Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/625

* FEUDALISM. 569 Feudal Society. The people were divided, ac- cording to contemporary writers, into three classes: those who did the fighting, the nobles; those who did the praying, the clergy ; and those who did the work. The nobles were necessarily warriors. In order to be able to devote themselves to fighting, they were obliged to have an income sullicient for their support, and for equipping themselves and their followers when they went to battle. They were the owners of the estate, which will be described below when the workers are treated of. The rank of a noble depended upon the extent of his possessions. The rulers of prov- inces who could lead immense bands to war were designated as dukes, marquises, or counts. Below these were barons and knights, who held varying amounts of property which enabled some to lead large troops of followers to battle ; others were under the necessity of serving in the following of some more wealthy noble, usually the one from whom they held their fief. Lowest of all were the squires, or attendants upon the knights, who at first had no land, but later acquired large es- tates. They formed the great mass of the nobility in the thirteenth century. The home of the noble was his castle. There he lived as a petty monarch, exercising authority over his vassals and tenants. When he was not engaged in war he devoted him- self to the management of his fief or to hunting. The management involved more than merely looking after the property; for the lord had the executive, judicial, and administrative powers all in his own hands. He had to hold courts, administer justice, and police his fief. Hunting was not merely a pastime, but one of the chief means of supplying food for the table. The noble's wife (chatelaine) had charge of the household, and superintending the work of the maids, who did the spinning and weaving. She had to know something of medicine and nursing, as the care of the wounded and sick devolved upon her. In her husband's absence she was obliged frequently to take his place in defending the castle or administering the fief. In her leisure moments she might embroider tapestries or play chess ; such are the occupations generally de- picted in the chansons: but in reality the lady usually was busy with her household duties or in making clothes. The bunch of keys which she wore at her girdle was the fitting emblem of her duties. The education of the daughter of a noble was devoted wholly to giving her a knowl- edge of the duties which she would be expected to perform. (The education of the son has been discussed under Chivalry). With the acquisition of wealth, after the twelfth century, games, min- strelsy, and tournaments became common. Prod- igality was the prevailing characteristic of the ngc. and soon impoverished most of the nobles. Even in this age, which is glorified by the poets, luxury and lack of comfort went hand in hand. At the gorgeous festivals in the castles many things which we now consider necessaries were wholly lacking. The members of the clergy were originally either nobles or peasants. Their duty was to pray, and to care for the moral welfare of the society. As a rule they were somewhat better educated than the other members of the commu- nity. The bishops and the abbots were great hmd- holders. and had the same responsibilities as the lay nobles, from whose life their own often dif- fered but little. At the other extreme of the FEUDALISM. clerical body were the village priests, who sprung from the people, and shared the lot of the lattei Those who did the work were the pea they were obliged to SUpporf not nienly them- selves, hut also the nobles, by whom i 1 rallj despised as inferiors. Thej lived u u ally in villages, about which stretched the lands which thej i tiltivated. Scum' of the peasants were freemen; other-, serfs. In fact, there were many gradations in social rank according to t he amount of freedom « hich each cla is po • ed I Cere we can notice only the two general classes. The free- men held land from the lord of the fief which couhl not legally be taken from them, for this they paid a fixed rent which could not be in- creased by the lord. The serf-, also had holding of lands which could not be taken from them; but as payment for their lands they owed personal services and a part of their crops to the lord of the fief. He, or his representative, lived in a castle or fortified house a little apart from the village. Near the castle was a tract of land which the lord kept in his own possession, to be worked by the peasants for his profit. The remainder of the land was divided into long, narrow strips held by the peasants, no peasant, however, being allowed to hold a number of adjacent strips. The cultivation of the land was carried on in common by the holders of neighboring strips. The villag- ers were bound closely together by their common work and mutual responsibility, for each village was collectively responsible for the order within its limits. See Manor. Some of the villages grew into towns by the erection of fortresses or because of their favor- able location for trade. The towns were, like the villages, the property of some lord or lords. But the townspeople were usually engaged in manu- facturing or trade, and thus obtained wealth. Consequently, they were able to form effective associations (see Guilds), which bought or usurped the rights which the lords possessed to collect payments from them. Many obtained charters of liberties, and became almost self-gov- erning communities. Individual merchants ac- quired wealth, and vied with the nobles in luxury and ostentation. The members of the 'third es- tate,' as the townspeople came to be called, se- cured representation in the national assemblies, and gradually emerged from their despised con- dition to become the real backbone of the na- tions. Military Organizations. The element of personal relationship, which is the main char- acteristic of the feudal system, affected to a marked degree the organization even of the medi- aeval army. The fighting force under feudal con- ditions was marked by four main characteristics: (1) Its members were a military class ; 12) they fought as cavalry; (3) they were grouped in small irregular units; and (4) they fought al- most without strategy or tactics. The first of these characteristics arose from the fact that all military service was provided as a return made by a vassal for the grant of land. When land was granted by kings and great nobles to vassals on condition of military service, the capacity to fur- nish this service when demanded was requisite, and therefore men with military training and equipment were a necessity. Military service was also doubtless a source of pleasure and a matter of pride, since the fighting class was also the