What was exchanged in a feudal contract

Taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects and shall be levied and collected for public purposes, but public burying grounds, public school houses, public hospitals, academies, colleges, universities, all seminaries of learning, all churches, church property, houses of worship, institutions of purely public charity, and public property used exclusively for any public purpose, shall be exempt from taxation except as provided in this section.

The legislature may authorize municipal corporations to levy and collect assessments for local improvements upon property benefited thereby without regard to cash valuation. The legislature by law may define or limit the property exempt under this section other than churches, houses of worship, and property solely used for educational purposes by academies, colleges, universities and seminaries of learning.

To encourage and promote forestation and reforestation of lands whether owned by private persons or the public, laws may be enacted fixing in advance a definite and limited annual tax on the lands for a term of years and imposing a yield tax on the timber and other forest products at or after the end of the term.

Every person engaged in the business of mining or producing iron ore or other ores in this state shall pay to the state an occupation tax on the valuation of all ores mined or produced, which tax shall be in addition to all other taxes provided by law. The tax is due on the first day of May in the calendar year next following the mining or producing. The valuation of ore for the purpose of determining the amount of tax shall be ascertained as provided by law.

Funds derived from the tax shall be used as follows: 50 percent to the state general revenue fund, 40 percent for the support of elementary and secondary schools and ten percent for the general support of the university. The state may levy an excise tax upon any means or substance for propelling aircraft or for propelling or operating motor or other vehicles or other equipment used for airport purposes and not used on the public highways of this state.

The legislature may tax aircraft using the air space overlying the state on a more onerous basis than other personal property. Any such tax on aircraft shall be in lieu of all other taxes. The legislature may impose the tax on aircraft of companies paying taxes under any gross earnings system of taxation notwithstanding that earnings from the aircraft are included in the earnings on which gross earnings taxes are computed. The law may exempt from taxation aircraft owned by a nonresident of the state temporarily using the air space overlying the state.

Laws of Minnesota , Chapter 81, relating to the taxation of taconite and semi-taconite, and facilities for the mining, production and beneficiation thereof shall not be repealed, modified or amended, nor shall any laws in conflict therewith be valid until November 4, Laws may be enacted fixing or limiting for a period not extending beyond the year , the tax to be imposed on persons engaged in 1 the mining, production or beneficiation of copper, 2 the mining, production or beneficiation of copper-nickel, or 3 the mining, production or beneficiation of nickel.

Taxes imposed on the mining or quarrying of taconite or semi-taconite and on the production of iron ore concentrates therefrom, which are in lieu of a tax on real or personal property, shall not be considered to be occupation, royalty, or excise taxes within the meaning of this amendment.

The legislature may authorize on-track parimutuel betting on horse racing in a manner prescribed by law.

No money shall be paid out of the treasury of this state except in pursuance of an appropriation by law. The credit of the state shall not be given or loaned in aid of any individual, association or corporation except as hereinafter provided.

The state shall not be a party in carrying on works of internal improvements except as authorized by this constitution. If grants have been made to the state especially dedicated to specific purposes, the state shall devote the proceeds of the grants to those purposes and may pledge or appropriate the revenues derived from the works in aid of their completion. The state may contract public debts for which its full faith, credit and taxing powers may be pledged at the times and in the manner authorized by law, but only for the purposes and subject to the conditions stated in section 5.

Public debt includes any obligation payable directly in whole or in part from a tax of state wide application on any class of property, income, transaction or privilege, but does not include any obligation which is payable from revenues other than taxes. Public debt may be contracted and works of internal improvements carried on for the following purposes:. As authorized by law political subdivisions may engage in the works permitted by f , g , and i and contract debt therefor.

As authorized by law certificates of indebtedness may be issued during a biennium, commencing on July 1 in each odd-numbered year and ending on and including June 30 in the next odd-numbered year, in anticipation of the collection of taxes levied for and other revenues appropriated to any fund of the state for expenditure during that biennium. No certificates shall be issued in an amount which with interest thereon to maturity, added to the then outstanding certificates against a fund and interest thereon to maturity, will exceed the then unexpended balance of all money which will be credited to that fund during the biennium under existing laws.

