Middle Ages: Social Structure

1. The system of exchanging land for loyalty and military service.
3. A noble who owned land and provided protection to vassals and peasants.
5. The empire whose fall led to the rise of feudalism in Europe.
6. The oath of loyalty sworn by vassals to their lords.
11. A person who pledged loyalty to a lord in exchange for land.
12. This was required from nobles when the king needed _________.
14. The people who were tied to the land and could not leave without permission.
16. A mounted warrior who protected castles and fought in wars.
17. The workers who had more freedom than serfs and performed trades.

2. Wealth and power in the Middle Ages were based on the ownership of this.
3. The agreement between lords and knights was based on ___ and protection.
4. Knights needed these expensive items: armor, weapons, and ___.
7. The payment that serfs gave to their lords, often in crops or livestock.
8. The people who fought alongside the king and collected taxes.
9. The majority of medieval society, often farmers or craftsmen.
10. If a serf escaped to a town and lived for one year and a day, they became ___
13. A person who was bound to the land and worked for a lord.
15. The term for the land granted to a knight or vassal.
16. The ruler at the top of the feudal pyramid.