Feudalism The Vassals

Feudalism helped large land owners protect their land from Germanic invaders and Vikings. In Feudalism the Nobles promised to help fight the kings enemies. The King gave land to nobles under him. The Nobles were called Vassals of the King and the Vassals fought for their King and other Nobles who were Knights. A serf was someone who farmed the lands and serfs had to pay rent and taxes to nobles. The King gave fiefs that were large land grants to Vassals. Vassals also gave fiefs to Knights and Knights gave protection to serfs. Knights were heavily armed soldiers who rode horsebacks. The manor was isolated. Mostly all of the people in the Feudal system lived on the manor which included the castle, church, village, and the surrounding farm land

that provided protection to the people. The Lord of the Manor was in control of the land.
In the Middle Ages you were born into a class of people and usually stayed in that same class for the rest of your life. The amount of work you put in didn't have a difference in your class. Mostly everything you had and did was already determined for you when you were born. Nobles were under the King and over Knights, clergy, tradesmen and peasants. One thing the feudal system was used for was protection. In return for the services the peasants did for the nobles, either farming or doing what the Noble has told them to do the nobles provided protection for the peasants.

The simplest way to become a Knight was to be a son of a noble. At around the age of the sons were taken to a different castle to be a page through training. At the castle a page became stronger, rode horses and mastered the use of weapons. They also learned to read, write and speak Latin and French. They learned about dancing and the rules of chivalry which was the set of rules for honorable behavior. At around 16 the page became a squire who worked for a knight. The squire dressed the Knight, severed him meals, looked after his horse and cleaned his weapons. As a squire they practiced wearing heavy armor and using weapons. At around 20 a squire was made a knight in a "dubbing" ceremony. In the ceremony the squire becoming a Knight knelt before the lord of the manor , he was touched on each shoulder with a sword and became a Knight.
A fief was a Vassals source of income that was granted to him for his services to his lord. Vassals fought for their lord as a knight. A Vassal was a man that held land from a Lord who he paid special honor to. The Vassals gave fiefs to Knights and the Knights gave peasants protection. A fief was not an ownership and the loan from the King could be taken back from the King. A fief could also be given for bravery in a battle. To have a fief you had to promise to be loyal to your King, fight or send men to fight if the King needed them, and provide money to ransom if the King was captured, and lastly you would take care of the serfs working the land.
In the feudal system Kings were at the top of the hierarchy, all of the people under the King showed respect and loyalty. Kings were the men that granted fiefs to vassals and nobles if they fought for the king and showed bravery in battles. Feudalism was based off the belief that the land belonged to God. But the King managed the land and used it for whatever he needed it

for. The King was still answerable to the Pope. The Pope had the power to pronounce judgement, depose a King, forfeit his kingdom and put another King in his place or excommunicate the King.
The Lord of the manor owed loyalty to the King by completing any chores required and provided trained soldiers with clothes and weapons to fight for the King. The land owned by a Lord varied in size and they owned the residential property of the Manor House. The Manor House wasn't built like a castle because it was not built for the purpose of attack or defense. The size varied on the wealth of the Lord. The Lord of the manor was in charge of complaints of the people in his manor and he looked over the running of his farm lands on the manor. When the Lord was absent the Lord's wife, the Lady of the manor would take control of the Lords rule.
A manor in the feudal system included farmland, forests, pasture land, a village, a mill, a church, and a Manor House.

The manor was the Lord's estate. The manor was isolated and had everything that the people on it needed. Because of the protection on the manor landowners were vulnerable to attacks from other landowners on the manor trying to expand their lands. On the manor the top of the hierarchy was the King, then the Vassals, then Knights, and lastly serfs.

For serfs life was hard. They worked long hours so their family had a place to stay and food to eat. If your parents were serfs you were born into being a serf. Serfs were required to stay on the manor and had to work several days a week for the lord of the manor. Serfs didn't travel from the manor because when they left they had no protection. A serf had to pay rent and taxes to the Lord of the manor. The Lord provided serf housing, farmland, and protection. The serfs had to pay a tax that was 1/10 of their income to the church.

Feudalism created alliances among peasants, landowners, and the nobility. Which provided the needs in life in a safer environment. Once centralized government was eliminated people were fearful of attack from invaders and from neighbors. Feudalism offered an objection of a castle because of military defense that was provided by a lords

army.
Feudalism came to Europe because of repeated invasions that disrupted trade, which caused European cities to not be considered as an economic trade center. Invasions destroyed the Roman Empire, manors eliminated the point for cities as administrative cities. When the people were threatened by invaders they moved to rural areas where they could grow their own food. The need for protection from invaders made peasants willing to give up freedoms for the protection a lord on the manor provided.