The maturities of certificates may be extended by refunding to a date not later than December l of the first full calendar year following the biennium in which the certificates were issued. If money on hand in any fund is not sufficient to pay all non-refunding certificates of indebtedness issued on a fund during any biennium and all certificates refunding the same, plus interest thereon, which are outstanding on December 1 immediately following the close of the biennium, the state auditor shall levy upon all taxable property in the state a tax collectible in the ensuing year sufficient to pay the same on or before December 1 of the ensuing year with interest to the date or dates of payment.

Public debt other than certificates of indebtedness authorized in section 6 shall be evidenced by the issuance of bonds of the state. All bonds issued under the provisions of this section shall mature not more than 20 years from their respective dates of issue and each law authorizing the issuance of bonds shall distinctly specify the purposes thereof and the maximum amount of the proceeds authorized to be expended for each purpose.

A separate and special state bond fund shall be maintained on the official books and records. When the full faith and credit of the state has been pledged for the payment of bonds, the state auditor shall levy each year on all taxable property within the state a tax sufficient with the balance then on hand in the fund to pay all principal and interest on bonds issued under this section due and to become due within the ensuing year and to and including July 1 in the second ensuing year.

The legislature by law may appropriate funds from any source to the state bond fund. The amount of money actually received and on hand pursuant to appropriations prior to the levy of the tax in any year shall be used to reduce the amount of tax otherwise required to be levied.

The permanent school fund of the state consists of a the proceeds of lands granted by the United States for the use of schools within each township, b the proceeds derived from swamp lands granted to the state, c all cash and investments credited to the permanent school fund and to the swamp land fund, and d all cash and investments credited to the internal improvement land fund and the lands therein. No portion of these lands shall be sold otherwise than at public sale, and in the manner provided by law.

All funds arising from the sale or other disposition of the lands, or income accruing in any way before the sale or disposition thereof, shall be credited to the permanent school fund. Within limitations prescribed by law, the fund shall be invested to secure the maximum return consistent with the maintenance of the perpetuity of the fund.

The principal of the permanent school fund shall be perpetual and inviolate forever. This does not prevent the sale of investments at less than the cost to the fund; however, all losses not offset by gains shall be repaid to the fund from the interest and dividends earned thereafter. The net interest and dividends arising from the fund shall be distributed to the different school districts of the state in a manner prescribed by law. A board of investment consisting of the governor, the state auditor, the secretary of state, and the attorney general is constituted for the purpose of administering and directing the investment of all state funds.

The board shall not permit state funds to be used for the underwriting or direct purchase of municipal securities from the issuer or the issuer's agent. The permanent university fund of this state may be loaned to or invested in the bonds of any county, school district, city or town of this state and in first mortgage loans secured upon improved and cultivated farm lands of this state, but no such investment or loan shall be made until approved by the board of investment; nor shall a loan or investment be made when the bonds to be issued or purchased would make the entire bonded indebtedness exceed 15 percent of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, school district, city or town issuing the bonds; nor shall any farm loan or investment be made when the investment or loan would exceed 30 percent of the actual cash value of the farm land mortgaged to secure the investment; nor shall investments or loans be made at a lower rate of interest than two percent per annum nor for a shorter period than one year nor for a longer period than 30 years.

As the legislature may provide, any of the public lands of the state, including lands held in trust for any purpose, may be exchanged for any publicly or privately held lands with the unanimous approval of the governor, the attorney general and the state auditor. Lands so acquired shall be subject to the trust, if any, to which the lands exchanged therefor were subject. The state shall reserve all mineral and water power rights in lands transferred by the state.

School and other public lands of the state better adapted for the production of timber than for agriculture may be set apart as state school forests, or other state forests as the legislature may provide. The legislature may also provide for their management on forestry principles.

The net revenue therefrom shall be used for the purposes for which the lands were granted to the state. The legislature shall not authorize any county, township or municipal corporation to become indebted to aid in the construction or equipment of railroads to any amount that exceeds five percent of the value of the taxable property within that county, township or municipal corporation.

The amount of taxable property shall be determined by the last assessment previous to the incurring of the indebtedness. All officers and other persons charged with the safekeeping of state funds shall be required to give ample security for funds received by them and to keep an accurate entry of each sum received and of each payment and transfer.

If any person converts to his own use in any manner or form, or shall loan, with or without interest, or shall deposit in his own name, or otherwise than in the name of the state of Minnesota; or shall deposit in banks or with any person or persons or exchange for other funds or property, any portion of the funds of the state or the school funds aforesaid, except in the manner prescribed by law, every such act shall be and constitute an embezzlement of so much of the aforesaid state and school funds, or either of the same, as shall thus be taken, or loaned, or deposited or exchanged, and shall be a felony.

