With the collapse of the Carolingian Kingdom/Holy Roman Empire in the 9th century, Europeans entered the core period of the Medieval age - the Central Middle Ages.  This age was the heart of the "feudal" period in European history.  As stated earlier, feudalism is a situation where there is no dominant political power or effective central leadership - in other words there is no state or empire.  Local leaders control political decisions, command military power, have controlling economic power and even dominate in the cultural realm.  In a feudal society, power is a private possession; there is no effective state. (see description)

Another feature of feudalism is that it is a military-based society. This is not surprising in a society with competing local leaders. In feudal Europe, military might was the primary basis of power; elite status is based on military abilities. Leaders were those who commanded this military elite.  The dominant culture of Europe was military in nature, as reflected in the tapestries and ballads celebrating great knights and lords.  The dominant social tradition, the code of chivalry, was at its heart a warrior code.

In a feudal society, the glue that holds the society together is not a written law or formal bureaucratic system - these don't exist. Nor is there a formal economic system; commerce collapses without formal political control and regulation.  Instead of formal structures, in a feudal society a network of social relationships tie the society together. A feudal society is a world where oaths and obligations, vows and promises, and established expectations and customs provide the only stability possible. Loyalty to others and fulfilling one's oaths are the most important values in a feudal society.  If these ties break down - then there is anarchy.

The term reciprocity is used to describe these social relations - it is a system of mutual obligations; in other words - if you do this for me, I will do this for you.  In a situation where formal structures of the state such as law, currency and military defense have broken down, people turned to each other for the basic services and skills needed for their survival.  Europeans during the Central Middle Ages tried to guarantee survival through reciprocal arrangements with others.

Europe was not the only region to experience a feudal period.  As we discuss in a few weeks, Japan endured centuries of feudalism. The earliest Chinese dynasties also exhibited feudal characteristics.  In all societies that experienced a feudal age, the experiences and structures of feudalism had dramatic and long lasting effects on the development of what emerged as "modern" European civilization.

THE FEUDAL ELITE

A Vassal's Duties

First and foremost, a vassal owed his feudal lord his military service. This meant that if the lord's lands or family were threatened, the vassal was expected to fight. The vassal was always on call defensively. In terms of offensive assistance, however, if the feudal lord felt like expanding or stirring up trouble with neighbors, the vassal had only limited obligations to join in an offensive war for his lord. Throughout Europe, there were various customs/feudal laws about how many days of aggressive fighting a vassal had to fulfill; in northern France it was usually only about 40 days out of the year.  After those obligatory days were met, the vassal could legitimately refuse to join in an aggressive/offensive campaign. Or, if the vassal did decide to broaden his commitment and service, he could expect additional "compensation".

A vassal also pledged his loyalty to a feudal lord. This was an extremely important concept since loyalty was all that stood between feudal society and complete chaos.  A whole vocabulary of words dealing with loyalty emerged, emphasizing this ideal; terms like fealty and fidelity come from this feudal obligation.  When a knight joined the private army of a feudal lord and thereby became his vassal, he made two oaths.  The first oath was that of homage whereby the vassal recognized the superior status and power of the feudal lord.  The vassal also made the oath of fealty (loyalty). (see example)   To break one's oath of loyalty was to commit a felony, the most serious civil crime one could commit in this culture.  These oaths were usually made in public, and often in a church to solidify the relationship, so that the oath became a holy oath.

A final obligation many vassals had was to help the feudal lord in running his manor. They carried out the law of the lord, helped to collect taxes, and served on a warrior council for advice (the Germanic term for this council was comitatus; in England it became known as the witan).
 

A Feudal Lord's Duties

In return for these military services, the feudal lord owed certain things to the vassal. Primarily, the lord gave wealth and support to the vassal. This might take the form of money (although in most parts of Europe, local currency did not exist or was unstable.)  It might mean a sharing of whatever treasure or goods were taken in battle. Usually, however, it meant that the feudal lord actually gave a piece of land to the vassal - this was called a fief.  In many cases, ownership of land was the vassal's as long as the vassal fulfilled his responsibilities.  This grant of land or fief was highly valued. (see description)  The fief provided the vassal and his family with land ownership, food and resources from that land, and gave the vassal power over the lower class people who lived in that territory.

