A fief had to include at least one village with huts for the serfs, a manor house or castle for the noble, and land to grow or catch food. A fief was not ownership. A fief was actually a loan from the king and the king could take it back. Soon fiefs were given to lords and officials.
Full Answer
What did you have to do to get a fief?
To get a fief (land) you had to promise several things. You had to promise loyalty to the lord who gave you the fief. You had to promise military service. Landowners did not have to fight themselves, although most did.
What is an example of a feudal incident?
In return, the lord had the right to demand the services attached to the fief (military, judicial, administrative) and a right to various “incomes” known as feudal incidents. Examples of incidents are relief, a tax paid when a fief was transferred to an heir or alienated by the vassal, and scutage, a tax paid in lieu of military service.
What are the duties of a vassal in feudalism?
Vassal. Under the feudal contract, the lord had the duty to provide the fief for his vassal, to protect him, and to do him justice in his court. In return, the lord had the right to demand the services attached to the fief (military, judicial, administrative) and a right to various “incomes” known as feudal incidents.
What was the difference between a vassal and fief?
As vassals holding fiefs of the count of Barcelona, the Catalan nobles owed him military and court service, and they often had vassals of their own. In the western states, royal vassals usually held land in full ownership rather than in fief.
What was a fief in medieval times?
In Medieval times land was broken up into fiefs. But a fief was more then just a piece of land. A fief had to include at least one village with huts for the serfs, a manor house or castle for the noble, and land to grow or catch food. A fief was not ownership. A fief was actually a loan from the king and the king could take it back.
What is a fief?
A fief was not ownership. A fief was actually a loan from the king and the king could take it back. Sometimes fiefs were given as reward for bravery in battle. To get a fief you had to promise the king several things.
What does "vassal" mean in the feudal system?
Vassal means servant. In the feudal system, everybody was a vassal. At the top was the king. At the bottom were the knights. In between were the lords, nobles and officials. Peasants had no real place in the vassal system. They had pledged to do the work on their manor in exchange for protection. The serfs went with the land. They had no voice at all.
How did the Church limit the battles?
The Church tried to limit these battles. They kept passing decrees, like no fighting in church. They passed decrees that said no fighting on holidays or weekends. Finally, the church made fighting legal on only 80 days a year. It did a little good, but not much. The church had no army. They had no way to enforce the decrees. Private wars continued to savage Western Europe.
What would happen if you didn't participate in the Middle Ages?
What happened if you chose not to participate in the this system? You'd just rather not have land at all. What would happen to you? You could join the church if they would have you. You could become a peasant. A peasant thought it was pleasant to be a peasant. Not the life for you? So what would you do? There was nothing else. There were only three groups of people in the Middle Ages - the common people, the church, and the nobility. There were no towns until late in the Middle Ages. There was no middle class, no fast food, no malls, no television, no computers, no cell phones, no internet, and no radios - there was only war.
What did you have to act as when your Lord came?
You had to act as a host, providing food and shelter when your lord came visiting.
Did landowners have to fight themselves?
You had to promise military service. Landowners did not have to fight themselves, although most did. But you did have to promise a certain number of knights that could be used in battle for 60 days each year. Some lords would make you promise more than that. Some made you promise that if your lord wanted you to come to his castle for any puny reason, you had to come.
What did the explorers pick up for the return voyage?
They picked up wool, coal, and timber for the return voyage.
What was the lord's main duty?
The lord's main duty however was to the king, he was a knight and as such would provide arms to the crown whenever he was required.
What did Nunneries offer women?
Nunneries offered women the opportunity to lead a devout life, obtain an education, and take on responsibilities the outside world denied them.
Feudalism
Read this brief description of Feudal life, as it was in England in the Middle Ages.
Knights
1. How old was a boy when he was sent away to start training as a knight? 2. What was the boy called during his first stage of training? 3. How long did the first stage last? 4. What did he learn during this first stage? 5. From whom did he learn in the first stage? 6. What was the boy called during the second stage of training? 7.