Any failure to pay over, produce or account for the state school funds, or any part of the same entrusted to such officer or persons as by law required on demand, shall be held and be taken to be prima facie evidence of such embezzlement. A permanent environment and natural resources trust fund is established in the state treasury. Loans may be made of up to five percent of the principal of the fund for water system improvements as provided by law.

The assets of the fund shall be appropriated by law for the public purpose of protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state's air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources.

Not less than 40 percent of the net proceeds from any state-operated lottery must be credited to the fund until the year Beginning July 1, , until June 30, , the sales and use tax rate shall be increased by three-eighths of one percent on sales and uses taxable under the general state sales and use tax law. Receipts from the increase, plus penalties and interest and reduced by any refunds, are dedicated, for the benefit of Minnesotans, to the following funds: 33 percent of the receipts shall be deposited in the outdoor heritage fund and may be spent only to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands, prairies, forests, and habitat for fish, game, and wildlife; 33 percent of the receipts shall be deposited in the clean water fund and may be spent only to protect, enhance, and restore water quality in lakes, rivers, and streams and to protect groundwater from degradation, and at least five percent of the clean water fund must be spent only to protect drinking water sources; An outdoor heritage fund; a parks and trails fund; a clean water fund and a sustainable drinking water account; and an arts and cultural heritage fund are created in the state treasury.

The money dedicated under this section shall be appropriated by law. The dedicated money under this section must supplement traditional sources of funding for these purposes and may not be used as a substitute.

Land acquired by fee with money deposited in the outdoor heritage fund under this section must be open to the public taking of fish and game during the open season unless otherwise provided by law. If the base of the sales and use tax is changed, the sales and use tax rate in this section may be proportionally adjusted by law to within one-thousandth of one percent in order to provide as close to the same amount of revenue as practicable for each fund as existed before the change to the sales and use tax.

In all cases when a general law can be made applicable, a special law shall not be enacted except as provided in section 2. Whether a general law could have been made applicable in any case shall be judicially determined without regard to any legislative assertion on that subject.

The legislature shall pass no local or special law authorizing the laying out, opening, altering, vacating or maintaining of roads, highways, streets or alleys; remitting fines, penalties or forfeitures; changing the names of persons, places, lakes or rivers; authorizing the adoption or legitimation of children; changing the law of descent or succession; conferring rights on minors; declaring any named person of age; giving effect to informal or invalid wills or deeds, or affecting the estates of minors or persons under disability; granting divorces; exempting property from taxation or regulating the rate of interest on money; creating private corporations, or amending, renewing, or extending the charters thereof; granting to any private corporation, association, or individual any special or exclusive privilege, immunity or franchise whatever or authorizing public taxation for a private purpose.

The inhibitions of local or special laws in this section shall not prevent the passage of general laws on any of the subjects enumerated. Every law which upon its effective date applies to a single local government unit or to a group of such units in a single county or a number of contiguous counties is a special law and shall name the unit or, in the latter case, the counties to which it applies. The legislature may enact special laws relating to local government units, but a special law, unless otherwise provided by general law, shall become effective only after its approval by the affected unit expressed through the voters or the governing body and by such majority as the legislature may direct.

Any special law may be modified or superseded by a later home rule charter or amendment applicable to the same local government unit, but this does not prevent the adoption of subsequent laws on the same subject. The legislature may repeal any existing special or local law, but shall not amend, extend or modify any of the same except as provided in this section.

The legislature may provide by law for the creation, organization, administration, consolidation, division and dissolution of local government units and their functions, for the change of boundaries thereof, for their elective and appointive officers including qualifications for office and for the transfer of county seats.

A county boundary may not be changed or county seat transferred until approved in each county affected by a majority of the voters voting on the question.

Any local government unit when authorized by law may adopt a home rule charter for its government. A charter shall become effective if approved by such majority of the voters of the local government unit as the legislature prescribes by general law.

If a charter provides for the consolidation or separation of a city and a county, in whole or in part, it shall not be effective without approval of the voters both in the city and in the remainder of the county by the majority required by law.

