A Source Book of Mediaeval History Part 26

I, Thiebault, count palatine of Troyes,[312] make known to those present and to come that I have given in fee[313] to Jocelyn d'Avalon and his heirs the manor which is called Gillencourt,[314]

which is of the castellanerie[315] of La Ferte-sur-Aube; and whatever the same Jocelyn shall be able to acquire in the same manor I have granted to him and his heirs in enlargement of that fief. I have granted, moreover, to him that in no free manor of mine will I retain men who are of this gift.[316] The same Jocelyn, moreover, on account of this has become my liege man, saving, however, his allegiance to Gerad d'Arcy, and to the lord duke of Burgundy, and to Peter, count of Auxerre.[317] Done at Chouaude, by my own witness, in the year of the Incarnation of our Lord 1200, in the month of January. Given by the hand of Walter, my chancellor.

36. The Ceremonies of Homage and Fealty

The personal relation between lord and va.s.sal was established by the double ceremony of homage and fealty. Homage was the act by which the va.s.sal made himself the man (_h.o.m.o_) of the lord, while fealty was the oath of fidelity to the obligations which must ordinarily be a.s.sumed by such a man. The two were really distinct, though because they almost invariably went together they finally became confounded in the popular mind. The details of the ceremonies varied much in different times and places, but, in general, when homage was to be performed, the prospective va.s.sal presented himself before his future seigneur bareheaded and without arms; knelt, placed his hands in those of the seigneur, and declared himself his man; then he was kissed by the seigneur and lifted to his feet. In the act of fealty, the va.s.sal placed his hand upon sacred relics, or upon the Bible, and swore eternal faithfulness to his seigneur. The so-called "act of invest.i.ture" generally followed, the seigneur handing over to the va.s.sal a bit of turf, a stick, or some other object symbolizing the transfer of the usufruct of the property in question. The whole process was merely a mode of establishing a binding contract between the two parties. Below we have: (_a_) a mediaeval definition of homage, taken from the customary law of Normandy; (_b_) an explanation of fealty, given in an old English law-book; (_c_) a French chronicler's account of the rendering of homage and fealty to the count of Flanders in the year 1127; and (_d_) a set of laws governing homage and fealty, written down in a compilation of the ordinances of Saint Louis (king of France, 1226-1270), but doubtless showing substantially the practice in France for a long time before King Louis's day.

Sources--(a) _L'Ancienne Coutume de Normandie_ ["The Old Custom of Normandy"], Chap. 29.

(b) Sir Thomas Lyttleton, _Treatise of Tenures in French and English_ (London, 1841), Bk. II., Chap. 2, p. 123.

(c) Galbert de Bruges, _De Multro, Traditione, et Occisione gloriosi Karoli comitis Flandriarum_ ["Concerning the Murder, Betrayal, and Death of the glorious Charles, Count of Flanders"]. Text in Henri Pirenne, _Histoire du Meurtre de Charles le Bon, comte de Flandre, par Galbert de Bruges_ (Paris, 1891). Translated by Edward P. Cheyney in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and Reprints_, Vol. IV., No. 3, p. 18.

(d) _Les etabliss.e.m.e.nts de Saint Louis_ ["The Ordinances of St. Louis"], Bk. II., Chap. 19. Text in Paul Viollet's edition (Paris, 1881), Vol. II., pp. 395-398.

[Sidenote: A Norman definition of homage]

(a)

Homage is a pledge to keep faith in respect to matters that are right and necessary, and to give counsel and aid. He who would do homage ought to place his hands between those of the man who is to be his lord, and speak these words: "I become your man, to keep faith with you against all others, saving my allegiance to the duke of Normandy."

[Sidenote: The oath of fealty]

(b)

And when a free tenant shall swear fealty to his lord, let him place his right hand on the book[318] and speak thus: "Hear thou this, my lord, that I will be faithful and loyal to you and will keep my pledges to you for the lands which I claim to hold of you, and that I will loyally perform for you the services specified, so help me G.o.d and the saints." Then he shall kiss the book; but he shall not kneel when he swears fealty, nor take so humble a posture as is required in homage.

