The Feudal Contract

      The relationship between rulers and their subjects is amazing. The individuals agree to give up freedom and submit to being owned. Sometimes I wonder why people would ever want to do that. Then I know that succumbing to being owned was the only way the ruler would protect them. If the ruler didn’t protect the subject then the subject rebelled. Who knew it was legal to rebel back then?

            Historians thought about the philosophy of the people back in medieval times and formed a similar system. They called their system the feudal contract. In the feudal contract things called fiefs were possible. “What in the world is a fief?” you might ask. Don’t worry when I first heard this I asked the same question too. A fief is the land the lord gives to his followers in return for when they must perform a military service for him. Do they have the same military type services as we have today?  Servants or subjects also were granted land when they did other special tasks for their lord. Some of the tasks they were forced to do was give their own money to their lord when the lord needed some extra cash. Wow that is like a kid giving their allowance back to their parents after their parents have already given them it. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that is very nice. On top of that, the subjects and servants had to attend the lord’s court hearings for them. I don’t care how much land or money my lord gave me, I would never do that.