Vassals and their lords were in a system of mutual support.
The vassals owed military support, oaths of loyalty, and oats of obedience.
The lords provided guarantees of land, a place to live, and military protection.
Serfs
serfs
Feudal obligations refer to the duties and responsibilities that a vassal owed to their lord in exchange for land and protection. These obligations often included providing military service, paying taxes, and offering loyalty and support to the lord in times of need. Feudalism was a system that dominated medieval Europe, where these hierarchical relationships between lords and vassals formed the basis of society.
Feudalism arose in medieval Europe as a response to the need for protection and stability following the fall of the Roman Empire and the subsequent invasions by various groups. It was characterized by a hierarchical system where land was exchanged for military service; lords granted land (fiefs) to vassals in return for loyalty and military support. Peasants or serfs worked the land and provided goods, while vassals owed allegiance to their lords, creating a network of obligations and protections that formed the backbone of medieval society. This system helped maintain order during a time of political fragmentation and insecurity.
Before 1066, England was organized as a feudal society with a hierarchical structure. The king held the ultimate power and granted land to lords in exchange for loyalty and military service. These lords then sublet the land to knights, who served as their vassals. The majority of the population were peasants who worked the land and owed various obligations to their lords. This feudal system provided a framework for governance, defense, and the collection of taxes.
Medieval lords were the nobles in charge of lands and castles. They owed allegiance to the kings.
Feudal society was held together by mutual obligations, sometimes based on custom, and sometimes based on vows. The serfs and their lords had obligations to one another, which were inherited. The serfs owed their lords labor and had a duty to stay on the land; in exchange, the lords had to provide the serfs with land to work, places to live, and protection. The lords and their overlords or monarchs had obligations to one another, based on feudal vows. The lords gave the their superiors oaths of loyalty and gave support of whatever nature was required, usually military; the monarchs and higher lords gave the lords manors to live on and from which they could get their incomes. All of these people gave support to the Church, which responded with support of its own, both spiritual and temporal.
Under the system of feudalism, a fief belonged to the category of land held by a vassal in exchange for military service and loyalty to a lord. The fief typically included not just land but also the rights to the resources and the labor of the peasants living on it. This arrangement created a hierarchical structure where lords granted fiefs to vassals, who in turn owed allegiance and protection to their lords.
Power. The feudal systems involved aristocratic landlords giving landed estates (feuds) to lesser aristocrats and knights in exchange for political and military support. These people were called vassals and owed loyalty their feudataries. Since there were not centralised armies, soldiers were raised by the aristocrats and giving land to vassals ensured that military services would be provided to them by the vassals.
because the treaties could have been broken
Money owed by a business is called liabilities. This includes debts and obligations that the company must pay to creditors, such as loans, accounts payable, and other financial commitments. Liabilities are recorded on the balance sheet and represent the company's financial responsibilities. Managing these obligations is crucial for maintaining financial health and stability.
A liege was someone who owed a duty of service to a lord in feudal times (middle ages) although it could also mean the lord himself. A liege lord was the lord to whom you owed the service.