(c)

Through the whole remaining part of the day those who had been previously enfeoffed by the most pious count Charles, did homage to the count,[319] taking up now again their fiefs and offices and whatever they had before rightfully and legitimately obtained. On Thursday, the seventh of April, homages were again made to the count, being completed in the following order of faith and security:

[Sidenote: The rendering of homage and fealty to the count of Flanders]

First they did their homage thus. The count asked if he was willing to become completely his man, and the other replied, "I am willing"; and with clasped hands, surrounded by the hands of the count, they were bound together by a kiss. Secondly, he who had done homage gave his fealty to the representative of the count in these words, "I promise on my faith that I will in future be faithful to Count William, and will observe my homage to him completely, against all persons, in good faith and without deceit."

Thirdly, he took his oath to this upon the relics of the saints.

Afterwards, with a little rod which the count held in his hand, he gave invest.i.tures to all who by this agreement had given their security and homage and accompanying oath.

[Sidenote: An ordinance of St. Louis on homage and fealty]

(d)

If any one would hold from a lord in fee, he ought to seek his lord within forty days. And if he does not do it within forty days, the lord may and ought to seize his fief for default of homage, and the things which are found there he should seize without compensation; and yet the va.s.sal should be obliged to pay to his lord the redemption.[320] When any one wishes to enter into the fealty of a lord, he ought to seek him, as we have said above, and should speak as follows: "Sir, I request you, as my lord, to put me in your fealty and in your homage for such and such a thing situated in your fief, which I have bought." And he ought to say from what man, and this one ought to be present and in the fealty of the lord;[321] and whether it is by purchase or by escheat[322] or by inheritance he ought to explain; and with his hands joined, to speak as follows: "Sir, I become your man and promise to you fealty for the future as my lord, towards all men who may live or die, rendering to you such service as the fief requires, making to you your relief as you are the lord." And he ought to say whether for guardianship,[323] or as an escheat, or as an inheritance, or as a purchase.

The lord should immediately reply to him: "And I receive you and take you as my man, and give you this kiss as a sign of faith, saving my right and that of others," according to the usage of the various districts.

37. The Mutual Obligations of Lords and Va.s.sals

The feudal relation was essentially one of contract involving reciprocal relations between lord and va.s.sal. In the following letter, written in the year 1020 by Bishop Fulbert of Chartres[324] to the duke of Aquitaine, we find laid down the general principles which ought to govern the discharge of these mutual obligations. It is affirmed that there were six things that no loyal va.s.sal could do, and these are enumerated and explained. Then comes the significant statement that these negative duties must be supplemented with positive acts for the service and support of the lord. What some of these acts were will appear in the extracts in --38. Bishop Fulbert points out also that the lord is himself bound by feudal law not to do things detrimental to the safety, honor, or prosperity of his va.s.sal.

The letter is an admirable statement of the spirit of the feudal system at its best. Already by 1020 a considerable body of feudal customs having the force of law had come into existence and it appears that Fulbert had made these customs the subject of some special study before answering the questions addressed to him by Duke William.

Source--Text in Martin Bouquet, _Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France_ ["Collection of the Historians of Gaul and of France"], Vol. X., p. 463.

To William, most ill.u.s.trious duke of the Aquitanians, Bishop Fulbert, the favor of his prayers:

[Sidenote: What the va.s.sal owes the lord]

Requested to write something regarding the character of fealty, I have set down briefly for you, on the authority of the books, the following things. He who takes the oath of fealty to his lord ought always to keep in mind these six things: what is harmless, safe, honorable, useful, easy, and practicable.[325] _Harmless_, which means that he ought not to injure his lord in his body; _safe_, that he should not injure him by betraying his confidence or the defenses upon which he depends for security; _honorable_, that he should not injure him in his justice, or in other matters that relate to his honor; _useful_, that he should not injure him in his property; _easy_, that he should not make difficult that which his lord can do easily; and _practicable_, that he should not make impossible for the lord that which is possible.

However, while it is proper that the faithful va.s.sal avoid these injuries, it is not for doing this alone that he deserves his holding: for it is not enough to refrain from wrongdoing, unless that which is good is done also. It remains, therefore, that in the same six things referred to above he should faithfully advise and aid his lord, if he wishes to be regarded as worthy of his benefice and to be safe concerning the fealty which he has sworn.

[Sidenote: The obligations of the lord]

The lord also ought to act toward his faithful va.s.sal in the same manner in all these things. And if he fails to do this, he will be rightfully regarded as guilty of bad faith, just as the former, if he should be found shirking, or willing to shirk, his obligations would be perfidious and perjured.[326]

I should have written to you at greater length had I not been busy with many other matters, including the rebuilding of our city and church, which were recently completely destroyed by a terrible fire. Though for a time we could not think of anything but this disaster, yet now, by the hope of G.o.d's comfort, and of yours also, we breathe more freely again.

