The Beginnings of the Feudal Age143has been given sanction in law. In practice, the idea
probably dates back to the oaths taken by members of a
Germanic conitatusor war band (see document 8.2). The
great men of Visigothic Spain and Merovingian Gaul
had maintained bodies of armed companions who were
pledged to them by oath. Some of them were free, but
others were vassiwho had entered into contractual rela-
tionships of dependency. Under the early Carolingians,
the term began to lose its humble connotations.
Charles Martel and his successors sometimes granted
land to their retainers, who often became great lords in
their own right. Charlemagne tried to make such
arrangements legally binding, but the legal union of
vassalage and benefice was achieved only in the reign
of his son, Louis the Pious. By this time, the term vassal
had lost all taint of servility.
In the dark years after Louis’s death, feudalism
spread throughout the Frankish kingdoms. Vassal
homage was extended not only to household compan-
ions but also to regional magnates whose military assis-
tance was valued. Bishops and abbots, though they
were not supposed to shed blood, became vassals as
well because for most purposes little difference existed
between secular and ecclesiastical lordships. Monaster-
ies and episcopal sees had long been endowed with
“temporalities” or grants of land that in difficult times
required the protection of armed men. A prominent
churchman might therefore command a substantial
force. In some cases, including most of those that in-
volved the church, land was surrendered to the liege in
return for his protection and then returned to the vassal
after the oath of fealty had been taken. In most cases,
the vassal received a new estate ranging in size from a
few acres to an entire county, which might or might
not contain a castle. The vassal was expected to make
some provision for the security of his fief. When a fief
was very large, this could be done only through subin-
feudation. The vassal would recruit his own contingent
of fighting men by offering them portions of his fief in
return for their oaths of fealty. In this way the number
of feudal jurisdictions increased rapidly within a few
short years.
This decentralization of military force worked as
well as could be expected. Its chief virtue was flexibility.
Units of heavy cavalry based upon fortified strongholds
were usually able to break up minor raids or at least to
impose unacceptable casualties on the raiders. The
building of castles, many of which were little more than
halls surrounded by wooden palisades, was often a de-
terrent. Greater threats could be met by a general levy,
which gathered the war bands of many vassals into a
great host. Such an army, organized by Otto the Great
(912–973), met and defeated the Magyars at the battle
of the Lechfeld in 955.
Otto’s victory ended the last major incursion from
the east. His reign as king of the East Franks—he was
crowned Holy Roman emperor in 962—marked the
turning of the tide. The Muslims were driven from
Freinet in 972, and the number of Viking raids began to
decline even in the west. They ceased entirely after
about 1030.
How much of this resulted from the new military
organization and how much from other factors is hard
to determine. The Magyars were clearly discouraged by
Otto the Great, but they had already begun to turn
away from raiding as they discovered the rich agricul-
tural possibilities of the Hungarian plain. After 950 theDOCUMENT 8.2
The Act of Homage
Galbert of Bruges described this act of homage in 1127. The
form is thought to have changed little since the beginning of
the feudal age.On Thursday, the seventh of the ides of April
[April 7, 1127], acts of homage were again made
before the count, which were brought to a conclu-
sion through this method of giving faith and assur-
ance. First, they performed the homage in this
fashion: the count inquired if [the prospective vas-
sal] wished completely to become his man. He
replied, “I do wish it,” and with his hands joined
and covered by the hands of the count, the two
were united by a kiss. Second, he who had done
the homage gave faith to the representative of the
count in these words: “I promise in my faith that I
shall henceforth be faithful to count William, and I
shall fully observe the homage owed him against
all men, in good faith and without deceit.” Third,
he took an oath on the relics of the saints. Then
the count, with the rod which he had in his hand,
gave investiture to all those who by this promise
had given assurance and due homage to the count,
and had taken the oath.
Galbert of Bruges. “Histoire du meurtre de Charles Bon comte
de Flandre,” trans. David Herlihy. In David Herlihy, ed., The
History of Feudalism,p. 98. New York: Walker, 1970.