Feudalism.
The feudal system grew up from the conditions of society of the time, which caused the people to organize themselves about earlier institutions whose remains still existed among them. In Rome there had grown up a system where the great man had clients attached to him, who consulted him, who helped him and in turn were helped and directed by him. This system must have somewhat been taken up by the conquerors and carried through the years in a modified form, so that when there was no longer a strong central power able to care for the people as a whole, it was natural for them to turn to the strong men about them and to attach themselves to the ones who could bestow upon them land to hold in tenure and likewise who was strong enough to protect them in the use of this land or of their own land. The constituent elements of feudalism were those referring to land and its tenure and to the relations which existed between the protector and the one protected, or, vassalage, beneficies, and immunities.
The term vassal was originally applied to servants not free, but it gradually grew to mean a free man and a vassal was of the same condition as his lord, so that the term held an honorable meaning. The relation of the vassal to the lord was that of homage and fealty. There were two parts to the ceremony of vassalage. In the first ceremony, the man kneeled before the lord, laid his hands in those of the lord, and promised homage to him, upon which the lord lifted him up and gave him the kiss of peace. In the second ceremony, an oath of fealty to the lord was taken upon the Gospels or upon some relic or relics of saints. At the time of this ceremony the lord performed the ceremony of investiture, when he handed to the vassal some material object to symbolize that the man was invested with a fief. The vassal owed to his lord military, civil, and financial duties. He had to give military service for a certain length of time each year, usually forty days, at his own expense, which, if continued, was at the expense of the lord. The vassal was bound to attend the court of his lord and to aid him in administering justice. In cases where the lord was taken prisoner in war and a ransom was demanded or his son was knighted or his eldest daughter married, or if he went to the Crusades, the vassal was to give financial aid. The lord owed the obligation to his vassal to support him in his fief and to defend him against every enemy.
On the death of the lord the inheritance passed to his children. At first only male heirs could inherit lands, but later the daughter shared with the son all the privileges of succession except that of primogeniture.
The benefices were bestowed by the lord upon the vassal, the land to be held by tenure, and thus the vassal was placed under obligation to the lord. There were some lands that were held freely and not by tenure, such being known as allodial lands, but these freeholds decreased until finally they wholly disappeared and all the land was held by tenure.
The immunities were grants of privileges to churches or to private individuals. These included the exemption from certain dues or certain obligations.
In his domain the lord was a kind of sovereign. He administered justice, levied taxes, coined money, and declared war for himself and for his own benefit. The revenues of the lord were of various kinds. He received a certain part of the crops from his vassals and he received the judicial fees and other fees of various kinds. Property left after death where there were no heirs went to him.