Feudalism was the political and militarysystem of the Middle Ages.

In the feudal system, the king was weak. He needed soldiers. He exchanged land for soldiers.

To increase the size of his army, hegave land to lords. In turn, the lordsprovided the king with soldiers.

Of course, lords could now give someof their land to lesser lords to increasethe size of their armies.

In feudalism, land was power!

Without a strong central government,local leaders made decisions. Lordswere very powerful.

Oh, and don’t forget the poor serf.In dangerous times, he neededprotection. He agreed to give up hisfreedom, to never leave his lord’s land,and work for the lord in exchange forprotection.

Yes, land and soldiers are key characteristics of a feudal system. In These dangerous times, people live on the lord’s land.

A fief is all of the lord’s land and the manor is part of a fief. A manor is the land where the people lived and worked.

A manor is self-sufficient. It producesall that the people need. In dangeroustimes, people are afraid to travel andtrade.

While feudalism offered people protection in dangerous times, it alsorestricted people. The feudal system was a fixed class system.

Birth determined social class. A personwas born a serf or a lord. Social mobility did not exist.