The classic definition, by FranГ§ois Louis Ganshof (1944), describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations which existed among the warrior nobility and revolved around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships that were derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.ДЄlthough it is derived from the Latin word feodum or feudum (fief), which was used during the Medieval period, the term feudalism and the system which it describes were not conceived of as a formal political system by the people who lived during the Middle Ages. A medieval castle is a traditional symbol of a feudal society.ДЇeudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, and cultural customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. They used to get certain piece of land from lords in return of which these served them, or they were offered a little of produced food material.Orava Castle in Slovakia. These were the people who actually farmed the lands and were responsible for growing crops &providing food to everyone. These were the least rich people and held least set of privileges. These were the lowest level of people in the entire kingdom. They also used to sublet their land to the peasants for rent or for farmed products. They were required to serve as soldiers for the kingвЂ™s army. The lords or the knights were the people who used to get the subletted lands called fiefs or manors from barrens. Taxes were also collected by bishops, which made them extremely rich. But they were related with the administration of Medieval Church, priests, monasteries and convents. The bishops were almost equal to the barrens as far as the power & privileges were concerned. They were responsible for adequate supply of soldiers and fighters for the war. The category of people that immediately followed King in the hierarchy was of noblemen of the king вЂ“ Barrens and Bishops.Д«arrens were the wealthiest & powerful noblemen who received lands called as fiefs directly from the king. Hence, the kings preferred to sublet their lands to the barrens & bishops in return of which they used to provide knights (soldiers) to the king at the time of the war. Kings at that time were more concerned with wars, and with enhancing their kingdoms. King was the highest authority in the medieval feudal hierarchy and all the land in the kingdom belonged to him which can be used by him as per his own wish. In this way land used to get sublet at each level of people and this resulted inactual hierarchical structure where the last person to get the sublet land was the lowest category in the hierarchy.ДЇollowing are the levels of the feudal hierarchy: King

The land again got sublet to the next class of people. The people in this category again used to sublet certain part of their land in order to get required services & soldiers during the war. The lands were distributed hierarchically where king assigned lands to his barrens and bishops who belonged to the noblemen category in the feudal hierarchy. This whole structure revolved around lands and often land was given in exchange of labor or service. After King, there existed certain classes in the structure with decreasing privileges, rights and nobility. Medieval feudal hierarchy or the feudal system was organized in the form an inverted tree structure or what we call as a hierarchical structure where King was on the top of the hierarchy. The feudal system structured the society into various categories and followed a set of military & legal customs. Feudalism was a form of political dominancy that existed in Europe in medieval period ranging from 9 th century to 15 th century.

Feudalism in the middle ages in europe