Feud was the name of a large territorial property that had its economic, political, social and cultural organization based on feudalism, a common system during the Middle Ages in Europe.
Also called medieval fief, this space was used for production and a self-sustainable source of income. Territorial property was granted to individuals by a powerful lord (member of the high nobility) in exchange for allegiance and military aid.
This was a practice developed in the late Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) after the end of the Roman Empire and formed the basis for the establishment of a landed aristocracy.
The word originates from the Germanic term vieh and means "cattle", "possession", or "property".
Overlord and Vassal
In this system, whoever granted a piece of land to the individual was known as lord, while the recipient was called vassal. The latter, in turn, could still grant parts of their land to other individuals. In this way, the vassal could also become overlord.
It was from this social relationship of land concession that feudalism was born, a political and social organization that was based on the relationship between overlords (feudal lords and landowners) and vassals.
The lord of the manor possessed, in addition to land, the right to levy taxes and fees from his territory. In addition, peasants also had to pay 10% of their salary as Church tithe.
The overlords and the vassals were linked with several obligations: the vassal owed military service to his overlord, and the latter to protection to his vassal.
Learn more about the meaning of Vassal.
Characteristics of a Medieval Manor
The social organization that governed medieval feuds had the following main characteristics:
- Presence of three social classes: nobility (feudal lord); clergy (Church); and servants (peasants);
- Economy based on self-sustainable agriculture;
- Weak trade;
- Vassals were supposed to pay taxes to feudal lords;
- It was created from the fusion of typical traditions of Germanic and Roman peoples;
- Wars for territorial enlargement were common;
- Catholic Church had great power and influence within the fiefs;
- Social mobility did not exist;
- Feudal lords wielded maximum economic, legal and political power.
Learn more about Feudalism and the characteristics of feudalism.
the division of the manor
The manor consisted of three spaces:
- Manso Manso: that they were the lands of the feudal lord's domain like the mill and the castle;
- Manso Servil / Peasant villages: that it was the subsistence production area of the peasants (servants);
- Communal Lands or Manses: the place where serfs could gather wood, make pastures, and where the rivers were (common areas).
How did feudal society work?
There were three main social classes in feudal society: the nobility (lord of the manor), the clergy (people linked to the Church) and the serfs (peasants, warriors, etc).
There was no room for social mobility in feudalism, that is, whoever was born a peasant could not ascend to the nobility. Serfs spent their entire lives being vassals and belonging to their respective birthplaces.
Serfdom was a milder model of slavery, as, unlike slaves, serfs could not be traded. However, these were not at liberty to leave the manor where they were born.
There were also the so-called "villains", peasants with the freedom to leave the manors. These servants had some rights that others did not.
Peasants (vassals) who worked for the overlords on feudal estates were required to pay some taxes so that they could live there. The main ones were:
- Dead hand: a fee that the peasants' family had to pay so that they could continue to live in the manor after the patriarch's death.
- Size: serf had to give part of his production to the feudal lord, the owner of the land.
- Banality: payment for the use of feudal property equipment (mills, ovens, etc.).
- Hospitality: shelter and feed the feudal lord and his relatives/visitors, if necessary.
- Corvee: serfs had to work for free a few days a week to ensure the manor's upkeep.
- Capitation: tax paid by each member of a family.
- Justice tax: servants and villains must pay a fee to have the right to stand trial in the court of the nobility.
- Formation: a fee that every servant had to pay when some nobleman of the manor decided to marry. The contribution was to help with the wedding.
- Census: a value that only the villains (free serfs) were obliged to pay the feudal lords to remain in that manor.
Find out more about the meaning of dead hand.
Life in the manors was very basic and in precarious conditions. Even nobles lived in unhealthy environments. The servants lived in very rustic houses with an extremely poor quality of life in most cases.
Committee and Settlement
The feudal system was created based on the traditions of the Germanic and Roman peoples, each of which differs in the way the feud is organized.
O cominatus (Germanic) was based on the strong bond of allegiance between the landlords, who united to ensure security and general honor.
already the settlement it was based on the concept of "exchanging favors". The suzerain guaranteed the protection and work of the vassals, while the latter returned part of their productions to the feudal lord.
It was common for most medieval manors to have features of both traditions.
Who was the feudal lord?
The feudal lord was a member of the nobility and could receive his properties in three ways:
- gift from the king or other great feudal lord, mainly as a way to compensate for some work done by this particular nobleman;
- marriages, that is, feudal lords intermarried to ensure that the property never left the family nucleus to which they belong;
- wars between feudal lords, with the ambition to conquer the territorial properties of others.
Fall of the feudal system
The decline of feudalism began with the end of the Middle Ages (between the 14th and 15th centuries). During this period there was an increase in the commerce system and the expansion of cities.
Among the main reasons for the fall of the feudal system, the following stand out:
- Population growth;
- Need to increase production and create revolutionary agricultural techniques;
- Constant flight of serfs due to the abuses of feudal lords, these provoked by the desire to enrich themselves with the commercialization of products produced on the property;
- Increased peasant revolts and abandonment of fiefs;
- Feudal system evolved into capitalist system.
See also the meaning of Capitalism.