The Political System: Feudalism And The Feudal System

Medieval societies are most commonly known for their knights, tales of chivalry, and damsels in distress; however, a huge segment missing: the system that even allowed people to become knights, and for keeping a kingdom well balanced. The feudal system allowed for people in any position on the social ladder provide for not only themselves, but for others above and below them. The manor permitted for this system to perform properly because it gave everyone an opportunity to have a stable job, and it also provided any feudal society with a steady or even prosperous economy.

To help the manor function accordingly, a steward was often employed to keep a manor in check, to be a record keeper, and to help organize the crucial records he took. The

Feudalism is a political system that allowed each social class to fulfill its needs and also contribute to the surrounding society. A feudal society created an environment where people were bound to each other by promises of loyalty, goods, and/or services (Frey). Each class owed something to the other, both above and below. The four main classes of feudalism are the king, nobles: lord and lady, and clergy, vassals: knights, peasants: serfs and freemen (Nardo). Lords have to proclaim loyalty to the king called the Ceremony of Homage. They take an oath of fealty (loyalty), and in return, the king gives him a fief (land grant) (Nardo). When lords take the oath of fealty, they are promising to give the king soldiers/knights in times of

Feudalism was a political system, and the manor was the economic part of it that also backed it up. Manors kept feudalism alive because the economic factor, the manors, made it a system in which all social classes could benefit. For example, a peasant would live on a manor because they wanted protection in war, a stable food source, water, and shelter (Hazen). But in return they would have to farm the land of the lord, giving him his wealth. And this is what a feudal society as based on; giving and getting. Another example of how the manor contributed to the survival of feudalism is that the manor was a support system for all social classes. The nobility, peasant class, and even the king received what they needed. The king got loyalty and an army, the nobility got land and an abundance of wealth, vassals got land and respect (A. Smith), and peasants got their basic needs fulfilled. The promises that were made to vassals and vassal lords could be kept because of the manor. For example, if a vassal/knight agreed to work for a lord, the lord would have to give him fief and peasants and serfs to work the land (C. Smith 3). If the lord did not own a manor or land, or have a surplus of peasants and products to give away, this agreement could not be