The Feudal System is that system by which land (known as a, fief) is held by a vassal on condition of fidelity, that is, in consideration of services to be rendered to his superior or feudal lord. The nature of the feudal system is to be explained by its origin amongst the Germanic tribes.
In the earliest times the relation of superior and vassal did not exist in connection with the ownership of land. Each freeman had his share of the tribe lands, which were held simply on condition of his fulfilling his public duties of attendance at the councils of the mark or township and performing his share of military service in the wars or musters decreed at such councils. The noble had, of course, more land and more influence than the simple freeman, but there need be no tie of vassalage between them. This seems to have been the primitive social organization of the Anglo-Saxons and other German tribes. The lands held by all freemen, whether noble or ordinary freemen, under this system, are said to be allodial, as distinguished from feudal lands, which imply service to a superior lord.
By the close of the 10th century, however, this system had undergone considerable modifications. The masses of Teutonic invaders who overran Gaul and England had necessarily to confer exceptional powers on their leaders; and as they were for long very much in the position of military in an enemy's country, these powers were naturally continued. Thus it was that kings, before unknown to the Anglo-Saxons, make their appearance immediately after their descent upon Britain. It was common for a chief or great man to have a retinue or body-guard composed of valiant youths, who were furnished by the chief with arms and provisions, and who in return devoted themselves to his service. These companions (Anglo-Saxon, Gesithas; German, Gesellen) originally received no pay except their arms, horses, and provisions, and the portion of the spoils which remained after the chieftain had taken his own share. But when conquered lands came to be apportioned and large districts fell into the hands of kings or dukes and their subordinates, they gave certain portions of the territory to their attendants to enjoy for life. These estates were called beneficia or fiefs, because they were only lent to their possessors, to revert after their death to the grantor, who immediately gave them to another of his servants on the same terms.
As the son commonly esteemed it his duty, or was forced by necessity, to devote his arm to the lord in whose service his father had lived, he also received his father's fief; or rather, he was invested with it anew. By the usage of centuries this custom became a right and the fief became hereditary. A fief rendered vacant by the death of the holder was at once taken possession of by his son, on the sole condition of paying homage to the feudal superior. Thus a feudal nobility and a feudal system arose and for a time existed alongside of the old allodial system. But gradually the greater security to be got by putting one's self under the protection of some powerful ruler or leader gave the feudal system the predominance. The free proprietor of landed property, oppressed by powerful neighbours, sought refuge in submitting to some more powerful nobleman, to whom he surrendered his land, receiving it back as a vassal.
Even the inferior nobility found it to be to their advantage to have themselves recognized as feudatories of the nearest duke or earl; and as the royal power steadily advanced, the offices of duke, ealdorman, gerefa, etc., were always bestowed by the king. Thus the crown became the source of all authority and possession in the country. The land which had once been 'folcland,' or the land of the people, became the land of the king, from whom all titles to it were held to be derived. Such at least was the development of feudalism in England, where its centralizing tendencies, especially in the matter of holding land from the crown, were strongly reinforced by the circumstances of the conquest under William The Conqueror. Under him and his immediate successors there was a struggle between royalty and the nobility, which ended in the power of the latter sinking before that of the kings.
On the other hand, in Germany, France, and elsewhere on the Continent, the disintegrating tendencies of feudalism as a system of government had full play. In these countries the weakening of the kingly authority encouraged the great feudal dukes and counts to set up in an almost absolute independence, which in France was afterwards gradually lost as the monarchy grew stronger, but in Germany continued to divide the land down almost to modern times into a number of petty principalities.
Among the chief agencies that overthrew the feudal system were the rise of cities, the change in modes of warfare, and the spread of knowledge and civilization. The spirit of the feudal system, grounded on the prevalence of landed property, was necessarily foreign to cities which owed their origin to industry and personal property, and founded thereon a new sort of power. The growth of this new class, with its wealth and industrial importance, has contributed more than anything else to a social and political development before which the old feudal relations of society have almost totally disappeared. Even yet, however, the laws relating to land still bear the stamp of feudalism in various countries. Research Feudal
Abu-Abdullah Boabdil was the last Moorish king of Granada. He gained the throne in 1481 by expelling his father, Mulei Hassan; and became the vassal of Ferdinand of Aragon. By his tyranny he provoked the hostility of his own subjects, and Ferdinand, taking advantage of the dissensions which prevailed, laid siege to Granada. The Moors made a valiant defence, but Boabdil capitulated, and retired to a domain of the Alpujarras assigned him by the victor. He afterwards passed into Africa, and fell in battle while assisting the King of Fes in an attempt to dethrone the King of Morocco. Research Boabdil
Cassivellaunus was a British King, ruling north of the Thames, who offered a valiant defence to Julius Caesar during his second invasion of 54 BC. However, he was forced to capitulate and promised to pay a yearly tribute to Caesar and provide hostages. Research Cassivellaunus
The Battle of Haarlem occurred during the Netherlands War of Independence, and involved a siege of Haarlem, capital of the province of North Holland, by 30,000 Spanish troops from the 11th of December 1572 until the 12th of July 1573. Although severely outnumbered, the garrison put up a valiant resistance, inflicting a heavy toll on the Spanish who lost some 12,000 casualties. In revenge, the Spanish massacred the entire garrison and hundreds of civilians when the city eventually surrendered. Research Battle of Haarlem
Operation Catapult was an attack on part of the French fleet at Mers-El- Kebir, on the 3rd of July 1940, during the Second World War. A British force including HMS Hood, HMS Resolution, HMS Valiant, HMS Active and the aircraft carrier Ark Royal attacked after the refusal by the French to agree to British conditions. A number of French ships were seriously damaged and over 1100 French were killed. Research Operation Catapult
The Vickers Valiant was a British four-jet medium bomber aircraft first flown in 1951 and in service with the RAF from 1954 until the 1960's. The Vickers Valiant was a shoulder-wing cantilever monoplane with compound sweepback wings powered by four Rolls-RoyceAvon 204 turbojets providing a top speed of 912 kmh and a range of 5550 km. The Vickers Valiant carried a crew of five and was armed with 21000 lbs of bombs. Variants of the Vickers Valiant included reconnaissance and in-flight tankers. Research Vickers Valiant
The Consolidated Vultee Valiant (USAAF designation BT-13 and BT-15) was an American two-seater basic trainer aircraft used by the US Army Air Corps during the Second World War. The BT-13 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of all-metal, flush-riveted metal skin construction powered by a 450 hpPratt and WhitneyWasp Junior or a Wright Whirlwind engine that gave it speeds up to 293 kmh over a range of 1680 km. It had a Hamilton Standard 2-position variable pitch propeller and was equipped with full navigation and night-flying instruments. Research Vultee BT-13
HMS Valiant was a British Fast Division Queen Elizabeth Class dreadnought of 27500 tons displacement launched in 1914. She carried a complement of between 955 and 1016 and was powered by a Parsonsturbine providing 75000 hp and a top speed of 25 knots. Armaments consisted of eight 15 inch guns, twelve 6 inch guns, two 3 inch anti-aircraft guns, four 3 pounder guns, five machine-guns and four submerged 21 inch torpedo tubes. Research Valiant
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Abbreviations
Research Feudal
