During this time, all the land belonged to the king, but he would give some to the lords and nobles (the rich people) and in return they would fight for him and protect his land. These gifts were called manors. The nobles would give pieces of their land to the 'vassals' and they had to do certain duties or jobs for the nobles. This piece of land that the vassals lived on were called fiefs.
When talking about places other than Europe, the idea of feudalism is normally only used by analogy (called semi-feudal), most often in discussions of Japan under the shoguns, and, sometimes, medieval and Gondarine Ethiopia. Some people have seen situations like feudalism in places as far away as Ancient Egypt, Parthian empire, India, to the American South of the nineteenth century.
The taxes were not always paid with money. Most of the time they were paid with products or services. Even though the vassals were not rich, they had to give presents and taxes to the lords on who's land they lived.
When the vassals harvested their crops, they had to give a share of it to the lord. Because they used noble's graineries to grind the grain, they had to pay for it with a part of the grain.
When they killed any type of animals for themselves for food, they had to give part of it to the lord. The lord promised in return to keep them safe.
The Manors were owned by the nobles and they would pass it on to their first born. Around the manor there wer pastures, mills, a church and a village There were a lot of people living there and all the servants had to work for the noble. They were not payed any money.
The villein was in a poorer class. He had to serve the lords, but free in other things. He had work to do for the lord or the town. Then he went back to his little house with floors made of earth and a thatched roof. On the walls of his house, the villein hung meats, tools, and dried vegetables.
A villein were more free than a slave but the lord still had a lot of say over him. He could not just move or get married without the lord saying so. If he could run away to another town and was not discovered, he would be a free man. He could join the church and work for them or some did not work and became outlaws.
The serf was in the lowest class. He was like a slave and when the land was sold, he would be sold with the land.
But villeins and serfs had rights. They could grow grain and vegetables and sell it and they had the right to be protected by the lord. If they got enough money saved up, they could buy themselves free. They did not have to pay any other taxes than 10% to the church and 10% to their lord.
Watch the video for more information.
