Virtual Buildings
Transport yourself back up to a thousand years and explore historical buildings as they may have appeared in the past.
Medieval People
The Feudal System
he structure of the feudal system was like a pyramid, where the king was
at the apex (point at the top) and the villeins or peasants (common people) of the
country were at the base. In between the two were several groups of people who were a vassal to those
directly above meaning that they swore loyalty to them. Each group of people were granted land and protection by those above in
return for services.
form of the feudal system existed in Anglo-Saxon times even before the Norman Conquest. Across Europe the
countries were organised in a structured way. In England the land was granted to the earls and barons, approved by the Witan,
the highest council in the land. Each area of land was administered by the earl who ensured laws were enforced. The earl was
given the full right to govern as he saw fit. Sometimes this meant the rule was a tyrannical one where the common people suffered
great hardships.
Anarchy of Feudalism
In the early eleven hundreds France had descended into what is now known as the 'Anarchy of Feudalism'. Law and order had broken down and the Earls and Barons lived in fortified castles. Many of these lords robed from the surrounding land to make themselves rich. It was extremely dangerous to travel even on the main roads. Famines were common and trading had almost stopped. To stop the deterioration the Church introduced the Truce of God. The truce outlawed any kind of fighting from Thursday evening to Monday morning.
Norman Feudalism
When William the Conqueror became King of England in 1066 he introduced a new kind of feudal system into Britain. William confiscated the land in England from the Saxon lords and allocated it to members of his own family and the Norman lords who had helped him conquer the country. William needed to reward those that had helped him conquer Britain to retain their loyalty. The land William allocated to his supporters waslarge but dispursed across the country rather than being one big area.
William may have considered it dangerous to allocate one large area to a single Lord who could build a powerful princedom and oppose him.
These people were known as tenants-in-chief. Unlike the older Anglo-Saxon form of feudalism these people did not own the land because the ownership remained with William the Conqueror himself. The tenant-in-chief had to provide for himself and his family and to support a number of knights. To do this the lord sub-let his land to other lords lower on the social ladder. At the bottom the common people worked on the land growing crops and raising animals.
The tenants-in-chief did not get the land for free, they rented it from the king in exchange for services. If the services were not provided the tenant-in-chief would be removed, by force if necessary. This was an important change to the older Anglo-Saxon form of feudalism as it meant William could keep control of his land as bad tenants could be removed.
Oath of Salisbury
William the Conqueror summonsed his tenants-in-chief to a meeting at Salisbury in August of 1086. At the meeting the most powerful barons in the land swore an oath of loyalty to William ensuring William of their full support.
Military Service
The most important service a tenant-in-chief had to supply was a number of knights. The king would request the knights in time of conflict or war. They could also be used for defending the king's many castles. The tenants-in-chief would have passed the request for knights on to their tenants and so on down the feudal structure. Knights could be requested to serve the king for up to forty days at a time.
Scutage
The length of time a knight could be expected to serve for was limited, and possibly be for only forty days. When the king was fighting abroard this was a severe limitation so the concept of scutage arose. Instead of supplying knights, a baron could pay a sum of money. The money could then be used to pay for mercenaries to fight on the Continent. This benefitted both the king who needed the money and those barons who did not share the king's political interests.
Religious Service
Religious houses were granted land in return for saying prayers for the lord's family members, caring for the sick and other general charitable functions. Through the Statute of Mortmain, in 1279, Edward I limited the ability of his tenants-in-chief to allocate land to religious houses requiring them to get royal approval. The reason for this was that normally when a land owner died the king was paid tax but the religious house was not a person and this tax could not the raised thus reducing the tax income.
Homage and Fealty
The baron or noble did homage, the act of publicly showing repect, to the king and swore fealty or loyalty for the land provided. This sometimes took place in a ceremony where the baron knelt before the king and placed his hand between the king's. In return any vassals of the noble peformed the same ceremony for land that they received.
