987- 996 CE - When the power and authority of the Frankish kings diminished in the West, the nobles chose Hugh Capet, count of Orl'eans and Paris to become king. The political intent of their choice is revealed in the fact that Capet was a minor land owner whose primary control …

936- 973 CE - Otto I was one of the best known kings of the Saxons in Germany. Otto I defeated the Magyars at Lechfeld in 955 CE , and encouraged conversion of Slavic and Scandinavian peoples to Christianity. Otto I incorporated the power of the church more heavily into his kingdom …

Subinfeudation is the term for the hierarchical structure that existed between Lords and their Vassals in the middle ages. At the top of the structure there were kings. The kings in turn had Vassals who were powerful Lords or Barons. These powerful Lords were also major land owners, who in …

A benefice was a grant of land provided by land owners in exchange for maintenance of their large land estates, or military service. The benefice was an integral part of feudalism as this was often the principal bond between the Lord and it's Vassals.

The Vassals were the servants of a specific Lord in a Fief. Their servitude is known as vassalage and consisted of total subservience based on either military service or tax payment.

Feudalism is the term ascribed to the system of organization of land into 'Fiefs' controlled by a lord, and tended by the lords servants or Vassals. Feudalism was not a formal system of government, it is a descriptive term used by historians to explain the top-down hierarchical system of land …