38. Some of the More Important Rights of the Lord

The obligations of va.s.sals to lords outlined in the preceding selection were mainly of a moral character--such as naturally grew out of the general idea of loyalty and fidelity to a benefactor. They were largely negative and were rather vague and indefinite. So far as they went, they were binding upon lords and va.s.sals alike. There were, however, several very definite and practical rights which the lords possessed with respect to the property and persons of their dependents. Some of these were of a financial character, some were judicial, and others were military. Five of the most important are ill.u.s.trated by the pa.s.sages given below.

(_a_) AIDS

Under the feudal system the idea prevailed that the va.s.sal's purse as well as his body was to be at the lord's service. Originally the right to draw upon his va.s.sals for money was exercised by the lord whenever he desired, but by custom this ill-defined power gradually became limited to three sorts of occasions when the need of money was likely to be especially urgent, i.e., when the eldest son was knighted, when the eldest daughter was married, and when the lord was to be ransomed from captivity. In the era of the crusades, the starting of the lord on an expedition to the Holy Land was generally regarded as another emergency in which an aid might rightfully be demanded. The following extract from the old customary law of Normandy represents the practice in nearly all feudal Europe.

Source--_L'Ancienne Coutume de Normandie_, Chap. 35.

[Sidenote: The three aids]

In Normandy there are three chief aids. The first is to help make the lord's eldest son a knight; the second is to marry his eldest daughter; the third is to ransom the body of the lord from prison when he shall be taken captive during a war for the duke.[327] By this it appears that the _aide de chevalerie_ [knighthood-aid] is due when the eldest son of the lord is made a knight. The eldest son is he who has the dignity of primogeniture.[328] The _aide de mariage_ [marriage-aid] is due when the eldest daughter is married. The _aide de rancon_ [ransom-aid] is due when it is necessary to deliver the lord from the prisons of the enemies of the duke. These aids are paid in some fiefs at the rate of half a relief, and in some at the rate of a third.[329]

(_b_) MILITARY SERVICE

From whatever point of view feudalism is regarded--whether as a system of land tenure, as a form of social organization, or as a type of government--the military element in it appears everywhere important.

The feudal period was the greatest era of war the civilized world has ever known. Few people between the tenth and fourteenth centuries, except in the peasant cla.s.ses, were able to live out their lives entirely in peace. Of greatest value to kings and feudal magnates, greater even than money itself, was a goodly following of soldiers; hence the almost universal requirement of military service by lords from their va.s.sals. Fiefs were not infrequently granted out for no other purpose than to get the military service which their holders would owe. The amount of such service varied greatly in different times and places, but the following arrangement represents the most common practice.

Source--_Les etabliss.e.m.e.nts de Saint Louis_, Bk. I., Chap. 65.

Text in Paul Viollet's edition (Paris, 1881), Vol. II., pp.

95-96.

[Sidenote: The conditions of military service]

The baron and the va.s.sals of the king ought to appear in his army when they shall be summoned, and ought to serve at their own expense for forty days and forty nights, with whatever number of knights they owe.[330] And he possesses the right to exact from them these services when he wishes and when he has need of them.

If, however, the king shall wish to keep them more than forty days and forty nights at their own expense, they need not remain unless they desire.[331] But if he shall wish to retain them at his cost for the defense of the kingdom, they ought lawfully to remain. But if he shall propose to lead them outside of the kingdom, they need not go unless they are willing, for they have already served their forty days and forty nights.

(_c_) WARDSHIP AND MARRIAGE

Very important among the special prerogatives of the feudal lord was his right to manage, and enjoy the profits of, fiefs inherited by minors. When a va.s.sal died, leaving an heir who was under age, the lord was charged with the care of the fief until the heir reached his or her majority. On becoming of age, a young man was expected to take control of his fief at once. But a young woman remained under wardship until her marriage, though if she married under age she could get possession of her fief immediately, just as she would had she waited until older. The control of the marriage of heiresses was largely in the hands of their lords, for obviously it was to the lord's interest that no enemy of his, nor any shiftless person, should become the husband of his ward. The lord could compel a female ward to marry and could oblige her to accept as a husband one of the candidates whom he offered her; but it was usually possible for the woman to purchase exemption from this phase of his jurisdiction. After the thirteenth century the right of wardship gradually declined in France, though it long continued in England. The following extract from the customs of Normandy sets forth the typical feudal law on the subject.