The feudal lord was also responsible for protecting the family of any vassal who was killed. The children were protected as wards of the feudal lord until they married (if a daughter) or became a vassal (if a son). Widows, and the property that they controlled, were to be protected by the feudal lords as well.  In essence, the vassal achieved a kind of insurance for his family by entering the service of a feudal lord.

If this sounds like a contract, that is accurate; this reciprocal relationship between the feudal lord and vassal was in fact an informal contract between two parties. It was not held together by a court or written law, but rather by trust, oaths, social pressures, and a strong sense of loyalty. To help sustain this critical, stabilizing relationship, many feudal oaths took place in public with witnesses and in a church.  So the reciprocal obligations were made as holy oaths; breaking these oaths therefore not only had political and civil, but also religious consequences. (see further discussion of obligations)

If both parties fulfilled their obligations, then both benefited. In essence, in a society where there were no formal structures to provide stability, people turned to each other and their reciprocal relations to fulfill these needs. Feudal lords gained protection for their territory, themselves and their families by creating a private army. Knights/vassals gained land, wealth and power as well as stability and insurance by pledging themselves as part of feudal lord's army.

One point to make here, feudal society was at its heart a male-dominated culture. Military strength and warrior virtues were held in the highest regard, rather than intellect or scholarship. Even economic power was subservient to military might. Women, even elite women of the powerful families, had influence only in one area - property ownership and economic management. In some areas of Europe, women under feudal law and tradition could inherit property, giving them a prominent economic role. However, the only way a women could protect that property was to rely on the military protection provided by the warriors, and this was ensured through marriage. Political power still depended on having or controlling those with weapons. In this regard, women did not have real power in the Medieval age.

CHIVALRY

The mutual obligations of the military elite were emphasized and reinforced through the social code of that age.  This set of ideals as to what earned the respect and esteem of society became the code of chivalry.  Chivalry is still a term used in today's society, however recognize it has changed from its initial formulation. During the Central Middle Ages, the code of chivalry was primarily a warrior code and stressed the need to fulfill certain expectations of military behavior. To be respected (and maybe even have ballads sung of your deeds) one had to be - above all - loyal.  Chivalric knights were those who were true to their lords, even dying for them.

Next, one had to be skilled in the arts of the warrior including fighting with sword and dagger, archery, keeping one's seat on a horse, and exemplifying bravery and strength. All these abilities were to be demonstrated in accordance with the code of chivalry. If there was no war in which to display one's military prowess, there were always the tournaments (tourneys) to publicly display one's abilities (or example jousting).  So, to prove chivalric worth - one had to demonstrate military expertise in war and in peaceful times.

Finally, chivalry demanded honourable behavior from the knight or lord.  Recognize, honour initially meant honour towards fellow warriors - both friend and foe. It meant to respect a foe who was a good fighter, to not fight dirty, and to come to the aid of a fellow vassal.  In later centuries, the Catholic Church and noble women stressed the idea of honourable treatment also to be directed towards members of the Church, women and the defenseless. Traditions such as courtly love and poetry later became part of a knight's chivalric duties. However, at its roots, chivalry primarily focused on the way a warrior was to behave on the battlefield - it was the code of the warrior.

There are still echoes of this chivalric code (as least as an ideal) in the modern western world. Probably the most famous images of the chivalric world at its most idealized come from the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Although largely mythical, these stories deeply impacted European, in particular Western European culture and historical memory. They reflect the deep cultural roots of chivalric ideals, and medieval patterns of behavior. (See Camelot page)

We have described the military based elite that created some semblance of military protection and political rule in the feudal age. In the next chapter, we will look at how the rest of society lived in the feudal world.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
Knighthood, Chivalry and Tournaments
Arthurian Studies