Chivalry
Chivalry defined the way in which a knight was supposed to behave and the ideas grew up in France during the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries before coming to England. The knight was to show loyalty, morality and generosity. In other words the knight should always support his king or lord and be prepared to put his life on the line to protect him. The knight should always do the right thing and should be prepared to provide his time and energies for free. Chivalry is possibly best known for the courtly love between the knight and his lady.
Chivalry became so engrained in society that all the sons of the nobles either became members of the orders of knights or became members of the Church.
It was a long and difficult process to become a knight. Boys at the age of seven were sent by their family to the home of a wealthy noble were the training would begin. The boy would serve as a page and would improve his fitness and skills by playing sports and through exercise. At the age of fourteen or fifteen the boy would become a squire, looking after the lord's armour and horses and possibly accompanying the lord into battle.
At the age of twenty-one he would then become a knight. In a ceremony held in the presence of the lord and other knights of the order he would swear an oath of loyalty and bravery and to defend God, the church and ladies. Finally, kneeling before his lord, the lord would place his sword on the new recruit's shoulder and declare him a knight.
Peasants
A peasant in medieval times was a poor person who lived and worked on a farm, which was part of the manor. They worked the land to produce food for themselves and the tenant-in-chief who owned the manor. Some peasants were free and were able to leave the manor, but others were not and could not leave unless they bought their freedom or escaped.
Freemen
A freeman in medieval times was able to choose who their master was and could move from one manor to another. They rented land from the tenant-in-chief and had rights that were important in a court of law. Following old traditions, freemen were only required to supply their time in autumn when gathering the harvest. A freeman could fall upon hard times or become indebted to the lord who owner the land which resulted in them loosing their status as freemen.
Villeins
Villeins, unlike freemen, were not able to move from one manor to another. They did not own the land they lived on and only received it in exchange for services they supplied. If the lord was not pleased with their conduct the family could be ejected from the manor. Although they were not slaves, villeins were tied to the manor and did not have many rights under the law. Having some land on which to grow food for their family was very important in medieval times so this arrangement was popular. The villein had to work part of the week on the lord's lands, harvesting, ploughing, maintaining, etc. While the remaining time could be spent tending their own smaller patch of land. But doing work on the lord's lands was a priority over their own.
Cottars
Also known as bordars, cottars were one of the poorest groups in the community and only had a small amount of land; not have enough to support themselves. Their food and lodgings were earned by doing work on the manor estate. Cottars only worked for the lord of the manor one day a week. The rest of the time they worked for the villeins.
Slaves
Slaves were used in medieval times and worked solely for who owned them. They were given no land so could not grow their own food so they were totally dependant on their master for food and lodgings.
| Type | Details |
Freemen |
A freeman in medieval times was able to choose who their master was and could move from one manor to another. They rented land from the tenant-in-chief and had rights that were important in a court of law. Following old traditions, freemen were only required to supply their time in autumn when gathering the harvest. A freeman could fall upon hard times or become indebted to the lord who owner the land which resulted in them loosing their status as freemen. |
Villeins |
Villeins, unlike freemen, were not able to move from one manor to another. They did not own the land they lived on and only received it in exchange for services they supplied. If the lord was not pleased with their conduct the family could be ejected from the manor. Although they were not slaves, villeins were tied to the manor and did not have many rights under the law. Having some land on which to grow food for their family was very important in medieval times so this arrangement was popular. The villein had to work part of the week on the lord's lands, harvesting, ploughing, maintaining, etc. While the remaining time could be spent tending their own smaller patch of land. But doing work on the lord's lands was a priority over their own. |
Cottars |
Also known as bordars, cottars were one of the poorest groups in the community and only had a small amount of land; not have enough to support themselves. Their food and lodgings were earned by doing work on the manor estate. Cottars only worked for the lord of the manor one day a week. The rest of the time they worked for the villeins. |
Slaves |
Slaves were used in medieval times and worked solely for who owned them. They were given no land so could not grow their own food so they were totally dependant on their master for food and lodgings. |
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