Who were the Feudal Lords?

The feudal lords , Almost always men with nobiliary titles, were the owners and lords of the land in medieval western Europe.

He feudalism , A dominant political and economic system between the 9th and 15th centuries, consisted in the valuation of land as a base and where relations of exchange were established between the parties, chiefly feudal lords, vassals and peasants.

This structure was based on small communities formed around a feudal lord who controlled everything under his jurisdiction and, in exchange for work, guaranteed security of his servants.

The local nature of this system made it perfect for a time when threats were also on a small scale.

The peasants worked the land in exchange for food, the vassals were in charge of the protection of the inhabitants of the territory in exchange for money, the feudal lords administered the fiefs in exchange for absolute power over them and the monarchs ensured greater political and economic strength .

The dynamics established by the feudal model guarantee to all its components, security and food in the midst of the austerity and deterioration that prevailed in the society .

It was then a system of cooperation based on promises, where, despite the lack of freedom and social mobility, subsistence could be ensured.

The context in the time of the feudal lords

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 with the arrival of the barbarians, Western Europe was plunged into an era of misery and demographic decline.

This is what we know today as Middle Ages , Alluding to this period as a step between Post-Classical Era and It was modern , Which begins with the Renaissance in the sixteenth century.

Also known as"the dark years", by the little cultural and scientific production and scarcity of historical records, this time meant a break in the schemes of life in Europe.

The structure of the empire and the metropolis ended to give way to a localist dynamic, in which communities turned to themselves and isolated from each other.

The Middle Ages were a period of Monarchies And ecclesiastical paternalism. The crisis resulting from the fall of the empire resulted in a significant drop in the population of the area.

The east side of the newly fallen emporium was fragmented into Germanic kingdoms. This would be a key stage in the consolidation of Europe as a unit.

The effort to protect the continent from external threats and increasing counter-urbanization led to what we now call the feudal system, which was established in Europe for most of the middle ages.

Feudalism and its hierarchy

Feudalism was the dominant political and social system during the Middle Ages and was based on fiefs: contracts by which the nobles, known as feudal lords, granted land rents in exchange for services such as land labor or protection and fidelity.

Lord feudal and serfs.

It was born as a mechanism by which kings, who did not have the economic resources and the political force to protect the kingdom, divided their territories into small parts that would be administered by the nobles who, in return, paid taxes, promised fidelity and They made their subordinates available.

The feudal lords received lands proportional to fidelity to the king and the importance of his family.

These were in charge of managing and governing fiefdoms - a name also used for the designation of lands - and their power over these territories and their inhabitants was unlimited.

However, in order to keep outside threats like bandits and invasions outside, they needed servers to protect them.

Vassals or knights, free men, often from noble families, swore loyalty, obedience, and protection to the feudal lords.

When the king demanded it, they also constituted the army. In return, they were granted fiefs and a percentage of the booty of war.

The peasants, the lowest rank in the feudal hierarchy, worked the land in exchange for a portion of the food produced and the security offered by the knights.

They sacrificed their freedom in exchange for the safeguard and security that meant to belong to these communities.

This political system was based on reciprocal relations between the different degrees. In the same way that the knights became lords of their fief, the feudal lords were in turn vassals of others more important, the greater being the king.

However, feudal contracts were established exclusively between feudal lords and vassals, being the breach of these the most serious crime.

The fief or contract was sealed through a rite of theatrical loyalty called homage, that was realized in the castle of the lord before relics and books of its belonging.

Some Interesting Facts

• The feudal lords had a right over everything belonging to their territory, among them, the vassals who were to give them their virginity on their wedding night. This is known as"straight leg".
• Each feudal lord had the power to establish his own currency and justice system.
• In wartime, the knights would go out to fight for a period of about 40 days, which could be extended to 90 if necessary, since to remain on the battlefield forced them to leave the lands they were to protect.
• When a vassal died, his children were under the tutelage of the feudal lord.
• Within the various scales of the hierarchical system, subcategories with varying degrees of power existed.
• 90% of the workers and inhabitants of the fiefs were peasants.
• Social mobility did not exist in feudalism. A peasant, he could never become a feudal lord.
• The Catholic Church was the most powerful institution in the feudal system, and for this reason it had to obtain part of the profits of each kingdom.
• The mean age of survival was 30 years.
• During this period farmers made great strides and innovations such as plows and windmills.
• Feudalism disappeared from much of Europe in the early sixteenth century, although in some areas of the east it remained until the nineteenth century.

References

1. Historyonthenet.com. (2017) Retrieved from: historyonthenet.com.
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4. Newman, S. (2017). Lords of the Middle Ages | Middle Ages. Retrieved from: thefinertimes.com.
5. Historyonthenet.com. (2017). Medieval life and feudalism system. Retrieved from: historyonthenet.com.
6. History and biographies. (2017). Vassals and Feudal Lords The Feudal Contract Obligations. Recovered from: historiaybiografias.com.