Under feudalism in England, society was strictly hierarchical. The king was at the top and granted land (fiefs) to lords in exchange for their loyalty and military service. Serfs farmed small plots of land belonging to the lords and gave a portion of their crops in return. Feudalism established obligations of loyalty from everyone to the king and was reinforced by a code of chivalry that knights pledged to follow. It was weakened over time by events like the Magna Carta and the Black Death.

1. Mackenzie Guercio

2.  Under the system of feudalism, English
society was divided into a clear hierarchy- a
social and economic ranking-with the king at
the top
 Under the kings were the lords to whom the
king gave parcels of land, called fiefs, in
return for their loyalty
 At the bottom were the serfs, who farmed
small plots of land belonging to their lords
and gave a portion of their crops to their
lords

3.  It was based on land exchange for military
services
 It was used by king William to reward his
Norman supporters for their help in the
conquest of England
 It demanded that everyone owed allegiance to
the king

4.  Feudalism’s hierarchy was also reinforced by
a code of conduct known as chivalry
- a knight pledged to be loyal to his lord
at any cost
- to honor women
- to protect the weak
- to right injustices
- to defend the Christian faith

5.  Under the feudal system, the king also
appointed bishops, and gave land to them
 Frequent clashes occurred
- over government control over the
church
- over church control over nonreligious
matters

6.  Feudalism was weakened by the signing of
the Magna Carta, which was a document that
made the king under the law and to protect
the rights of free citizens
 Itwas also weakened by the black death,
which killed off about one-third of England’s
people
- lower class citizens were able to make
money and take higher positions in
society

7.  Warfare had caused feudalism
 The Carolingian empire was ruled by one
man who didn’t have well developed
institutions to carry out his will, which
threatened europe anarchy when the empire
was disappearing
 As a result, kings and emperors adopted
feudalism to strengthen their monarchies
when it proved to its worth on a local basis

8.  www.middle-ages.org.uk/feudalism.htm
 www.blackstudies.ucsb.edu/antillians/feudal
ism.html
 Glenco Literature British Literature TextBook