The feudal system perpetuated itself as a status quo because the control of land required the ability to perform military service & land was required to fund military service. Holders of an allod still owed some form of allegiance to a superior local lord but the relationship was not based on land ownership and so that allegiance was harder to enforce. A tenant usually handed down their tenancy to their heir although it was sometimes possible to sell the right of tenancy to a third party, provided the lord who owned the land agreed.Īnother type of relationship in feudal societies, especially in medieval Germany and France, involved the allod, an inalienable property, i.e. Protection also came in the form of legal support and representation if a vassal found himself in a civil or church court. The promise of protection was no small matter in times of war, when there were frequent raids from hostile neighbouring states, and when there was a perpetual danger of general banditry. They could exploit them with the full sanction of the law.The arrangement which created a vassal was known as 'homage' as they often knelt before their particular feudal lord and swore an oath of loyalty, for which, in return, they not only received the land but also their lord's protection if and when required.In these cases the nobility literally held their lives.There were no free men as all peasants were economically and legally tied to the nobility.Further east in places like Prussia and Russia there were no free men.Nobles had privileges guaranteed under the law at the expense of those who worked for them.As well as economic shackles, the law courts ensured an unequal society.In France conditions worsened for most commoners and there were fewer actual free men as a percentage of society.They did however, have some economic freedoms such as gleaning and access to common land.Compared to those on the continent, they did have more freedom due to the relative instability of the nobility and kings.In England, the average commoner enjoyed little political freedom.
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