"FEUDAL SOCIETY:Structure

and obligations"
-The feudal system produced a society that was based on hierarchical
relationships which were divided into estates. These estates are closed
social groups that are made up of individuals who share a similar
identity in terms of way of life, social function and legal status.
This estate system was maintained until the start of the French
Revolution.

There are two main blocks of estates:

-A privileged estate: formed by the nobility and the clergy, and did not
pay taxes and did not do manual labor.
They have different social function: the nobility went to war and
defended the population, while the clergy belonged to the Church and
prayed for people’s souls.
- A non-privileged estate: was made up of peasants and the bourgeoisie.
They were in charge of all manual labor.

The feudal system was not just a social system, an economic system
that was based on the possession of efs and was supported by the
social structure.

The economy system characters:

- Rural: means that is was based on control, they use the land for
agriculture and livestock farming.
- Self-sufficient: means that people lived with what they produced, the
consequence of this was that trade was not common among peasant.

-The fief was the land that the king gave to the vassals, or that the
vassals gave to their vassals of lower rank. The peasants had to pay
taxes to the lord in exchange for use of the land and protection. The
beneficiary of the fief became the lord of the territory, and the charge he

fi

 had was known as lordship, with this title the lord could act as a judge of
the people who live and worked in the fief.

A medieval fief:

-Castle( or feudal residence ): peasants cleaned and repaired the

moats.
-Woods: only lord can hunt there.
-Copyholds: the land that the lord granted to the peasants for their own
uses, they were requieres to pay some type of rent in return.
-Mill: the peasants had to pay to uses, and belong to the lord.
-Desmesne: lands that the lord reserved only for herself, the peasants
worked in this land without being paid.