The feudal System
The feudal System consisted in a centralized state in which every inch of land formally
belonged to the king, who then gave it to his barons who in turn were expected to work it
and defend it. Feudal hierarchy implied that the barons had to follow the king in battle with
a number of their own knights; the knights, who were also landholders, received their land
from the barons and in exchange for it followed them to war or on military expeditions. At
the lowest level of society were the peasants, who worked the land and were bound to
their feudal lord.