Download The feudal system

Medieval Society
Who’s in charge?
• In 1066, William the
Conqueror set sail and
crossed 50 miles from
Normandy to the coast of
England.
• William defeated Harold
Godwinson at the Battle of
Hastings and became the
King of England.
William’s fabulous feudal
system!
A land ownership system that
helped the King manage the
land and the people.
How?
The king owned all the
land.
He retained about 20%
of this land for his own
use.
The King granted the
rest of this land to the
church and members of
the peerage.
The King granted about 55% of his land to important
nobles. He would only grant land to those men he could
trust.
These Lords and Barons were usually the King’s
friends and relatives.
These estates known as the fief included houses, barns,
tools, animals, and serfs or peasants.
• A fief granted to a Baron
was called a manor. The
Baron was known as the
Lord of the Manor and
had complete control of
this land.
•Barons established their own system of justice, minted
their own money and set their own taxes.
•In return for the land they had been given by the King,
the Barons had to serve on the royal council, pay rent
and provide the King with Knights for military service
when he demanded it.
•They also had to provide lodging and food for the
King and his court when they travelled around the
country.
•The Barons kept as much of their land as they
wished for their own use, then granted the rest to their
under-tenants
•Barons were very rich
The knights who
provided military
services to the Lords and
Barons were also given
land in return for their
services
Other Knights were provided with food and shelter and
paid in return for their military services.
Knights generally had to provide 40 -60 days service each
year. If there was no war, they did 40 days of training at
the Lord’s castle.
The King granted his remaining
land (about 25%) to the church.
The Bishops had the same
obligations of loyalty and
service to the King.
They had the same control over
their land and they were also
quite rich and powerful.
Powerless peasants
• Approximately 90% of the
population were peasants.
• Freemen peasants were usually in
trade, they paid rent to the Lord but
had more legal rights and less duties
to the Lord.
• Villeins were given small parcels of
land which they worked for the
lord. They couldn’t sell the land or
leave the manor
• Serfs did not own any land and
worked for the Lord.
In Summary…Medieval Society was organized in a
feudal tree or pyramid system.
• Everyone who owed a service to a
person higher up on the feudal pyramid
was a vassal.
• They either farmed or fought for that
person above them. In return for their
service they were given either
protection or land.