Hierarchy and Feudalism
A hierarchy is a very organized process where people are ranked one above another. The medieval hierarchy is called the feudal system. This consists of the political, military, and social system of the medieval era. There were ranks of power in the feudal system. At the top of the of the social pyramid was the king (and/or royal family). The king held power over the lords which owned the land in the kingdom. Next in ranking were lords. Lords often owned large plots of land. This allowed for them to pass down larger pieces of land to the next people with power. These people were called vassals. They rented fiefs, or plots of land, from lords and payed by swearing fidelity to their lords. By doing this, the vassal promised to do the lord homage and to preserve his honor. If a vassal acquired enough land, he could rent it out to other vassal. Because of this process, many landowners were both lords and vassals. The lowest rank of the medieval society were the peasants. They were the foundation of the feudal system because they farmed the land which provided food for the upper classes. The medieval hierarchy was originally formed to overcome problems through organizing its members in an age when communications were difficult. Kings found a way to use feudalism to their advantage. They tried to restrain its excesses of feudalism by invoking greater principles, which eventually led to the concept of national monarchy. Most of the land passed down was in a 12 mile radius of the castle. This allowed for work to be accomplished without leaving the castle grounds. The organized system of feudalism and hierarchies greatly benefited the people of the middle ages.
In the feudal society, kings held the most power and all land was passed down and held by him. Serfs and freemen owed service to a local lord or knight, then this knight or lord then owes service to a baron or vassal, from the baron onto a greater lord, and the greater lord then owes to a king. In return the king passed land down in reward to a lord, and the lord passed a piece of that
land to a vassal, the vassal passed a piece of his land down to a knight, and the knight then passed a piece of his land to the peasants or serfs the lowest group in the feudal society.
The land passed down through the feudal society granted the owner, power over his land and people. Once the land is passed down the owner is granted the possession of lands which he,his sons, and their men have cleared. Once this land is occupied the king cannot override the charter of land given. This is because the owner was given a charter by the king that was also approved by a judge. This aspect of the feudal system was strong.