Investiture of a knight (miniature from the statutes of the Order of the Knot, founded in 1352 by Louis I of Naples). For feudalism in other societies, as well as that of the Europeans, see Examples of feudalism. The obligations and corresponding rights between lord and vassal concerning the fief formed the basis of the feudal relationship.This article is about the classic, medieval, Western European form of feudalism. There were many varieties of feudal land tenure, consisting of military and non-military service.
In exchange for the use of the fief and the protection of the lord, the vassal would provide some sort of service to the lord. A lord was in broad terms a noble who held land, a vassal was a person who was granted possession of the land by the lord, and a fief was what the land was known as. The classic version of feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs. It can be broadly defined as a system for structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land, known as a fiefdom or fief, in exchange for service or labour.
The 11th century in France saw what has been called by historians a “feudal revolution” or “mutation” and a “fragmentation of powers” that increased localized power and autonomy.įeudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries.While modern writers such as Marx point out the negative qualities of feudalism, such as the exploitation and lack of social mobility for the peasants, the French historian Marc Bloch contends that peasants were part of the feudal relationship while the vassals performed military service in exchange for the fief, the peasants performed physical labour in return for protection, thereby gaining some benefit despite their limited freedom.This ceremony bound the lord and vassal in a contract. Before a lord could grant land to a tenant he would have to make him a vassal at a formal ceremony.
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