Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/469

Rh he had to give the lord the benefit of his advice when required, and attend him upon solemn occasions.

Under certain circumstances vassals had to make money payments to their lord; as, for instance, when the lord was put to extra expense by the necessity of knighting his eldest son or providing a dowry for his daughter, or when he was captured by an enemy and was held for ransom. Lastly, the vassal might have to entertain his lord should he be passing his castle. There are amusingly detailed accounts in some of the feudal contracts of exactly how often the lord might come, how many followers he might bring, and what he should have to eat.

There were fiefs of all kinds and of all grades of importance, from that of a duke or count, who held directly of the king and exercised the powers of a practically independent prince, down to the holding of the simple knight, whose bit of land, cultivated by peasants or serfs, was barely sufficient to enable him to support himself and provide the horse upon which he rode to perform his military service for his lord.

It is essential to observe that the fief was not granted for certain number of years, or simply for the life of the grantee, to go back at his death to the owner. On the contrary, it became