And this goes on and on and on, all the way until you getĭown to the level of the serfs and the peasants, who areĪctually doing the work. And then the count can then be the lord of someone else, of their vassals. And this count would be vassal to the duke and the duke would be It to someone else, let's say a count, in whichĬase this would be called a county, and that is where we Of land right over here, this duke might provide They might subdivide further and they would be lord Some of the tax revenue that goes to the king or provides some of the necessities for That land, providing output, which helps generate Manors that he rules directly over that has his own serfs or free peasants working Now the duke might have his own manor or might even have multiple In medieval England, a duke was the highest title of nobility. Now the terminology here is that the duke would be one of the king's vassals or would be vassal to the king. Region we are in the Middle Ages or it might be in the form of a percentage of the agricultural Provide the king with taxes, which might be in the form of coinage, depending on what time and If the king wants to goĬonquer other territories, same thing, and also The duke will fight alongside the king, would Would provide loyalty, pledge their fealty. So, the king might grant a duchy, a duchy, to a duke, and in exchange, the duke I guess they didn't call it ducky because that justĭoesn't sound as serious. Now, right over here, this is a duchy and a duchy will be controlled by a duke. And the key currency in the Middle Ages under the feudal system is land and land in exchangeįor loyalty and service. That, and to help govern, he might grant land orįiefs to other people. The king come to power, helped him depose the previous Now this is not so easy to govern, especially during the Middle Ages, and the king might owe many people things, especially people who helped Probably familiar with some of the key actors within With the feudal system, which is how most of Europe was governed during the Middle Ages. Knights in shining armor and their code of chivalry, with kings and castles Of the Western Roman empire in 476 until we get toĪbout 1,000 years later with the emergence of the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration. That roughly 1,000 year period of time in Europe from the end In the next section, we'll learn about how boys became knights.- Talk about in other videos, the Middle Ages refers to The path to knighthood started when a boy was very young - official training usually began around age 7. A knight could make a fortune either by a grant of land from a king or by being a paid professional in service to a lord. So, it was an appealing means for a younger son of a lord to advance himself. ![]() Knighthood was not an inherited position - it had to be earned. Knights were members of the gentry in that they held a place in society above the peasants, but they weren't necessarily members of the noble ruling classes or royalty. In fact, nobles often warred amongst themselves over territories.įeudalism did offer a means for a person to advance himself within society through military service and knighthood. ![]() One drawback to this system was that the nobles were very powerful because they controlled the armies. Each lord or vassal raised an army to defend his fief and to serve the king as needed. Fiefs - and the obligation to serve the king - were inherited by the eldest son of the ruling nobleman.įeudalism allowed large territories to be governed in the absence of a central government. The peasants were bound to the land, so it was in the vassal's interest to protect them from invaders. Peasants, or serfs, farmed the land and provided the vassal or lord with wealth in the form of food and products. In return, the lord provided the knight with lodging, food, armor, weapons, horses and money. Many knights were professional warriors who served in the lord's army. The king could also grant fiefs to vassals (knights) in exchange for military service. The king granted fiefs (portions of land) to nobles (lords or barons) in return for loyalty, protection and service. In feudalism, the king owned all of the land. To control such a large territory, Charlemagne instituted a feudal system of government. The Frankish tribes established control over vast territories, and one Frankish king, Charlemagne (Charles the Great) ruled a large chunk of Europe - from northern Spain and Italy through France, Germany and Poland. Numerous tribes fought for domination over territories, but there were no central governments or national armies. The French School/The Bridgeman Art Library/ Getty ImagesĪfter the fall of the Roman Empire, Western Europe had no countries.
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