishes to be
regarded as worthy of his benefice and to be safe concerning the fealty which he has sworn.
The lord also ought to act toward his faithful vassal in the same manner in all these
things. And if he fails to do this, he will be rightfully regarded as guilty of bad faith, just as
the former, if he should be found shirking, or willing to shirk, his obligations would be
perfidious and perjured.
I should have written to you at greater length had I not been busy with many other
matters, including the rebuilding of our city and church, which were recently completely
destroyed by a terrible fire. Though for a time we could not think of anything but this
disaster, yet now, by the hope of God's comfort, and of yours also, we breathe more freely
again.
Some of the More Important Rights of the Lord
The following is an example of a definite and practical right a lord enjoyed over his
vassal. The right described below is the obligation of the vassal to provide their lord with
military service when called upon to perform it. This is one of the main reasons why kings
allowed feudalism to occur for many centuries unscathed despite its weakening of their
central authority. Additional rights the lords enjoyed included the right to a vassal’s body for
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whatever service the lord desired, the right to the fief a heir gained when a vassal passed
away, the right to control the marriage of a young woman and the right to hold a young
woman under custody until marriage regardless of the woman coming of age, the right to
receiving a relief 5 from a heir before the heir received his possession of the fief, and the right
of the lord to take back the fief of a vassal if a breach of the feudal contract occurred.
The baron and the vassals of the king ought to appear in his army when they shall be
summoned, and ought to serve at their own expense for forty days and forty nights, with
whatever number of knights they owe. And he possesses the right to exact from them these
services when he wishes and when he has need of them. If, however, the king shall wish to
keep them more than forty days and forty nights at their own expense, they need not
remain unless they desire. But if he shall wish to retain them at his cost for the defense of
the kingdom, they ought lawfully to remain. But if he shall propose to lead them outside of
the kingdom, they need not go unless they are willing, for they have already served their
forty days and forty nights.
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A payment made to the lord by an heir before entering upon possession of the fief.