A manor consisted of a manor house, one or more villages, and up to several thousand acres of land divided into meadow, pasture, forest, and cultivated fields. Manors, not villages, were the economic and social units of life in the early Middle Ages. If there were no heirs the lord disposed of the fief as he chose.
If a daughter inherited, the lord arranged her marriage. On the lord's side, he was obliged to protect the vassal, give military aid, and guard his children. In a few days of Christmas feasting one year, William and his retinue consumed 6,000 chickens, 1,000 rabbits, 90 boars, 50 peacocks, 200 geese, 10,000 eels, thousands of eggs and loaves of bread, and hundreds of casks of wine and cider. William the Conqueror travelled with a very large household, and if they extended their stay it could nearly bankrupt the lord hosting them. This last obligation could be an onerous one. As well, he must feed and house the lord and his company when they travelled across his land. He must answer a summons to battle, bringing an agreed-upon number of fighting men.
The vassal was required to attend the lord at his court, help administer justice, and contribute money if needed. When a vassal died, his heir was required to publicly renew his oath of faithfulness (fealty) to his lord (suzerain). A vassal held his land, or fief, as a grant from a lord. Feudalism was built upon a relationship of obligation and mutual service between vassals and lords.
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