![]() The journey to becoming a knights took a long time, almost all of your life as it was atypical to live beyond the age of thirty-eight. If a person owed something to someone who was of higher status, they would give their services and become a vassal. Vassals were people who were subordinate positions to others. Knights were usually the vassals of more powerful lords. Knights were the mounted soldiers of the medieval world, and because armor and horses cost a good deal, they had to have some wealth. It was also the lord's duty to fight for the king, or, more commonly, supply a suitable fighting source. The lord had the power to punish and fine those who broke laws. Because manors were places of shelter and safety, the lord acted as a judge in the manor court to all the peasants and serfs (see Peasantry in Feudal Times) who were tied to the manor. The lord appointed officials to make sure that the villagers did what they were supposed to, such as farming the lord's land and paying rent in crops, meat, and other foods. It was the lord's duty to defend the land and the people (see Peasantry in Feudal Times) on it. There was an unspoken agreement that lords were a tiny bit lower in social class than the king and/or queen. ![]() Lords were essentially at the same level as the monarchs, but they had to listen to the monarch and had an overall respect for them. Although they had lots of power, lords did not rule the land and owned manors instead of living in the castle. Nobles, or lords and ladies were members of the nobility, the highest-ranking class in medieval society. People believed in Charlemagne because the church and Catholicism were central parts of society, and he was named the Holy Roman Emperor for his lending of armies to the pope. For Charlemagne, the blessing of the church sent the message that God was on his side. This impressive leader built his empire with the help of Pope Leo III, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He was known as "William of Normandy" at first, but after conquering England, he was known around the kingdoms as "William the Conqueror" for besting such a powerful kingdom.Ĭharlemagne, or Charles the Great, was actually the leader of the Franks (the country France is derived from the Franks). William the Conqueror brought feudal institutions from Europe in Normandy(present-day France), and was the first to introduce the idea of feudalism. Two of the most important monarchs in feudal times were William of Normandy (William the Conqueror) and Charlemagne(Charles the Great). Medieval monarchs were essentially feudal lords, but people gave them the most respect and they did not have the However, in some places, great lords grew very powerful and governed their fiefs like states in these cases, monarchs were little more than symbolic rulers who had less real power. ![]() In reality, few monarchs had enough wealth to keep their own armies and had to rely on their vassals, especially nobles, to provide enough knights and soldiers. Monarchs, or kings and queens, in feudal times believed in the divine right of kings, the idea that God had given them the right to rule. ![]()
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