The feudal system was an arrangement among kings and nobles
based on loyalty. Feudal lords promised their servants justice in feudal courts
and protection in times of attack. Nobles would swear an oath of faithfulness
to the king. Nobles also gave out parcels of land known as manors to their
knights or nobles that were lower than them in return for loyalty and a promise
to fight for them when required. Early medieval justice and law was dominated
by the principles of the feudal system. It was a system of local government and
local justice. The right of jurisdiction gave judicial power to the nobles and
lords in cases arising in their regions and had no appeal but to the King
himself. Cases that arose on a manor were tried before the lord. Sentences were
usually in the form of a fine. Fines produced a reasonable income to the lord
of the manor who regarded their judicial rights as valuable property, which
they were afraid to surrender to the state.
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