Though serfs were bound to the land, their lords didn’t own them, which means there was no slavery. They couldn’t leave the place where they were born. In Europe in the Middle Ages, most people were peasants. Men and women of the Church, who prayed.In the Middle Ages, people were divided into three groups: People with higher social class usually inherited their positions. In the past, people’s status determined how much power they had. They had to work in the fields and take care of the land. There was a group of people at the bottom of the pyramid. Knights rode horses and pledged to defend their lords’ land in exchange for fiefs. They were wealthy landowners such as nobles and bishops.Īt the top of society were knights. At the very top sits the king with a lot of power. The structure of feudal society was like a pyramid. In feudalism, people who owned land controlled who they gave it to and the riches the land gave back. People who got the land were called vassals. In exchange for protection and other services, a lord gave land to people. In feudal Japan, the system began in A.D. People in Europe thus started using this system of government called feudalism. Later on, rulers and warriors, just like Charles and Rollo had done, also made these agreements throughout Europe. The Viking leader swore loyalty to Charles in return. He was a king, but he had little money and power.Ĭharles, the king in France, gave a lot of land in France to the Viking leader. Rollo and his men took things from the rich Seine River valley for some time.

He faced the King of France, who gave him some lands in return for protection and taxes. In 911, Rollo was the head of a Viking army.

The people’s payment to the lord usually came by doing military service or regularly giving them produce or money.

A landowner gave vassals a piece of land in return for a promise from the person who received it.

The word “feudal” refers to the economic, political, and social system that characterized medieval Europe from about 1000 to 1300.

The end of feudalism in the middle ages