The legislature shall provide by law for charter commissions. Notwithstanding any other constitutional limitations the legislature may require that commission members be freeholders, provide for their appointment by judges of the district court, and permit any member to hold any other elective or appointive office other than judicial. Home rule charter amendments may be proposed by a charter commission or by a petition of five percent of the voters of the local government unit as determined by law and shall not become effective until approved by the voters by the majority required by law.

Amendments may be proposed and adopted in any other manner provided by law. A local government unit may repeal its home rule charter and adopt a statutory form of government or a new charter upon the same majority vote as is required by law for the adoption of a charter in the first instance. The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it is the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform system of public schools.

The legislature shall make such provisions by taxation or otherwise as will secure a thorough and efficient system of public schools throughout the state. In no case shall any public money or property be appropriated or used for the support of schools wherein the distinctive doctrines, creeds or tenets of any particular Christian or other religious sect are promulgated or taught.

All the rights, immunities, franchises and endowments heretofore granted or conferred upon the University of Minnesota are perpetuated unto the university. Land may be taken for public way and for the purpose of granting to any corporation the franchise of way for public use.

In all cases, however, a fair and equitable compensation shall be paid for land and for the damages arising from taking it. All corporations which are common carriers enjoying the right of way in pursuance of the provisions of this section shall be bound to carry the mineral, agricultural and other productions of manufacturers on equal and reasonable terms.

The legislature shall not authorize any lottery or the sale of lottery tickets, other than authorizing a lottery and sale of lottery tickets for a lottery operated by the state.

Any combination of persons either as individuals or as members or officers of any corporation to monopolize markets for food products in this state or to interfere with, or restrict the freedom of markets is a criminal conspiracy and shall be punished as the legislature may provide.

Any person may sell or peddle the products of the farm or garden occupied and cultivated by him without obtaining a license therefor. The state may pay an adjusted compensation to persons who served in the armed forces of the United States during the period of the Vietnam conflict or the Persian Gulf War.

Whenever authorized and in the amounts and on the terms fixed by law, the state may expend monies and pledge the public credit to provide money for the purposes of this section. The duration of the Vietnam conflict and the Persian Gulf War may be defined by law. The legislature shall pass laws necessary for the organization, discipline and service of the militia of the state.

The seat of government of the state is in the city of St. The legislature may provide by law for a change of the seat of government by a vote of the people, or may locate the same upon the land granted by Congress for a seat of government. If the seat of government is changed, the capitol building and grounds shall be dedicated to an institution for the promotion of science, literature and the arts to be organized by the legislature of the state. The Minnesota Historical Society shall always be a department of this institution.

A seal of the state shall be kept by the secretary of state and be used by him officially. It shall be called the great seal of the state of Minnesota. Hunting and fishing and the taking of game and fish are a valued part of our heritage that shall be forever preserved for the people and shall be managed by law and regulation for the public good. The state may construct, improve and maintain public highways, may assist political subdivisions in this work and by law may authorize any political subdivision to aid in highway work within its boundaries.

There is hereby created a trunk highway system which shall be constructed, improved and maintained as public highways by the state. The highways shall extend as nearly as possible along the routes number 1 through 70 described in the constitutional amendment adopted November 2, , and the routes described in any act of the legislature which has made or hereafter makes a route a part of the trunk highway system.

The legislature may add by law new routes to the trunk highway system. The trunk highway system may not exceed 12, miles in extent, except the legislature may add trunk highways in excess of the mileage limitation as necessary or expedient to take advantage of any federal aid made available by the United States to the state of Minnesota. Any route added by the legislature to the trunk highway system may be relocated or removed from the system as provided by law.

The definite location of trunk highways numbered 1 through 70 may be relocated as provided by law but no relocation shall cause a deviation from the starting points or terminals nor cause any deviation from the various villages and cities through which the routes are to pass under the constitutional amendment adopted November 2, The location of routes may be determined by boards, officers or tribunals in the manner prescribed by law.

A county state-aid highway system shall be constructed, improved and maintained by the counties as public highways in the manner provided by law. The system shall include streets in municipalities of less than 5, population where necessary to provide an integrated and coordinated highway system and may include similar streets in larger municipalities. A municipal state-aid street system shall be constructed, improved and maintained as public highways by municipalities having a population of 5, or more in the manner provided by law.

There is hereby created a highway user tax distribution fund to be used solely for highway purposes as specified in this article. The fund consists of the proceeds of any taxes authorized by sections 9 and 10 of this article.

