Feudalism, Knights, and Chivalry

Feudalism Introduction
In Europe during middle ages aprox. 486-1450 C.E there was a social and economic system called feudalism. Feudalism is the promise to grant protection in exchange for goods and services. Feudalism formed a sort of a European caste system in which the amount of land you owned decreed what your social ranking was in the society at which you resided. At the bottom of the system was the Peasants and the Serfs. The next rank up is the Knights and Vassals. The next rank is The Nobles. At the top of the system you have your king and queen.

At the base of the feusal system you have your peasants and serfs. There is a big difference between a peasants and serfs that is often overlooked. This difference is that peasants can leave the kingdom whenever they pleased, without having to return. Serfs were permanent slaves, they could not leave. The peasants and serfs were the common laborers of the land. Peasents were either laborers or owners of small farms. These people were protected by the knights and vassals employed under the nobles in the society.

Knights and Vassals
At one step above the peasants, there was the knights and vassals. A knight was the standard military unit for the king in case of attack or for going to war. Training to become a knight started at the age of 7 and the child usually came from a noble family. Until the age of 15 the apprentice was called a page and his training was the normal household chores and very little combat training. At the age of 15 he changed from a page to a squire. As a squire, the trainee began to learn more about how to be a knight and the fundamentle combat and arms training. Finally, at the age of 19 he will be ready to be called a knight. The knight, when not fighting a war or defending the kingdom from siege, protected all who resided in the land controlled by the ruling king. Not only did this keep the community safe, but it was an incentive for the peasants to stay, instead of leaving when they will little protection.

A vassal is similar to the knight but has one key difference. A vassal is some one who the lord (king or noble) gives a a piece of land, called a fief,to in exchange for protection and loyalty to the king. Anyone could who lived in their land could receive a vassal from the owner of that land.

Chivalry
All knights follow a code of Chivalry. The code of chivalry is a complex set of idelas. It demanded that knights fight bravely in defense of three masters. These masters are as follows: The earthly feudal lord(The king or noble of the land);The heavenly lord(God and/or Jesus Christ); and their chosen lady. Now the chosen lady is important in another aspect of society in which women are regarded as more important figures than given credit for in the past.chivalry was a great war