After the collapse of the Roman Empire, feudalism was by far the most widespread social system during the 9th and 15th centuries throughout Western Europe. This system found its supposed maximum authority in the king to equip both him and his lords with armies to fight barbarian invasions and other feudal kingdoms. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Although the king ruled the entire kingdom, most of the kingdom's lands belonged to his lords. The king delegated his authority to these lords and they were his vassals and received lands, called fiefs. This would most likely be done with a formal ceremony in which the king would bestow the title on the lord and give him “the king's authority” to rule over that fiefdom and its inhabitants. The lord would also kneel before the king, take his hand and swear his utmost loyalty to him. This was known as homage. (Baumgartner) The lords had their own vassals in the form of knights. These knights were given smaller fiefdoms and had peasants as their vassals. Vassals had the obligation to pay taxes to their lords for the defense of the territory. During the campaign war season, vassals were only required to campaign for a mere forty days. In exchange for military service, vassals were granted lands by their lords. So being a noble knight for the king meant owning lands, which in turn meant having power over others. As part of this, all nobles and their sons would be trained to become knights, allowing their service to maintain the family's ownership of the fief. Boys began training around age six and by age fifteen they became squires and helped a knight prepare for battle. (Baumgartner) Also for this reason in the feudal period the cavalry of the feudal period was made up of the majority of nobles. Women could not inherit land because they could not perform military service. This is one of the main reasons why feudalism did little to spread to other nations such as Switzerland and Scandinavia. Unlike the plains of France and Germany, the mountainous areas of Switzerland and Scandinavia were not hospitable to serious use of heavy cavalry. The lords' main obligations to his vassals were to the fiefdom and the protection of his vassals. (Baumgartner) This supply of military force was followed up to the king. In theory, feudalism was both a social system and a war machine to provide troops for the king and his lords. Over time, more and more barbarians entered Western Europe. Soon, more powerful warlords laid claim to lands and recruited weaker barbarians as vassals. This is the first form of feudalism. Viking leaders also began accepting land bribes in exchange for their loyalty and military service. William the Conqueror also used the promise of land as a tool to recruit knights for his invasion of England in 1066 AD. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, lands that were once protected by highly trained Roman legionary garrisons were left with crowds of barely capable. infantry unit. When Charles Martel, also known as “Charles the Hammer,” united the Franks in light of the Arab threat, he achieved a great victory at the Battle of Torres. Using only infantry in battle, Martel was unable to completely defeat and destroy the enemy because he had little to no cavalry units. From this moment on, Martel does.