The net proceeds of the taxes shall be apportioned: 62 percent to the trunk highway fund; 29 percent to the county state-aid highway fund; nine percent to the municipal state-aid street fund. Five percent of the net proceeds of the highway user tax distribution fund may be set aside and apportioned by law to one or more of the three foregoing funds.

The balance of the highway user tax distribution fund shall be transferred to the trunk highway fund, the county state-aid highway fund, and the municipal state-aid street fund in accordance with the percentages set forth in this section.

No change in the apportionment of the five percent may be made within six years of the last previous change. There is hereby created a trunk highway fund which shall be used solely for the purposes specified in section 2 of this article and the payment of principal and interest of any bonds issued under the authority of section 11 of this article and any bonds issued for trunk highway purposes prior to July 1, All payments of principal and interest on bonds issued shall be a first charge on money coming into this fund during the year in which the principal or interest is payable.

There is hereby created a county state-aid highway fund. Not holding anything tangible belonging to the lord, the vassal had little leverage. If, however, the vassal felt the fief important enough to hold his lord to the terms of the feudal contract, he could resort to force.

The most detailed picture of such action is to be found in the collection of documents compiled by H. Laurent and F. Quicke pertaining to the relations of the duke of Burgundy with Brabant and Limbourg at the end of the fourteenth century.

On the same date Arnold sent letters of defiance to Philip. We then learn from a letter of 25 July addressed by Margaret of Flanders to her husband Philip that Arnold has refused an offer of payment of the arrears and has announced his intention of continuing hostilities.

Later on 15 September Margaret notified Philip that the financial possibilities of paying the arrears due to Arnold were being investigated. In another letter of the same date we find that Arnold has again refused payment of the fief-rente under certain conditions offered to him.

Finally, a document of March informs us that Arnold is in full revolt against the duke 1. Another case from the. From this review of the evidence pertaining to the status of the fief- rente in the feudal custom of the Low Countries it can be seen that there was but slight variation in the different states.

In only two respects have the results obtained differed from those of Didier for Hainaut : liege homage was found to be more prevalent than simple homage, and more heritable than life fiefs-rentes were granted. It would seem safe to conclude, therefore, that the fief-rente was governed by feudal practices differing but slightly in all the states of the Low Countries. But however essential it is to understand the juridical nature of the fief-rente, we still do not know why it was such a prominent feudal institution of this area.

It is to this problem that we now turn. Undoubtedly the returning money economy which began to affect most of western Europe by the eleventh century made possible superimposing feudal tenure on money.

And, as many scholars have pointed out, lords increasingly resorted to this new type of fief developing so opportunely. The twelfth century saw many lords faced with the virtual depletion of their domain if they continued to grant it out in fiefs. Now, however, provided with money they could save their land and still maintain and increase their feudal ties 2. In the Low Countries, where already by the early twelfth century some sections were pressed for land, one can see a perceptible rise in the number of fiefs-rentes 3.

Without question the money economy, ever more dominant in this highly sensitivized economic area, explains the ease with which the princes enfeoffed money.

The Low Countries, a mosaic of miniature feudal states with a minimum of land and a maximum of money, was the place of development par excellence of the fief-rente. Lack of land and a money economy give a general explanation for the use of the fief-rente, but it is to the records themselves that one must go to discover why lords granted it to form feudal ties. Although some type of service was surely expected from the recipient of every fief, many concessions simply state that the grant has been made to a man because of the homage he has done.

In , for example, Otto, count of Guelders, made known that « dilecto fideli nostro domino Gerardo de Zinseke pro eo, quod ipse nobis fidelitatem et hominium fecit, octo marcarum reditus assigna vimus singulis annis Occasionally the fief-rente was used to convert simple homage into liege homage. In spite of these and other examples, we may be certain that the newly acquired vassals had to render some service to the grantor and, in fact, many concessions stipulate what the service will be.

All princes of the Low Countries attempted in one way or another to obtain lordship over as much land as possible.

Some of the land over which feudal rights were secured was already held in fief of another lord, but the cases are more frequent where the land was allodial. Usually the prince would grant to a holder of allodial land a lump sum of money in return for which the holder would take all or part of his land in fief. Such transactions almost always followed the same pattern. The allodial holder would take in fief from his allod an annual income equal to a tenth of the lump sum received.

