Feudalism:
 Feudalism was established by King William the first. He was also known as King William the
Conqueror.
 The Normans first used this system of power in France, around about 900 AD.
 Feudalism was established in England after the Normans had defeated the English Anglo
Saxons in the Battle of Hastings.
 With the system of Feudalism in place, everyone under this owed allegiance to the King.
 The Pyramid of Power had a specific and closely followed by order.
 When the Feudal system was implicated it affected all areas of medieval society. Some
included: a land-based economy, the judicial system as well as the rights of the feudal lords
and the extreme lack of rights for the villeins (also known as serfs).
 In the Feudal system, all land was owned by the King. The King could do whatever he wished
with the land. One-quarter of the land belonged to the King, some of the land went to the
King and the rest was given to be leased out.
 The highest order of authority in the feudal system was the King, followed by the Barons,
then the Knights and at the bottom of the pyramid of power, there were the villeins.
 The King and the Barons were the wealthiest people in the Pyramid of Power. Followed by
the Knights, who were still considerably rich, but not as rich as the King and/or the Barons.
The Villeins were not very rich as they didn’t have anyone underneath them and they did all
their work for free in exchange for some land. (For example: free labour, food, service,
which was provided for the Knights).
 The Villeins had to ask their Lord for permission to get married and they could not leave the
Manor.
By Lucy Field