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27 March 2011 Lords and Serfs: An Analysis of the Medieval Times The medieval times cover the Early Middle Ages (ca. 500 - 1000) and High Middle Ages (ca. 1000 - 13000). It was in the Early Middle Ages, the formative era, after the death of Charlemagne, emperor of the Frankish empire, in 814 that the system of feudalism took form. The fragmentation of the Empire and the insecurity generated by the Viking invasions caused people of all social levels to attach themselves to members of a military nobility who were able of providing protection. [That protection] involved the exchange of land for military service (Fiero 76) -- land owners, or lords, granted the use of their land to vassals, who, in return owed his lord a certain number of fighting days (usually forty) per year (Fiero 77). That created a relationship based on dependency between lords and vassals. In feudalism, all land was owned by the King. One quarter was kept by the King as his personal property, some was given to the church and the rest was leased out under strict controls (History on the net). So, at the top of the social hierarchy was the King, who was the supreme lord and granted land to Barons. The Barons granted land to Knights, who in turn granted land to serfs, who made the bottom of the social hierarchy. The King, Barons and Knights made up the top ten percent of the population, the nobility; the other ninety percent was represented by serfs. In exchange for land, serfs provided food and services to Knights; Knights provided protection and military services to Barons, who provided money and Knights to the King. So, lords and vassals were both fragile and dependent on each other. Lords needed protection for their lives and possessions from invaders, while vassals needed the land to live on and make a living. Some vassals were also lords, but not the serfs; the serfs were the only ones without any

vassals. Lords and vassals were both part of the feudal hierarchy. However, all lords were wealthy while the serfs, unfree peasants [] who farmed the soil (Fiero 81), were poor. Even though both lord and vassals shared benefits and obligations under the feudal contract -- vassals provided services to lords and lords provided land to vassals -- all lords were free while serfs were basically slaves of the lords; serfs were forbidden to leave the land. With all their similarities and contrasts, lords and vassals made up the feudal society and the feudal and manorial traditions of the Early Middle Ages [] established patterns of class and social status that came to shape the economic and political history of the West (Fiero 67).

Works Cited Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition Book 2 Medieval Europe and the World Beyond. 5th ed. McGraw-Hill College, 2006. Print.

"Medieval Life - Feudalism." History on the et Main Page. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. <http://www.historyonthenet.com/Medieval_Life/feudalism.htm>.