Often this fief de reprise, as it is called, has been confused by scholars with the fief-rente. This is incorrect because actually the income taken in fief merely represents the amount of land capable of producing that annual sum and so, of course, would be a fief in land. But allodial land could, nevertheless, be transferred into fiefs by means of the fief-rente. In this case the allodial holder in return for a fief-rente agreed to take all or part of his allod in fief from the grantor.

Such cases are not too numerous for obviously the lump sum transaction was the cheaper method for the lord to achieve his end. The following are typical examples. In turn, Thierry took in fief from Henry his allod located in the territory « Heshuizerweerd bij Lobid ». Frequently, when lords desired to obtain possession of various land or sources of income held by other men, they would substitute fiefs- rentes. The recipients would turn over the land or whatever it might.

Through this particular transaction lords were able to get direct control of strategic pieces of land politically or economically valuable. An enumeration of all the purposes served by this transaction would be tedious, but the following examples will help to show how it worked. In Reginald, lord of « Hans sor Lesche » made known that he had accompanied Count Henry of Luxembourg throughout all the lands held by him in fief of the count, and that he had renounced all his rights over them.

He further stated that « m'ait donneit a mi et a mes hoirs en eschainge de ces chozes quinze livreies de terre a blans en son passaige de Vernuel.

Le queilles XV. Grimaldi, however, notified William that he could not peaceably enjoy this concession. In , for a sum of In Philip III of France made known that Reginald, count of Guelders, had surrendered his lordship over the lands of Hare- fleu as well as all the rights and revenues belonging to the seigniory. As compensation, Philip granted Reginald a fief of 1. This agreement was confirmed by Philip IV in , and in we find Guy of Flanders receiving the annual in-.

When lacking lands or other sources of income, a lord could use the fief-rente to supplement a deficiency in a vassal's income, to augment an income if some occasion so required, and to provide an income for individuals when no special service was entailed. In the last case the individual might be a member of a noble family unprovided for with land, or a person to whom the grantor desired to express his appreciation for some service or loyal action.

In John of Avesnes, count of Hainaut, granted in fief to Baldwin of Avesnes, lord of Beaumont, a village, land, and some woods.

In Robert, count of Flanders, granted in fief to his second eldest son Robert It was previously pointed out that some monasteries of Hainaut granted nominal fiefs-rentes to insure adequate attendance at their court sessions 2.

Evidently this practice was not widespread because only one good case has been found in the rest of the Low Countries.

Chest asavoir kil doit estre trois fois en lan a nos plais a Douay. Furthermore it was provided that he could pass on this fief to his two daughters when he felt it desirable 3.

More than likely it was unnecessary to grant many fiefs- rentes specifically to obtain suit to court ; according to feudal custom this service had to be performed by the holder of any fief. The loyal services of officers and intimate companions of the important princes were commonly rewarded with fiefs-rentes.

The marshal of Namur who was bound to accompany the count « en ost ou en chevauchie » received a fief-rente called a « fief de la mariscalchie.

Examples of similar fiefs can be found in the other states 4. Passing on to cases where. In Albert count of Holland, granted to John, lord of Megen and Hoeps, « om menighen trouwen dienst, die hy, ende sine ouders ons, ende onse ouders ghedaen hebben, ende hi noch doen sal, C.

An even more useful function of the fief-rente is seen in the countless marriage agreements which were a daily occurrence in the Middle Ages. Hundreds of fiefs-rentes were granted as dowries and as the marriage gift brought by the man to his bride. In at the request of Reginald, count of Guelders and duke of Lim- bourg, Siffroi, archbishop of Cologne, promised that he would give to Margaret, daughter of the count of Flanders, an annual income of 4.

This 4. This was to be the dowry of Beatrice, the sister of Robert. In William, count of Hainaut and Holland, made known that «wy Florens van Haemstede onsen neve, gegeven hebben te huwelicke met Jonc- vrouwe Goeden, syne wyve, Jans dochter van Berghen.

In Guy of Flanders assigned to his son William a rente of 8. Brabant, was married in , he received from John a fief of 1.

The more ordinary uses of the fief-rente which helped the feudal lord add to his power and prestige as well as to fulfill various feudal and political obligations have so far been our principal concern.

