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Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.
Feudalism in the 12th century Norman England was among the better structured and established in Europe at the time. However, it could be structurally complex, which is illustrated by the example of the feudal barony of Stafford as described in a survey of knight's fees made in 1166 and recorded in The Black Book of the Exchequer.
Feudal fragmentation [1] is a process whereby a feudal state is split into smaller regional state structures, each characterized by significant autonomy, if not outright independence, and ruled by a high-ranking noble such as a prince or a duke.
Feudalism as practiced in the Kingdoms of England during the medieval period was a state of human society that organized political and military leadership and force around a stratified formal structure based on land tenure.
The Normans introduced feudalism, which created stronger and multi-generational ties between lords and vassals and became the basis of English land law. William the Conqueror claimed ownership of all land in England, [ note 1 ] making all Englishmen directly or indirectly tenants of the Crown.
The government of the Kingdom of England in the Middle Ages was a monarchy based on the principles of feudalism. The king possessed ultimate executive, legislative, and judicial power. However, some limits to the king's authority had been imposed by the 13th century.
The legal concept of land tenure in the Middle Ages has become known as the feudal system that has been widely used throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia Minor.The lords who received land directly from the Crown, or another landowner, in exchange for certain rights and obligations were called tenants-in-chief.
Under feudalism, those who were weakest needed the protection of the knights who owned the weapons and knew how to fight. Feudal society was increasingly based on the concept of "lordship" (French seigneur ), which was one of the distinguishing features of the Early Middle Ages and had evolved from times of Late Antiquity .