He owns all the land. He keeps about a quarter of it for himself, and hands the rest out.

1. ACTIVITY You are an agony aunt/uncle to William I. William has written a letter to you, telling you about the problems he has controlling the English people now he has conquered England. • Guess what? – YOU can solve William’s problems because YOU have thought of…..THE FEUDAL SYSTEM!! • In your book, write a letter to William explaining…… • What kind of groups should William put the English people into? • HOW and WHY should he share out his land to the people? • What favours can the people be expected to do for William in return? • Why is your system (the feudal system) going to work? Why will it help to control the English? You could start your letter like this….. Your majesty, I have come up with a great plan to help you control the English. It’s called the feudal system. This is how it works: First, you divide the people into groups. The groups are…..

2. How William put people into groups to make sure they stayed on his side Dear God, I promise to look after this country you have given me. He owns all the land. He keeps about a quarter of it for himself, and hands the rest out. KING They each get a large area of land from the King. We promise to help you rule and get knights for your army. LORDS They each get a smaller area of land from the Lord, called a manor. We promise to fight for the king when you ask us to. KNIGHTS We promise to work ourselves silly for all of you and do as we are told. They are each given a little bit of the manor. They do the work and grow crops (food) on this land. PEASANTS This system of groups, land sharing and favour-doing was called the feudal system