Now we should consider the more specialized services which could be obtained by the ordinary fief but were usually secured through concessions of fiefs-rentes. The studies of W. Kienast, H. Mitteis, F. Kern, J, Viard, F. Funck-Brentano, H. Lucas, G. The specialized work of M. As a result of these studies it is well known how the English and French kings built up spheres of influence in the Low Countries by fostering parties of nobles won over by fiefs-rentes, how they secured vital information from men located strategically at the courts of western Europe, and how they obtained envoys to work for their interests, not only at each other's courts, but also at those of the Low Countries, the Empire, and the Holy See.

On a somewhat lesser scale, the Low Country princes relied upon the fief-rente to obtain some of these ends. There is little evidence to show that they built up spheres of influence in other states by use of the fief-rente, but there is substantial evidence that they used it for securing envoys and special information. This can. Guy ordered that Ralph should receive upon the death of his father, Simon of Clermont, lord of Nesle, the latter's « fief de bourse » of Z. By , Humbert de Biaujieu was requesting payment of the arrears of two years.

Fiefs-rentes to such men were also granted by the dukes of Brabant. In Wenceslas paid to Gerard van Berk, vicar of the cathedral of Cologne, 60m. There are similar cases for Hainaut. Whereas the above examples failed to indicate specific diplomatic obligations, the following ones definitely state the services required. For these two fiefs Everard « nobis fecit homagium et fidelitatis pres- titit sacramentum promittens etiam sub eodem sacramento quod sicut vasallus domino nobis et heredibus nostris serviet fideliter et specialiter in hiis que nos et liberi nostri in curia serenisimi principis domini Romanorum regis seu apud eumdem habebimus expedire Albert was invested with the fief by Count John of Namur and promised to render services like those of Everard at the Imperial Court.

All the cases cited, especially those for Flanders, have shown how the fief-rente procured diplomatic services. Easily granted to men living considerable distances from Flanders, it was admirably suited for acquiring diplomatic agents and for persuading men to work for pro-Flemish. Anyone familiar with the struggle in progress between Guy and Philip IV of France realizes the importance of pro-Flemish support within France and the value of agents working to gain Imperial support.

Beyond Flanders and possibly Brabant, however, it would be dangerous to insist upon the diplomatic importance of the fief-rente ; the evidence for the remainder of the Low Countries is too scant to permit such an assertion. Didier found that the counts of Hainaut granted fiefs-rentes to help support the body of household knights retained in their mesnie. That there were many of these grants in the twelfth century is indicated by Gislebert de Mons.

But this method for supporting such knights disappeared in the following century because the household knight was giving way to the knight enfeoffed with land or some other source of revenue Q. Although the household knight was common to the other Low Country states, there is evidence only in Flanders that the fief-rente was used to support him ; and this is thirteenth and fourteenth-century evidence. Yet even in the cases cited below it cannot be assumed that the household knight in question was a continuous resident of the count's household or that the fief-rente was his only benefice.

The household knight of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was different from his eleventh and twelfth-century predecessor. He seemed frequently to be a highly qualified warrior serving as an officer on his lord's military staff. When needed, he was always at his lord's side and completely provided for. His fief-rente served to maintain him and to create the nexus requiring the household service. But when not needed, he often lived elsewhere, usually on a landed benefice.

The knight in continuous residence and completely dependent upon his lord for support was a figure of the past. Whenever Baldwin found it convenient he was permitted to. Upon becoming a knight, Jakemon was to receive the standard maintenance. These letters of Guy refer to the fief-rente granted by Margaret in and to letters of granting the wages, robes, and oats.

In Louis de Nevers made known that he had agreed to retain with him « et de nostre maisnage » the knight John « dit Frament de Noyelles ». Next Louis set forth the conditions of the contract. All losses connected with horses while participating in tournament or war are to be recompensed, and the daily wages going to and coming from a tournament will be at the rate of 12 gros tournois. While living in the household, John will have three horses maintained for him.

When he serves during war, his wages will be those received by other knights. These terms are to be valid only between John and the count and his successors. It shows, furthermore, that the fief- rente could be repurchased and then replaced by an ordinary fief. In this event the obligations would surely continue, but one cannot help wondering whether in some way the status of John as a household knight would be altered.

One could cite numerous examples from the Cartulaire de Louis de Male but all are so similar to the one studied above that this is unnecessary 2. Other vassals were given scutage , in which the vassal agreed to pay money in lieu of military service.

Priests received still other forms of tenure in exchange for their religious services. A lord also enjoyed incidental benefits and rights in connection with a fief.

