The Kings of The Middle Ages
The kings of the Middle Ages owned large areas of land. In order to protect the land from invasion, the kings gave some of their land to vassals (lords). As thanks for this generous gift, the vassals served and fought for the king. The kings also had complete control over the land and their kingdom. Sometimes, the kings would even lead battles or crusades. The image to the left is of Edward the Confessor, one of England's Anglo-Saxon kings.
Paying Homage and The Oath of Fealty
Vassals would swear allegiance to the king by saying the Oath of Fealty. This then sort of "bound" the vassal and the king together. By saying the Oath of Fealty, the vassals were paying homage to the king. The words spoken to pay homage were similar to the following:
"I promise on my faith that I will in the future be faithful to the lord, never cause him harm and will observe my homage to him completely against all persons in good faith and without deceit."
I return for swearing fealty to the king, pledging loyalty to him, and willingness to protect him, nobles would receive large areas of land as well as high-sounding titles. These included Barron, Duke, and Count.
paying homage - the formal public acknowledgement by which a feudal tenant or vassal declared himself to be the man or vassal of his lord, owing him fealty and service.
noble - a person of noble rank of birth.
"I promise on my faith that I will in the future be faithful to the lord, never cause him harm and will observe my homage to him completely against all persons in good faith and without deceit."
I return for swearing fealty to the king, pledging loyalty to him, and willingness to protect him, nobles would receive large areas of land as well as high-sounding titles. These included Barron, Duke, and Count.
paying homage - the formal public acknowledgement by which a feudal tenant or vassal declared himself to be the man or vassal of his lord, owing him fealty and service.
noble - a person of noble rank of birth.
The Knights of The Middle Ages
A knight was pledged to obey his lord by the Code of Conduct. This Code stated that a knight would be fearless in battle, but also kind and generous. In order to become a knight, a son of a noble would first train as a page, and then an esquire (squire). If a boy passed these two stages, they became a knight. Above is an image of a 14th century knight. To the left is an image of a 11th century knight.
The Peasants of The Middle Ages
Peasants took care of the land for landowners (such as knights, nobles, and kings), and in return, the landowners protected the peasants. There were two ways that a peasant could achieve their own land. They could either buy it with food and money, or they could work for it. The first option would require that the peasants earned money or grew a vast amount of food, and then gave that to the landowner in return for their own plot of land. The second option requires that the peasants work part-time for their landowner in return for a plot of land. Peasants who chose the first option were called freemen and peasants who chose the second option were villeins.
villein - (in medieval England) a feudal tenant entirely subject to a lord or manor to whom he paid dues and services in return for land.
freeman - a person who is not a slave of serf.
villein - (in medieval England) a feudal tenant entirely subject to a lord or manor to whom he paid dues and services in return for land.
freeman - a person who is not a slave of serf.
A medieval peasant's cottage