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Feudalism and Medieval Knights
What did the vassal have to do in order to receive a fief ? He had to
serve the greater lord in battle, appearing in armour on a horse as a
knight. This medieval system of holding land in exchange for military service is
called feudalism. The ceremony in which a fief was handed over in
return for fighting was called an investiture and it involved
swearing
fealty
and doing homage. The future vassal placed his hands
between his lord's hands, promised to be loyal, fight for the him and be
his man (homo in Latin, so we get homage). At the
ceremony, the lord often gave his vassal a lump of dirt, or a stick as a
symbol of the fief he was handing over. After about 1100 the custom was
for fiefs to be handed down from father to eldest son as an inheritance.
But where did the greater lord get his land from? He had received it
in turn from an even greater lord and so on until a really mighty lord,
or baron, was the vassal of the king sitting at the top of the feudal
pyramid. Sometimes even kings were vassals of other kings. For
example King Edward III of England was the vassal King Philip VI of
France for the fiefs he held in France and it was when he refused to pay
homage to the French king that the Hundred Years War began in 1337.
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The Open Door Team
thanks the following people for the use of images in the
Medieval section. The names below link to their websites.
Melissa
Snell
Christian
Fletcher |
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The
Open Door Web Site