For example, when a vassal died, the lord was entitled to a large sum of money from the vassal's heirs. If the heir was a minor, the lord could sell or give away custody of the land and enjoy its profits until the heir came of age. A lord also had the right to reject the marriage of an heiress to a fief if he did not want the husband as his vassal.

This kind of family involvement by the lord made the feudal relationship intimate and complex. The relationship between a lord and a vassal depended on mutual respect. If the vassal refused to perform services or somehow impaired the lord's interests, the lord could file suit against the vassal in feudal court to deprive him of his fief.

At the same time, the lord was expected to treat the vassal with dignity, and to refrain from making unjust demands on the vassal. If the lord abused the vassal, the vassal could break faith with the lord and offer his services to another lord, preferably one who could protect the vassal against the wrath of the defied lord. Predictably, the relationship between lord and vassal became a struggle for a reduction in the services required by the fief.

Lords, as vassals of the king, joined their own vassals in revolt against the high cost of the feudal arrangement. The Magna Charta, forced on King John by his lords, contained 38 chapters outlining demands for liberty from the Crown, including limitations on the rights of the Crown over land. Other circumstances also contributed to the decline of feudalism. As time passed, the power of organized religion increased, and religious leaders pressed for freedom from their service to lords and kings.

At the same time, the development of an economic wealth apart from land led to the rise of a bourgeoisie, or middle class. The middle class established independent cities in Europe, which funded their military with taxes, not land-based feudal bonds. Pinfold - A place for confining stray or impounded cattle, horses, etc; a pound. Pittancer - An officer of a religious house who had the duty of distributing charitable gifts or allowances of food.

Pone - A writ, whereby an action could be removed from the county court into the royal court. Primogeniture - The right of the eldest son to inherit the estate or office of his father. Pytel - A small field or enclosure; a close. Provost - Feudal or royal magistrate. Quintain - Dummy with shield mounted on a post, used as a target in tilting. Rape - The Sussex equivalent of a Hundred.

Rebeck - A musical instrument, having three strings, and played with a bow; an early form of the fiddle. Reeve - Manorial overseer, usually a villager elected by tenants of the manor. Regalian - Royal. Relief - A fine paid by the heir of a vassal to the lord for the privilege of succeeding to an estate. Replevy - To return distrained goods to their owner by process of law. Sake and soke - A right of jurisdiction claimed by some manorial lords.

Scutage - Shield-tax, a tax paid in lieu of military service. Seisin - Possession. Selions - A ridge or narrow strip lying between two furrows formed in dividing an open field. Seneschal or steward - Manager of an estate or a household. Sewery - A store-room for provisions, linen, and other table-furniture. Sheriff - The official who was the chief administrative and judicial officer of a shire.

Many of his jobs were taken over by the itenerant justice, coroner, and justice of the peace. He collected taxes and forwarded them to the exchequer after taking his share. Also responsible for making sure the king's table was well stocked while the king was in his county. Sheriff's tourn - The turn or circuit made by the sheriff of a county twice a year, in which he presided at the hundred-court in each hundred of the county.

Shilling - Measure of money used only for accounting purposes and equal to 12 pennies. Shire - English county. Sokeman - A free peasant, found in greatest numbers in the East Midlands. Squire - Knight-aspirant. Stinting - Limiting, especially the rights of pasture. Suit of mill - The obligation of tenants to resort to a special mill usually that of their lord to have their corn ground.

Sulong - A measurement of land in Kent. Equal to two hides. Tallage - A tax levied by a manorial lord upon his unfree tenants. Tally - A notched stick, which was split in two, one half being kept by the seller and the other half by the receiver.

Third Penny - The local earl's one third share of fines in shire or hundred courts, often given afterwards to a manor or church as income. Tithing - A company originally of ten householders in the system of frank-pledge.

Tithingman - The chief man of a tithing. Toft - The site of a house and its outbuildings. Toll - Payment for leave to sell livestock. Ungentle - Not befitting a gentleman.

Vassal - A free man who held land fief from a lord to whom he paid homage and swore fealty. He owed various services and obligations, primarily military. He was also required to advise his lord and pay him the traditional feudal aids required on the knighting of the lord's eldest son, the marriage of the lord's eldest daughter, and the ransoming of the lord should he be held captive.

Villein - A non-free man, owing heavy labor service to a lord, subject to his manorial court, bound to the land, and subject to certain feudal dues. The wealthiest class of peasant.