The Feudal System

Who were the nobles?

Varied greatly in wealth and amount of land. Would never do any physical work. Directly below King in the feudal hierarchy.

Who were the Barons?

Leading nobles. Closest to the King and owned a lot of land. Average income £200 a year.

Who were the knights?

Usually younger sons of nobles with no inherited titles. 4500 of them in the country, varying in wealth and power.

Who were the Free men?

Could be a merchant, craftsman, farmer, etc. Well off merchants could earn £20 a year and could hold 30-100 acres of land from the local lord to whom they paid rent.

What was a Villein?

Half of England's population. They worked on their lord's lands and were allowed a tiny piece for themselves, to live off. They were not allowed to leave their village in search of a better life.

What is a Duchy?

Land controlled by a duke

What was an Earldom?

Land ruled by an earl, often a county

What was a Justiciar?

The King's chief minister, the man in charge of the government during the King's absence.

What was the Royal Demesne?

Land controlled directly by the King

What was scutage?

Money owed by a tenant-in-chief in place of sending a quota of knights to the King.

What was Knights service?

A tenant promised to provide a number of knights to his lord in return for land.

What was labour service?

Services owed (agricultural labour) by an unfree tenant to their Lord in return for a small bit of land.

What was military service?

The tenants in chief had to provide knights when a King raised an army.

What was homage?

The ceremony where a tenant swore loyalty to his Lord.

What was a cotter?

Peasant who had a cottage with a small piece of land attached in return for labour service

What was Dubbing?

The ceremony of knighthood. Knight presented with a sword and belt and struck gently on the back of their neck with the sword

What was week-work?

the obligatory weekday work within the labor service of a villein

What was boon-work?

when a villein had to work for the lord gathering in the harvest

What were the duties of knights service?

-Serving in the king's army for 2 months per year
-Guarding castles of their lord or king for up to 40 days per year
-Raising money to pay the ransom of their lord if he was captured during battle

What were the duties of labour service?

-'Boon work' - working on the lord's land gathering in the harvest
-'Week work' - working on the lord's land on certain days every week, doing jobs such as looking after animals, sowing crops , ploughing land etc.
-cotters worked for one day a week on lord's land
- freemen payed rent to Lord for land and did not work on it

What was a Fief?

land granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and service

What was a vassal?

someone who held land from someone else in the feudal system