Editing Fief (section)

==Later feudal grants and knightly service==
In 13th-century Germany, Italy, England, France, and Spain the term "feodum" was used to describe a dependent tenure held from a lord by a vassal in return for a specified amount of [[knight]] service and occasional financial payments ([[feudal incidents]]).{{No source|date=January 2025}}

However, knight service in war was far less common than:{{No source|date=January 2025}}
* castle-guard (called ''[[Burghut]]'' in the Holy Roman Empire), the obligation of a vassal to serve in a [[castle]] [[garrison]] of the lord;{{No source|date=January 2025}}
* suit in court, the vassal's obligation to attend the lord's [[Court (royal)|court]], to give him counsel, and to help him judge disputes;{{No source|date=January 2025}}
* attendance in the lord's entourage, accompanying the lord when he travelled or attended the court of his lord so as to increase the social status of the lord;
* hospitality to the lord or to his servants (accommodation).{{No source|date=January 2025}}

[[File:Sigismund fees the land Brandenburg to Frederik, April 30, 1415.jpg|thumb|[[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]] fees the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]] to [[Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg|Frederick]], April 30, 1415]]

A lord in late 12th-century England and France could also claim the right of:{{No source|date=January 2025}}
* wardship and marriage – right to control descent of fee by choosing a husband for a female heir and a guardian for minors (preferably in consultation with the heir's closest male adult kinsmen);{{No source|date=January 2025}}
* "aids" – payments to aid the lord in times of need (customarily given to the lord to cover the cost of knighting the eldest son, marriage of the eldest daughter, and for [[ransom]]ing the lord if required);
* [[escheat]] – the reversion of the fief to the lord in default of an heir.<ref name=abels>{{cite web |url=http://www.usna.edu/Users/history/abels/hh315/Feudal.htm |title=Feudalism |first=Richard |last=Abels |publisher=United States Naval Academy |access-date=2010-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327220107/http://www.usna.edu/Users/history/abels/hh315/Feudal.htm |archive-date=2010-03-27 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In northern France in the 12th and 13th centuries, military service for fiefs was limited for offensive campaigns to 40 days for a knight. By the 12th century, English and French kings and barons began to commute military service for cash payments ([[scutage]]s), with which they could purchase the service of [[mercenaries]].<ref name=abels/>