After the Norman Conquest, when William I brought the knight system, the feudal system already established in the European continent was also introduced to Britain. Before 1066, the Duchy of Normandy had established a complete feudal system. "Duke William, as the supreme lord, divided the entire land of Normandy into about 1,200 knight fiefs and distributed them to vassals large and small."
The formation of the British fiefdom system and feudal dependency helped Britain to finally complete the feudal system. The knights had ownership of the land in a true sense and began to develop the economy and military of their own manors. At the same time, the feudal system was improved, and the roles played by knights in the economy, justice, administration, and other aspects promoted the development of British society.
The relationship between the knight system and the feudal system is inseparable, and there are many common factors between them. It can be said that the chivalry system was formed on the basis of the feudal system. Regarding when the British feudal system was formed, in the history of Britain co-authored by Clanton Roberts, David Roberts, and Bisson, it is considered that: "In the past, the granting of land by the king was regarded as a reward for past service. Pension". At this time, the king granted land on the condition of future service; the benefice became a fiefdom, and from the combination of feudalism and vassalism, the feudal system arose."
Later, it clearly stated that "William the Conqueror brought feudalism to England, thus changing British society" and interpreted the phenomenon as similar to feudalism in Anglo-Saxon England as "the system tending to feudalism did exist in Anglo-Saxon. —Saxon England existed.” The Anglo-Saxon military aristocrats, such as Thane, were both fighters for the king and masters of the peasantry.
However, compared with the knights, their methods of fighting and land occupation did not meet the requirements of the feudal system. However, with the establishment of the British knight system, the knights are good at fighting on horseback, their tactics are superb, and their weapons and equipment are more perfect than those of Thain. They can be regarded as higher-level war experts. Therefore, it can also be explained that the British feudal social system reached its highest level only after the Norman Conquest.
The emergence of the knight system had a greatest impact on the British feudal system than the formation of the "royal power that promoted the unity of the kingdom". After the British knight system came into being, it also formed a powerful feudal kingship. Created the conditions for William to truly master the British land for enfeoffment. In the process of enfeoffing the land, William also clarified his feudal obligations. William drew up the very elaborate terms of service he required: a specific number of knights who served a defined number of days. Maintain your dominion by building castles.
Likewise, a baron exercised the jurisdiction of his fiefdom through a feudal court attended by his vassals. In the courts, the lords used their status to exercise judicial power in civil claims, especially lawsuits involving land, and gradually gained control of the county courts. In fact, by 1272 more than half of England's 628 county courts were in private hands. In addition to the local courts, the Normans also added a royal court to the original institutions of the Anglo-Saxon era. The royal court is a feudal court, and the king's immediate vassals are obliged to attend the meeting.
On certain solemn occasions, William would summon his vassals to discuss state affairs. This was called a "big council", but the actual work of administration was handled by the small council. This small council was roughly composed of royal officials, administrators of the lesser barons, and some bishops and great nobles. The Small Council manipulated state policy, managed state finances, supervised localities, and tried all but the most important cases.
By the time of the Anjou dynasty, the cost of being a knight deepened. For example: If a certain lord dies, his territory will be divided equally among the sons, which will lead to weak power and will not be able to fulfill the obligations required by the feudal lord. In order to prevent this kind of situation from happening, "Since the Norman Conquest, the system of eldest son inheritance of land rights has gradually become the law." The primogeniture system is convenient for the lords to implement the bearers of knightly duties. Gradually, when inheriting knightly fiefdoms, the land All are passed on to the eldest son.
Later "this rule was extended from knightly fiefdoms to other types of land". The land is all inherited by the eldest son, and the remaining sons must go out to support themselves. Under the condition that the maintenance of feudal obligations can be successfully completed, it also imperceptibly promoted the formation of the adventurous and competitive spirit of the British nation. Therefore, the difference between the British aristocracy and the mainland aristocracy is that they never despise business, which further promotes the development of the British feudal economy. And with the development of commerce, it became a major driving force for British society to break away from feudalism.
Conducive to the stability of British society
The theoretical model of "Western European feudal division and division" that traditional scholars believe may not be realized in the UK. The British knight system is different from the traditional knight system. In the process of its establishment, the king of England truly became the supreme ruler of the land of the country, and through the lords directly swearing to the king, judicial and military reforms were carried out, and the country was ruled. The universal power of all classes.
During the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was once invaded by Danes and other foreigners. After the Norman Conquest, many unprecedented class contradictions appeared in British society, but the knight system solved these problems well. After William's conquest, he brought the most advanced military methods of his time to England.
At this time, Britain abandoned the previous infantry-based combat methods and used cavalry troops in warfare, which greatly improved its military strength. Not only that, but the King of England paid special attention to the distribution of land in border areas when enfeoffing fiefs. For example, in 1071, William established three earldoms on the border of Wales - Hereford, Shkusbury, and Chester.
Another example: Hugh Lupus, the ancestor of the Duke of Westminster, known as the "Big Hunter", received the land granted by William. The reason why William gave him the land of Cheshire was to use him to maintain his control over Wales. control. William entrusted the management of the Norman lords and gave them great autonomy, gradually forming the "Wales frontier". In this way, there is far more than one territory in the UK, and these territories have gradually become important places for England's external defense.
For the Vikings who invaded England in previous centuries, invading Britain was no longer as simple as it used to be. After the Norman Conquest, the Vikings made several attempts at invasion. For example, King Harald III of Denmark once marched to England with 200 warships, but only fled home after attacking York Minster. Canute IV, who won the Danish throne in 1085, also organized a coalition to overthrow William's rule, but it also ended in failure.
It was extremely simple for the Danes to invade Britain, but after the Norman Conquest, Britain introduced the most advanced cavalry tactics at that time, and its weapons and equipment were much better than before. Britain faced the invasion of the Nordic Vikings again, and it was much easier to deal with it. After solving the external hidden dangers, the King of England focused on solving domestic conflicts. The British monarchy under centralized power is different from the phenomenon of separation and separation in continental Europe. "In the history of law, the chief result of the Norman Conquest was not the obedience of race to race, but the establishment of an extremely powerful crown."
According to the previous description, the King of England took a series of measures to weaken local forces. This also made "the feudal private wars that were prevalent in the mainland since Stephen's time disappear in Britain." Because the various lords no longer have the power to wage wars privately. Under the British knight system, the existence of knight groups means that military service is not only a shortcut to improve one's social status, but also a good opportunity to obtain spoils and plunder money.
In British society, there are cases where a little knight with a low status at first became a big man admired by the world. "Richard de Lucy is a good illustration. He was born into a wealthy knight family. He was originally a small official in the former court, but he was appreciated by King Stephen for his proficiency in law and politics. Henry II immediately reused him, and was soon promoted to the prime minister and also a major courtier."