Lords & Nobles
1. What was the lord of the manor's primary duty? 2. What form of rent did the villagers (serfs) pay to the lord? 3. Most of life's necessities were produced on the fief. What are two examples of things that had to be brought in to the fief? 4. What was the lords' and ladies' favorite past time? 5. What animals helped them in this pursuit? 6.
Women in the Middle Ages
1. What institution taught women how to behave? 2. Who were women supposed to obey? 3. Why could most women not stay at home? 4. What additional duties did they have? 5. What is an "alewife"? 6. What other jobs might urban women have? 7. How did the way single and married women dress differ? 8.
Town Life in the Middle Ages
1. What led to the growth of the towns? 2. Who were the most exalted members of a town? 3. Why did merchants support the king and a strong central government? 4. What did the merchant guilds regulate? 5. What three stages did a boy go through in order to become able to own a shop and be fully accepted by a craft guild? 6.
Merchants & Trade
1. Who were the earliest medieval merchants? 2. By the beginning of the 14th century (1300), what was England importing? 3. By the beginning of the 14th century (1300), what was England exporting? 4. Where did the double-entry ledge originate? 5. Whom did merchants hire to help with paper work? 6. With what did merchants mark their papers? 7.
Medieval Entertainment
1. What were 5 popular games played by people in the Middle Ages that are still played today?
What are some examples of fief?
Examples of fief in a Sentence. Recent Examples on the Web This was particularly so in Mazar-e-Sharif, which was governed as a personal fief by former mujahedeen commander Gen. Atta Mohammad Nooruntil his ouster by President Ashraf Ghani in 2017.
What is a fief?
English Language Learners Definition of fief. : a large area of land that was ruled over by a lord in medieval times : a feudal estate. See the full definition for fief in the English Language Learners Dictionary.
Is Real Madrid a fief?
Lulled by glamour and success, Real Madrid has allowed itself to be transformed into the personal fief of its president, Flore ntino Pé rez. — New York Times, 9 Apr. 2021 Their claim is based on possession of a fief —a right granted by a feudal overlord in exchange for allegiance or services.
What are some examples of feudalism?
For feudalism in other societies, as well as that of the Europeans, see Examples of feudalism. Investiture of a knight (miniature from the statutes of the Order of the Knot, founded in 1352 by Louis I of Naples ). Orava Castle in Slovakia. A Medieval castle is a traditional symbol of a feudal society. Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was ...
What are the three concepts of feudalism?
The classic François-Louis Ganshof version of feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations which existed among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs . In broad terms a lord was a noble who held land, a vassal was a person who was granted possession of the land by the lord, and the land was known as a fief. In exchange for the use of the fief and protection by the lord, the vassal would provide some sort of service to the lord. There were many varieties of feudal land tenure, consisting of military and non-military service. The obligations and corresponding rights between lord and vassal concerning the fief form the basis of the feudal relationship.
What is feudalism in the military?
According to a classic definition by François-Louis Ganshof (1944), feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations which existed among the warrior nobility and revolved around the three key concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs, though Ganshof himself noted that his treatment was only related to the "narrow, technical, legal sense of the word".
When was feudalism first used?
The adjective feudal was in use by at least 1405, and the noun feudalism, now often employed in a political and propagandistic context, was coined by 1771, paralleling the French féodalité ( feudality ).
What is a medieval castle?
A Medieval castle is a traditional symbol of a feudal society. Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, and cultural customs that flourished in Medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships ...
When did the French abolish feudal order?
Historian Georges Lefebvre explains how at an early stage of the French Revolution, on just one night of August 4, 1789, France abolished the long-lasting remnants of the feudal order. It announced, "The National Assembly abolishes the feudal system entirely." Lefebvre explains:
Who was the Belgian historian who argued that feudal relationships existed only within the medieval nobility itself?
In contradistinction to Bloch, the Belgian historian François-Louis Ganshof defined feudalism from a narrow legal and military perspective, arguing that feudal relationships existed only within the medieval nobility itself.
