The Lord of the Fiefdom

| Ruler | Hunter | Possessions |

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Ruler:

The lord of a fief was the supreme ruler over his territory. From the feudal agreement he gained these rights. The lord's duties were many. He had to set up taxes and laws, oversee the day to day business of the castle and fief, and make decisions over punishments and other issues. Besides this, he had to serve his king by appearing in his court or fighting at his side. To cover the day to day tasks of managing the castle, a lord often hired a steward. The steward was the head of all the castle's staff, except for the military personnel. Sometimes there were two stewards; one in charge of all of the lord's estates, and the other in charge of just the castle. In either case, the steward was the lord's main adviser on issues that the lord was to decide. The steward often helped with the lord's accounts and books. He calculated the revenue from taxes and the money spent by the lord. The steward was also the head of the lord's court in his absence. In this way, the lord had an immense load taken off his shoulders through the help of a steward or stewards. The steward gave the lord time to fulfill his other obligations. The lord usually traveled for a good part of the year around to the far corners of his land holdings. This allowed him to get an idea of how well the people were, and to assess the possibility of revolt in the other areas of his fief. Other responsibilities that the use of a steward gave him time for were to fight alongside his king in battle, to train and compete in tournaments if he was a knight, and to appear in his lord's court to pay him "homage and fealty".

An ornate chest used by a lord to store clothes in.

Hunter:

Hunting was a favorite pastime for a medieval lord. It was also the main source of meat for the lord's table. There were two main forms of hunting: falconry and the hunting of land animals. The noblemen did their best to maintain forests for their own private use. They passed laws so that no peasants could hunt in the forests. If a peasant poached in the forest, he could have his hand or head cut off. In this way, the lords were free to hunt in the forest all of the time. There was also an abundance of game because of this. The prey was usually a stag, a doe, or a boar. Hounds were trained to track down the prey by its scent and to obey signals on a horn. The hunt was lead by a huntsman, a member of the lord's staff. He would find the prey, and then the lord would decide if it was worth hunting. If the lord said that they would hunt it, then the huntsman would circle the animal and chase it back towards the hunting party. Then the chase began. The nobles and their ladies rode on horseback behind the hounds and chased the prey through dense forests and over ditches. A hunt could last for many hours. When the prey was finally caught and killed, a song was played to honor the dying animal. The hunt was followed by a great feast with the freshly-hunted animals as the main course!

The other form of hunting was called falconry. The lord would use a bird to kill another bird or small animal in this type of sport. A falcon is an intelligent bird that a special servant called a falconer trained. It was taught to hunt down and attack other birds in the sky. Female falcons were used instead of males because they were bigger and more ferocious. The steps to train a falcon were long and arduous. The falconer had to have tremendous patience. A falconer would feed a falcon by hand so that it would become familiar with him. The falconer also wore a tough glove so that the bird could perch on his wrist. When it was tame, a bell would be tied to the falcon's leg and a hood was put over its head to keep it quiet. A falcon was trained by tying a leash to one of its legs and allowing it to fly short distances. When the bird returned to the falconer's wrist after he whistled to it, the falcon would be rewarded with a bit of raw meat. Then, the falcon would be trained to attack small bits of meat. After several such small, progressive steps, the falcon would be ready to be released from the leash and allowed to hunt for itself. When the falcon killed his prey, the falconer had to remember to reward the bird with food. At first, the falcon hunted small, relatively easy to kill birds. Then the training would progress to larger animals. Dogs were often enlisted to help the falcon kill prey at first. After some time, the falcon was ready to be used to kill large birds and small land animals. It then became part of the lord's hunting entourage.

Hounds and huntsmen catching their prey, a wild boar. (dark object in center)

Picture of lords and ladies going falconing. One can see the hawks they are holding and the finery they are dressed in.

Possessions and Clothing

The lord was often surrounded by grandeur and finery. He had his own room in the castle with a bed and expensive chests for his clothes. He also had fine clothes with decorative belt buckles and other jewelry. In addition to this, he had servants to wait on his every need. Many noblemen had people to dress them when they got up. They also wore perfume and kept herbs in their room to make it smell nice. Every extravagance was available to a lord because of his immense wealth and station.


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