Feudal Levies

Feudal levies were a system during the Middle Ages where local lords were required to provide military service to the monarch in exchange for land. Instead of a standing army, lords gathered troops from their vassals—knights and peasants—when needed. These levies were often based on landholdings, meaning the more land a lord had, the more soldiers he had to supply. This system reinforced the hierarchy of feudalism, where loyalty and land ownership were central, while allowing kings to mobilize forces quickly without maintaining a permanent army.