furnish a certain number of fully
equipped soldiers to fight for him. These grants were originally made
for life only, and on death of the recipient they returned to the
Crown.

[1] The Saxons, or Early English, were divided into three classes:
Eorls (they must nut be confounded with the Danish jarls or earls),
who were noble by birth; Ceorls (churls), or simple freemen; and
slaves. The slaves were either the absolute property of the master,
or were bound to the soil and sold with it. This latter class, under
the Norman name of villeins, became numerous after the Norman Conquest
in the eleventh century. The chieftains of the first Saxon settlers
were called either Ealdormen (aldermen) or Heretogas, the first being
civil or magisterial, the latter military officers. The Thanes were a
later class, who, from serving the King or some powerful leader,
became noble by military service.

Next, the nobles and other great landholders, following the example of
the King, granted portions of their estates to tenants on similar
conditions, and these again might grant portions to those below them
in return for satisfactory military or other service.

In time it came to be an established principle, that every freeman
below the rank of a noble must be attached to some superior whom he
was bound to serve, and who, on the other hand, was his legal
protector and responsible for his good behavior. The man who refused
to acknowledge his duty to serve a lord or superior was looked upon as
an outlaw, and might be seized like a robber. In that respect,
therefore, he would be worse off than the slave, who had a master to
whom he was accountable and who was accountable for him.

Eventually it became common for the small landholders, especially
during the Danish invasions, to seek the protection of some
neighboring lord who had a large band of followers at his command. In
such cases the freeman gave up his land and received it again on
certain conditions. The usual form was for him to kneel and, placing
his hands within those of the lord, to swear an oath of homage, saing,
"I BECOME YOUR MAN for the lands which I hold to you, and I will be
faithful to you against all men, saving only the service which I owe
to my lord the King." On his side the lord solemnly promised to
defend his tenant or vassal in the possession of his property, for
which he was to perform some service to the lord.

In these two ways, first, by grant of lands