Legal Definitions - feum

The term feum is an older spelling or variant of feudum, which is a fundamental concept from the medieval feudal system. A feudum, often simply called a "fief," refers to a grant of land, rights, or income made by a lord (a superior) to a vassal (a subordinate) in exchange for a specific service, loyalty, and homage.

This grant was not an outright sale but rather a conditional holding. The vassal held the feudum for the duration of their service and loyalty, and if these conditions were breached, the lord could reclaim it. The services could vary widely, including military service, administrative duties, judicial functions, or even financial payments.

• Example 1: A Knight's Estate

  Imagine a powerful duke in medieval France granting a large estate, including a village and surrounding farmlands, to a skilled knight. In return for this feum, the knight pledges to provide the duke with 60 days of military service each year, bringing his own equipment and a contingent of armed men. This illustrates a feum because the land (the estate) is granted by the duke (the lord) to the knight (the vassal) in exchange for a specific service (military duty).

• Example 2: A Baron's Jurisdiction

  A king, seeking to govern his vast kingdom more effectively, grants a baron not only a castle and surrounding lands but also the right to administer justice and collect taxes within a specific territory. In exchange for this feum, the baron promises to maintain law and order, provide counsel to the king when requested, and ensure a portion of the collected taxes reaches the royal treasury. Here, the feum encompasses both land and significant governmental authority, granted in return for administrative and advisory services.

• Example 3: Rights to a Mill

  Consider a wealthy abbot who owns extensive lands, including a river suitable for milling. The abbot grants a local miller the exclusive right to build and operate a mill on the river within the abbey's territory, along with a small plot of land for his home. In return for this feum, the miller agrees to grind all the abbey's grain for free and to pay a fixed portion of his profits from other customers to the abbot annually. This demonstrates a feum where the grant is primarily a valuable right (to operate a mill) and a small landholding, exchanged for specific services (grinding grain) and a share of income.