Ferdinand, Treaty of.
See Christian Alliance.
Ferm.
In Anglo-Saxon and early feudal times, a rent paid by the shires on public lands and royal domains.
Fermiers Généraux.
Persons, generally royal favourites, who obtained the right of collecting the taxes, by payment of a fixed sum. This system was initiated in France in 1546 by Francis I, who farmed out the Gabelle, and continued until the Revolution.
Feudal System.
A system of land tenure general on the continent of Europe, becoming universal in France in the tenth century, while it was introduced into England at the time of the Norman Conquest. The king as lord paramount was the owner of the whole country, which was held in fief, or vassalage, by the great territorial lords, who owed him homage and service, military or other. They in turn had vassals of lesser degree, bound to them by similar ties, but, subject to the due discharge of such service, perfectly free. By the growth of “subinfeudation” this system became indefinitely extended.
Feuillants.
A club formed in 1791, during the French Revolution, by the monarchical majority of the Jacobin Club, who objected to the principles and language of the minority. Their impolitic action in seceding from the Jacobins rendered the extreme revolutionists masters of the situation, owing to the enormous influence of the name Jacobin throughout France.